SEYMOUR — Seymour made 14 of 18 free throws in the fourth quarter and outscored Jennings County 26-16 to register a 52-47 win in the opening round of the Seymour Class 4A Sectional on Tuesday night.
The Owls hit 26 of 30 free throws, and the Panthers 6 of 9 for the game. Seymour advances to play 4A No. 3 New Albany in Friday’s semifinals.
Both teams started out cold in the first quarter with the Owls (12-11) shooting 3 for 10, and Jennings (5-18) 2 for 12, resulting in a 6-6 tie at the end of the period.
Gage Walters had a 3-pointer for the Panthers, while three different players had a basket for the Owls.
After Eddie Louden scored for Seymour at the beginning of the second period, Landin Hacker got hot for Jennings by hitting a jump shot, followed by a 3-pointer to put his team on top 13-8. Hacker had another 3-pointer, and 10 points in the period to help his team to an 18-13 lead at the half.
Travis Wilson’s layup gave the Panthers a 23-17 lead with 5:22 remaining in the third quarter. The Owls then used 3-point plays by Alan Perry and Louden to tie the game at 23-23 with 4:30 remaining in the period. Jennings, sparked by a pair of baskets Calin Kinney, went back on top 31-25 and led 31-26 going into the fourth quarter.
The Panthers increased their lead to 35-26 one minute into the fourth quarter before Tiller Cummings made a 3-pointer, followed by four free throws, and a 3-pointer by Zach Moore at 5:15 to give Seymour a 36-35 lead.
Cummings topped the Owls with 17 points and Louden scored 16.
Wilson led Jennings with 15 points and 16 rebounds. Hacker scored 13 points, and Walters added 11.