HARLAN — Senior Malachi Peasley exploded for 34 points and junior Zach Rizzuti went off for 23 more as Panorama fought off Kuemper Catholic, 82-70, in their boys Class 2A District 15 Final Tuesday.
The win sends the Panthers (17-6) into Saturday’s Substate 8 Final against Treynor (23-1), who defeated Tri-Center (18-5), 67-44, Tuesday. The game will be played at Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln and will start at 7 p.m.
Treynor was stopped in the substate finals last season after finishing as the state runner-up in 2018.
Kuemper (8-15) played determined throughout and made the Panthers work hard for the win, despite the disparity in team records.
The Knights held a 14-12 lead after one quarter of action, with the teams entering the locker room tied at 36-all after both had strong second periods.
The Panthers used a 20-11 edge in third quarter scoring to open the margin they needed. Entering the fourth frame ahead, 56-47, Panorama offset 23 Kuemper points in the final eight minutes with 26 of their own to pull away for the victory.
Peasley hit two 3-pointers for the Panthers but did his most damage at the foul line, where he buried 14-of-16 free throws. He is sixth in 2A with 123 made free throws and second in attempts at 142, with his 86.6 percent accuracy second-best in 2A among those with at least 100 attempts. The team is fourth in 2A with a combined clip of 73.2 percent at the stripe.
Rizzuti splashed five treys. He is now 45-of-101 (44.6 percent) beyond the arc, 4th in 2A among those with 100 tries from long range. As a team, Panorama leads 2A in 3-point accuracy, hitting 40.2 percent (205-of-510).
Michael Allen had eight points, Kolby Shackelford six, Dominic Walker and Lucas Leiferman five apiece and Evan Taylor one point to close the Panther scoring ledger.
Panorama made 8-of-15 triples in the win (Walker had the other), and finished 26-of-30 at the foul line.
Statistical information for Kuemper Catholic was not available.
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SUBSTATE 8 FINAL PREVIEW:
Treynor is 6th in scoring in 2A at 68.3 points per game, with Panorama 8th at 63.5. The Cardinals have the second-best average margin of victory (24.8) in the class and our fifth in rebounds per contest (33), thanks in part to 6-10 senior Jon Schwarte, who averages 9.1 points and has 91 boards in 16 games.
Senior Jack Tiarks (6-4) and Jack Stogdill (6-2) add to Treynor’s size. Tiarks averages 16.3 points and over seven rebounds per outing, with Stogdill averaging 14.6 points while hitting 39-of-100 3-pointers. Both were saw considerable playing time for the 2018 runner-up squad.
Panorama is led in scoring by Peasley (17.2), Shackelford (11.6) and Rizzuti (11.5) The trio have converted on 51, 50, and 45 3-point shots, respectively.
Allen leads the team with 127 rebounds, with Rizzuti clearing 116 caroms while Peasley has distributed 121 assists.
Great article, but the photo is not of Malachi Peasley. This photo is of Lucas Leiferman. Not trying to be a jerk. Just wanted to clarify cause you’ve used that picture before and said it was Mal but it isn’t.