The Knoxville Boys Basketball Squad won a hard fought 71-60 game over Chariton on Tuesday night as the Panthers ended the regular season. Knoxville and Chariton traded the lead back and forth for most of the first quarter, but the Panthers ended up leading by seven at halftime. Both teams scored 16 points in the 3rd quarter, but the Panthers would close out the Chargers winning by 11. Coach Troy Pearson told KNIA/KRLS Sports the balanced scoring for his team coupled with defensive play was important.

Pearson: “There were times I thought we played well on defense, then there were times I thought we were a step slow on defense and closing out things, so we have a few things to work on.”

Landen Norris scored 16 points, while Kaiden Smith scored 13 and Connor Willis put in 12. Knoxville completes the regular season at 14-7 and finishes South Central Conference play at 11-3. The Panthers will take on Newton on Monday in the first round of the class 3A substate.