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It wasn't pretty but it was effective.

The Whitmer Panthers used a deliberate offense and a tough defense to beat Norwalk 40-32 in a Division I regional semi-final at UT.

The loss was the first of the year for the 23-1 Truckers.

"People said they didn't play a tough schedule or they didn't play in a strong league," said Whitmer coach Bruce Smith.  "That's all garbage.  Anybody that's 23-0, they were perfect and we had the utmost respect for them."

Whitmer held a slim 22-20 point lead at halftime, thanks to 14 points from Ricardo Smith.  He did not score the rest of the game. 

The Panthers maintained a lead throughout the second half but midway through the fourth quarter, Norwalk's Jeff Thomas hit back-to-back three pointers to pull the Truckers within three.

Whitmer junior Nigel Hayes, who did not score until the final two minutes, was the beneficiary of a questionable foul call that resulted in two made free throws.

Hayes went 3 of 4 from the free throw line to provide the necessary cushion and then in the final 30-seconds, stole the ball at halfcourt and threw down a jam that had the Truckers heading towards the turnpike.

"They came out with a great game plan not to let me score," said Hayes who finished with 5 points. "They were triple teaming me so, when i caught the ball I found my open teammates."

Whitmer advances to the regional final on Saturday in Akron where they'll play the winner of Thursday's semi-final between, Medina and Elyria.

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