PAXTON – Paxton-Buckley-Loda isn't much for this undefeated regular-season talk.

"No. Nope," said senior Dylan Overstreet when asked if the topic had been brought up in the locker room recently.

Play like they did Friday night and the Panthers soon won't have any choice but to sing the chorus of running the table. Behind a suffocating defense, PBL smothered Clifton Central 59-25 to move to 24-0 and wrap up the outright Sangamon Valley Conference title.

"To do it would be cool," Overstreet said of finishing unbeaten. "But postseason success is definitely a little higher up on our list."

Of more importance to PBL is how it's playing now with three regular-season games remaining. And after racing to a 36-10 halftime lead against Clifton Central and winning their 40th consecutive home game, the Panthers say they are getting close to where they want to be.

"We're starting to see everybody contribute more, and that's the main thing," said Overstreet, who was close to a triple-double with 17 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. "I feel like we're getting there. But we're not there yet."

PBL coach Scot Vogel also has noticed improvements.

"Our motion (offense) is really starting to get better. At the beginning of the year when you watched it, it kind of made you motion sick," Vogel said.

Against Clifton Central, Vogel really didn't have much to harp on, unofficially recording his shortest halftime speech of the season. The Panthers dominated with an offense that had four players record nine or more points and a defense that held the Comets to nine field goals.

The coach's only concern was a minor one, in that his squad didn't shoot up to its capabilities. The Panthers shot just under 40 percent from the floor, though Vogel said they did a good job of moving the ball around to get open looks.

"I still don't think we've played our best basketball yet. I know it sounds crazy. But I mean shootingwise, I think at some point here we're going to put it all together," Vogel said.

Cody Westerlund