The schedule had the Panthers back at it on Tuesday against district foe Huntley Project. Having won three games in row the Panthers were feeling good about their play and excited for the challenge that the Red Devils present. Unfortunately, some aspects of the game you can control and some you can’t. Shooting is an aspect that comes and goes with players and teams. Tuesday the Panthers struggled all night long to hit jump shots. Huntley got off to a quick start making to baskets in a row but Jace had a steal and finish in the open court to get the Panthers on the board. Huntley led most of the quarter but a late bucket by Kylen gave the Panthers the lead 11-10. The defensive effort by the Panthers was outstanding. The Panthers switched between man and zone to keep Huntley off balance. Morgan and Evan came in off of the bench and provided great energy for the Panthers as there was some early foul trouble with the starters. Huntley led 20-18 at the half. The third quarter was the turning point for the Panthers as they could only muster 7 points in the quarter. Shots were very hard to come for the Panthers and they lost to the Red Devils 48-38.
Scoring was as follows: Jace Lemmel 17, Kylen Wolff 7, Dustin Gairrett 7, Morgan Sanner 5, and Jordan Olson 2.
Friday, the Panthers braved the weather and went to Red Lodge to challenge the Rams in a 4-B district game. In the first matchup against the Rams the Rams shot the ball extremely well from the field at a clip of 54% for the game and most were jumpers. The Panthers had a plan to defend the arc and hopefully get a win. The Panthers came out of gates rolling. Morgan, Dustin, Jace, and Kylen all scored in the quarter. Dustin, Jace, and Kylen all had three-point field goals to push the Panther lead to 18-10. As the second quarter wore on the Panthers who have been battling a little illness began to tire and make some poor decisions against the press. The turnovers were costly because it gave the Rams easy buckets when the Panther defense was really causing them to struggle from the field. It felt like a tidal wave of bad plays but some how at the end of the second quarter the Panthers led 30-27. Coming out at half the Panthers missed some very easy opportunities to score. The Panthers were 5/20 in the quarter. The Rams found their shooting touch held a 10-point lead in the third but the Panthers were able to cut the deficit to 7 by quarters end. The Panthers showed a lot of grit as they persevered through the fourth quarter and regained the lead with under a minute to go. The final minute had plenty of drama as the lead was traded back and forth. The Panthers rebounded a missed free throw by the Rams and trailed by one. Braedan was unable to hit the last shot in the key and the Rams won 61-60.
Scoring was as follows: Jace Lemmel 23, Kylen Wolff 14, Morgan Sanner 6, Dustin Gairrett 4, Braedan Bilden 4, and Jordan Olson 4.
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