Patrick Dugger's double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds led LaGrange to a 61-58 win over Berry at Mariotti Gym on Saturday. The game was the 2012-13 season opener for the Panthers.

The Panthers also got 11 points from Ira Smith off the bench. Marcus Vaughn pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds and added nine points.

The Panthers shot 38.2 percent in the game, making only 3-of-19 shots from 3-point range. Behind Dugger and Vaughn the Panthers had a 45-36 edge rebounding.

The Panthers never trailed in the game. In the first half, they led by five points twice and went into halftime with a 23-21 lead. Dugger had 11 of his points in the half.

The Panthers came out strong at the start of the second half. Vaughn's two free throws put the Panthers up 31-21 less than two minutes into the half.

Leading 34-31, the Panthers went on a 13-0 run in a five-minute span. Dugger finished the run with a put back of a missed shot, then made a steal at the defensive end. Smith's layup off a Viking turnover put the Panthers up 49-33 with 9:24 left.

The Vikings chipped away at the Panthers' lead. Mac Whalen's 3-pointer made it a two point game, 57-55, with 1:06 left.

Smith helped the Panthers hold on with clutch free throw shooting. After Whalen's shot, Smith made a pair of free throws, then iced the game after the Vikings cut the lead to one, with two more free throws for the 61-58 final.

The Panthers host Birmingham-Southern on Tuesday, Nov. 20 at 8 p.m.

Notes: The Panthers are 2-0 in season openers under head coach Kendall Wallace... The Panthers have won back-to-back season openers for the first time since the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons... The Panthers have held an opponent under 60 points four times under Wallace, twice against Berry... Dugger's double-double was the first in a season opener by a Panther since the 2003-04 season, when Ben Podbielski had 10 points and 11 rebounds against Oglethorpe...