GLENCOE, Okla. — The Glencoe gymnasium wasn’t quite large enough to hold the matchup between the pair of undefeated squads of Pawnee and Glencoe, with some people having to sit in folding chairs in front of the bleachers.

The hometown Panthers gave their fans plenty to cheer about as it opened the game with six 3-pointers and kept their undefeated season intact with a 73-62 victory — and sending the Black Bears to their first loss.

“We had to break out the chairs and put them around the court,” Glencoe coach John Lazenby said. “It was a great atmosphere. Two communities that live and breathe basketball.”

Pawnee coach David Page gave his opponent a lot of credit, adding his team — which falls to 18-1 on the year — didn’t execute well at times.

“They are really talented,” Page said. “They shot the ball really well and they were the best team on the floor tonight.”

Glencoe’s 3-point shooting gave the Panthers a 19-8 lead. Kegan Castlebury hit three 3-pointers, including one in which he was fouled, leading to a four-point play. Jake Lazenby also hit 3 threes and Hunter Hall hit one as Glencoe held a 24-8 lead after the first.

“That’s kind of how we are,” coach Lazenby said. “We’ve had those games where we come out and shoot it really well. ... The thing about it is, that’s not going to continue usually. So you ride the wave when you have it and hopefully build a little bit of a lead.”

The Black Bears made a run in the second quarter, finding shots inside. Nathan Brock scored 8 points and Kyle Smith scored 7 in the second, helping Pawnee cut Glencoe’s lead to five. The Panthers were able to draw several fouls and converted most of their free throws. Hall was 8 for 8 from the line in the second, but field goals by Castlebury and Ty Lazenby gave the Panthers a 41-30 halftime lead.

The Panthers (23-0) started the third strong as two field goals by Ty Lazenby pushed their advantage to 18. Pawnee responded with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit back to 10. Vagus Penny got several good looks inside for 7 points in the third quarter for Pawnee.

“We made a couple of runs,” Page said. “But they shot the ball really well, made a lot of free throws and we didn’t play really intelligent at times.”

Glencoe opened the fourth quarter with a 12-4 run to put the game out of reach. Jake Lazenby made two field goals, a 3-pointer and four free throws to lead the Panthers’ offense. Jake led the team in scoring with 20. Castlebury followed with 19 and Ty Lazenby contributed 15.

Nathan Brock led the Black Bears in scoring with 17 points before he left the game in the third quarter with an ankle injury. Kyle Smith followed with 14. The Black Bears won’t have any time to be down as they host Pawhuska Tuesday.

“We will regroup tomorrow,” Page said. “That’s just another game. That’s just a regular season game.”

Coach Lazenby said it was a good win for his team as it nears playoffs.

“(Tuesday) we got Paden and we’re 23-0,” Lazenby said. “We have the chance to complete an undefeated regular season, which is kind of special.”

Girls

Pawnee 59, Glencoe 38

After struggling to make shots in the first half, the Lady Black Bears broke the game open in the third quarter of a 59-38 victory over the Lady Panthers.

“We were pretty sloppy in the first half,” Pawnee coach Jeff Tatum said. “Glencoe came out, played hard and made a game of it. When the threes started falling it opened up things for us.”

Pawnee led 20-13 at halftime despite not shooting well. In the third quarter, the Lady Black Bears hit shots from all over. Shayla Brien made several layups to score 13 points in the quarter. Alley, Jensen and Lauren Bynum each hit two 3-pointers to help Pawnee outscore Glencoe 32-19 in the third.

Glencoe coach Stephen Castlebury said he thought his team showed good effort.

“We played well but we gave up way too many offensive rebounds,” Castlebury said.

Jensen led the Lady Black Bears with 16 points. Kelsey Castlebury led Glencoe with 16.