Painful and perplexing.

Scott Skyhawk head basketball coach Jason Kingery could sum up his team’s 0-3 start with those two words.

The Skyhawks slipped to 0-3 with a 63-52 loss to the Tug Valley Panthers in Mingo County last Saturday.

The game was knotted at 39-39 after three quarters and at 45-45 with just over five minutes remaining, but a key 8-0 run by the Panthers sent the Skyhawks to their third straight loss.

Kingery remarked, “This loss is very painful for both the players and coaches. We played very hard and we played a really good game to come up short.

“These three season-opening losses have been very weird in the manner in which we have lost. We have had more rebounds and more assists and fewer turnovers than our opponents.

“Our shooting percentage and lack of production off the bench has really hurt us.”

Sophomore guards Steven McComas and Carl Shaffer paced the ‘Hawk offense early, as each netted four first quarter points.

Deadlocked at 13-13 after one stanza, Tug Valley’s Chad Damron fired in a pair of three-pointers during the second period as the Panthers claimed a one-point lead (27-26) by halftime.

Scott senior center Donovan Pearson tossed in five third quarter points and McComas added his second three-pointer of the game as the Skyhawks forced a 39-39 tie after three periods of play.

Powered by a decisive 8-0 spurt and a 14-for-16 effort from the charity stripe, Tug Valley claimed the win with a 24-13 fourth quarter spurt.

Jonathan Dingess topped the Panthers’ score sheet with 20 points, including four three-pointers.

Brandon Kirk added 17 points for the hosts and Chad Damron had 10.

Steven McComas (15) and Donovan Pearson (14) combined for 29 points to pace the Scott scoring. Carl Shaffer contributed 11 points while Jared Jarrell and Timmy Hudson netted six and five points respectively. Earl “Trey” Workman had one point.

Tug Valley hit on 15 two-point hoops, six three-pointers, and 15 of 20 free throws.

The Skyhawks netted 15 two-pointers, a trio of three-pointers, and 13 of 21 free throws.

Coach Jason Kingery concluded, “If we continue to play hard and to believe in our new system, we are only going to get better. We really need to get a win or two to get us started and to gain some confidence.”

The Skyhawks will host Winfield this Friday night.