The 2022-2023 Panthers got their season rolling by playing in Lockwood last weekend. Friday, the Panthers played the Poplar Indians. Before the game started the Panthers didn’t have a lot of knowledge or information about the Poplar Indians but we know now that they have three very good guards that scored seventy-five of their teams ninety-nine points. The Panther defense did not get out and recognize shooters especially in the first half as the Indians made nine of the fifteen three point shots. True to form the Indians pressed the entire game which caused issues for the Panthers. The Panthers played to fast, over dribbled, and didn’t finish around the rim when the opportunity arose. The Panthers did trim the lead in the second quarter to 30-22 but the Indians outscored the Panthers 25-4 to finish the quarter and led 55-26 at the half. Jace had a solid game for the Panthers with a double double. He scored 27 points and collected 15 rebounds. Dustin had a solid performance shooting the basketball scoring 18 points. The Indians won the game 99-58.
Scoring was as follows: Jace Lemmel 27, Dustin Gairrett 18, Braedan Bilden 6, Morgan Sanner 5, and Aaron Van Dyke 2.
Saturday afternoon brought a new opponent, Wolf Point Wolves, but the same style of play- fast paced, full court pressure, and constant harassment. The Panthers did a better job throughout the first half defensively as they switched defenses regularly to keep the Wolves off balance. The Wolves also had some very good guards the created problems for the Panthers. Dustin did a better job of taking care of the basketball throughout the game but foul trouble sidelined him for a while. When the Panthers did break the press, they struggled to consistently make shots and those shots were around the rim and in the key. Jace was our most consistent shooter and scorer. Turnovers were the biggest issue all weekend but especially on Saturday as the Panthers had 77 possessions and 34 were turnovers. Be that as it may with 3 minutes to go in the second quarter the Panthers trailed 15-12 but a late flurry by Wolf Point gave them a 33-16 lead at the half. In the second half the Wolves outscored the Panthers 48-20 to win 81-37.
Scoring was as follows: Jace Lemmel 22, Braedan Bilden 7, Aaron Van Dyke 3, Morgan Sanner 3, and Dustin Gairrett 2.
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