Paetow has been on a roll.

The Panthers have hit their stride since entering District 19-6A play, and have proven themselves as one of the top teams in Katy ISD. Paetow put together a strong first half of district and put themselves in prime position for a playoff spot.

But Paetow’s most important win of the year may have come on Wednesday, as the Panthers faced a strong Jordan team that was vying with them towards the top of the district standings and came out on top with a gritty 58-55 victory.

“It was a really good game and a good challenge for us,” said senior wing Ade Onaleye. “We came together and pulled it out. It was going to be a fight and it was a good game for us to learn things from.”

Both teams came out fired up from the opening whistle and it was Jordan that jumped ahead, leading 16-15 after the first quarter and 30-27 at halftime.

But Paetow came out and dominated the third quarter. They got on a run to take the lead early in the half and continued to build it by doing well both offensively and defensively, taking a 49-37 lead into the final quarter.

“Everyone on this team, we just have good chemistry together and work together well on the offensive end,” Onaleye said. “We all feed each other the ball and find the open man. It’s a good system and we’re really starting to play well in it.”

Jordan made a big comeback in the fourth quarter and nearly turned things around in its favor, having a chance to tie the game in the final seconds before Paetow’s defense came up with a big stop to secure the win.

“We have moments where our defense can lapse and that happened at times in the fourth quarter, but when we lock it we can lock teams down,” Onaleye said. “We found a way to stop them that last possession and it was just good to come out of this one with a win.”

It was a much tougher game for the Panthers than the first time around against Jordan, which they won 74-49, but it was a huge win, as it put Paetow in the drivers seat to finish district in the top two, as they are now two games up on Jordan and Katy, and it also keeps them in the district title hunt, just a game behind first place Seven Lakes. And the Panthers are confident they can keep competing with anyone.

“We just have to keep playing out game,” Onaleye said. “There’s only six or seven games left in the regular season, so we have to make them all count, play our game and keep getting better.”