After a rough end to the Cedar Hill Lions Club Tournament over the weekend, the Plano East boys basketball team was in bounce-back mode Tuesday night.

And it came at the expense of a Prestonwood Christian Academy squad still carving out an identity in the midst of an injury-riddled 2012-13 campaign.

The Panthers didn't relent and did as they pleased en route to a 66-37 victory.

"The guys came out and did what they needed to early," said Jeff Clarkson, East head coach. "You don't want to give a team that shoots the three like [Prestonwood] any confidence with a few early makes. We did a good job and this was good for us."

The Panthers pounced on the Lions from the opening tip, scoring the game's first 14 points and pillaging Prestonwood in the paint at will. A backdoor layup by senior Jarvis Pugh got the ball rolling and the Panthers didn't look back, taking it to an undersized Lions squad inside and blanketing Prestonwood's array of perimeter threats.

The biggest discrepancy between the two sides came inside, where East outrebounded the Lions, 31-15. The Panthers were granted a bevy of looks under the goal with 17 offensive rebounds.

"We just played soft tonight," said Chris Mayberry, Prestonwood head coach. "We were scared to death in the first half and a lot of times that'll be the difference."

Prestonwood went without a field goal in the first quarter and fell behind, 16-3, with a trio of free throws between freshman Evan Peters and sophomore Shane Missimo averting an opening-quarter shutout. That first field goal didn't come until 3:42 remained in the second following a Peters' layup. By that time, East built a 28-7 cushion with half-court ball movement and transition offense.

"Our execution offensively was so much better tonight," Clarkson said. "That's what we really needed to do after the tournament. Tonight, we were patient, took good shots and got an early lead."

Many of those shots came while dissecting a Prestonwood zone, partly due to man-to-man matchups being tough to come by for the Lions due to East's height advantage. Pugh and senior Patrick Birt were the primary benefactors, leading the Panthers with 11 points each.

Junior Zach Smith added eight points and nine boards, while seniors Marcus Mathieu and David Havala both scored seven.

Pugh chipped in nine during the first half, most notably capping the second quarter with a baseline alley-oop from junior Matt Billings that completed 40-13 half.

The Lions countered with 11 points from Missimo while freshman D.J. McGee contributed eight and Peters and senior Chas Taylor each scored six. Without the services of sophomore Mickey Mitchell and senior Julius Randle, the initial scoring onus has fallen on senior Marquan Botley, but even that option didn't prove fortuitous Tuesday.

"[Botley's] not 100 percent, but is doing his best out there for us," Mayberry said.

Botley was held scoreless during the first half and finished the game with four points, spending most of the final three quarters playing facilitator and getting his teammates open on the perimeter. It paid off to the tune of five assists.

"We did a great job containing [Botley]," Clarkson said. "We've struggled with [defending other team's top scorers] from time to time and we did a really good job of keeping him in check early."

The 3-ball was Prestonwood's most trustworthy weapon Tuesday, with the Lions making five shots from long distance compared to just three two-point baskets. Missimo knocked down his two treys in the third as the Lions forced East into six turnovers and trimmed the deficit to 46-27 with 40 seconds left.

Offense was tough to come by from that point forward as the Lions were held without a field goal in the fourth and instead netted their 10 final points from the free throw line.

In returning to the win column, East looks to build off the victory Friday at 6 p.m. when its travels to Flower Mound. The Lions will compete out of state starting Tuesday when they tackle the City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Fla.

"We've just got to keep fighting," Mayberry said. "We've got the City of Palms up next and those teams won't be any easier."

For continued news and coverage on the local sports scene, follow @MWelchSCN on Twitter.

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