But in the title tilt of the 40th annual Vandalia Holiday Tournament, it was what teammate Ethan Leib did that made the difference in the Wolves 75-69 title game triumph.

The 6-foot-3 sophomore scored 17-points and grabbed a team-high 11-rebounds in the championship game as Flora improved to 15-1 on the season.

Leib found his way to the basket with many of his points coming on second chances.

Knapp, the tournament's Most Valuable Player, topped the scoring list with 26-points while Painter threw in 17.

Christian Taylor added 11-points to the total for Flora, including hitting all three of his 3-point attempts.

Flora head coach Phil Leib, father of Ethan, watched his team hang on as Pana's fourth quarter rally fell short.

“I'm awfully proud of him (Ethan) and I might get choked up a bit talking about him but he was a warrior on the glass tonight,” said Coach Leib. “He knows he is going to play in the shadows of Knapp and Painter but he knows he has a role and that is to hit the boards and finish. He struggled some early in the year but he has really come on. He made a difference tonight.”

The title game win was the school's eighth at this long standing and well run affair.

Pana was led by Jarred McMillan and Mitchell Beyers with 22 and 20 points respectively.

Coach Gary Bowker saw his club suffer their first defeat after 11-consecutive wins to open the season.

“I told him (Ethan Leib) that he killed us tonight. I told the kids tonight that Knapp and Painter are great players and they are going to get their points but they are going to miss some shots and you can't forget to box out,” said Coach Bowker. “Those are the guys that are going to get the rebounds and get the points that will beat you. Tonight Ethan Leib was the difference in the ballgame.”

In a game that featured 12 lead changes in the first three quarters, Flora finally got the lead for good near the end of the third quarter and managed to hold on for dear life as Pana rallied late.

The Panthers started strong with McMillan scoring twice in the opening period near the basket.

His shot from the right blocks tied the score at 11-all and his teammate Avery Hrabak hit his only shot of the contest, a 3-pointer from the top of the circle, as Pana led 14-13 at the end of the first quarter.

Beyers, a 6-foot-2 senior, delivered a 3-pointer during a 7-2 run for Pana that forced a Flora timeout with 4:40 left before intermission.

Three consecutive scores by McMillan gave Pana a 27-26 lead at the break.

Saddled with foul trouble in the first half, Painter (at the urging of Coach Leib) began to look to score in the second half and the 6-foot-6 senior responded.

Painter netted eight points in just over two minutes as Flora took control.

His bucket on an offensive rebound triggered a 13-1 run that changed the scene.

During that run, Flora scored three times on offensive rebounds.

“We made a concerted effort to get the ball into the post in the second half. We needed to get the ball into Nick Painter. I told him that there is no one that can touch you in there and he started scoring at will.”

Knapp, who only had just 10-points midway through the third quarter, got going by hitting a pair of long-distance bombs.

His trey from the top of the arc at the 3:58 mark gave the Wolves a 41-32 lead.

Taylor, a 6-foot-2 junior, took advantage of Pana's defensive efforts on Knapp and Painter, and found himself open for a buzzer beating 18-footer from the left wing to give his team a 51-42 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

“Against good teams (Pana) you have to hit your shots from the outside and you have to get the ball into the post,” added Coach Leib. “We got stronger with the ball in the second half. We didn't do a very good job protecting the ball in the first half but we did a better job in the second half.”

All teams have at least one good run in them during a title game and Pana came up with one that fell just short at the end.

The Panthers cut the deficit down to three points twice in the final quarter only to see Flora retaliate.

Beyers scored nine points early in the final frame and his rebound basket got the Panthers to within 57-53.

Pana's Garrett Claxon made a big defensive play, stripping Flora's Painter of the ball after a rebound. He then chased the ball down in the right corner before firing up a 3-pointer that found the mark to get the Panthers within four points at 61-57 with 3:19 left.

The Panthers last big run came after a Knapp, normally an excellent free throw shooter, missed a pair of free throws with 1:07 left.

Pana then got a 3-pointer from senior Allen Kile and two free throws by Beyers and suddenly the Panthers were down just 70-67 with :48 remaining.

Knapp and Co. closed out the contest by hitting 5-of-6 free throws to nab the championship, the school's first 2009.

“Paul (Knapp) is Paul. He hit some big buckets for us tonight. He got to the line for us and made the big free throws,” added Coach Leib. “It was just a great team effort.”

Knapp hit 6-of-13 shots from the floor and made 11-of-13 from the foul line. The 6-foot-1 senior play-maker also grabbed six rebounds.

The Wolves finished 27-of-45 from the floor overall, and 6-of-9 from behind the arc while out-rebounding the Panthers 29-22.

Flora committed 14 turnovers but survived by 15-of-19 free throws.

“Flora has good shooters and when you get behind them late you are going to have to foul them and give them credit, they finished the game off,” added Coach Bowker. “They are a great basketball team and they will be very successful.”

The Panthers didn't shoot the ball well enough to win, hitting just 25-of-60 shots overall while connecting on just 8-of-23 long range shots.

Besides Beyers and McMillan, Kile finished with 14-points for the 11-1 Panthers.

McMillan was the most efficient of the Pana shooters, hitting 9-of-15 from the floor.

“We got back to the basics and the basics won us this championship,” Coach Leib said. “You have to play good defense and you have to hit your free throws when it counts. Paul (Knapp) came up big.”