Panthers give all in home heartbreakers

Published 8:17 am Wednesday, January 22, 2014

PRAIRIE CITY – The Panther boys were in high-intensity mode battling Mitchell/Spray on the basketball court last Friday, but they came up short, 57-59.

The Panthers got a good jump on the first quarter with a 19-13 lead, but the Eagles held them to 6 points in the second quarter. The Panthers trailed 25-29 at the half.

Scoring seesawed after that, with the visitors taking an 8-point lead going into the fourth quarter, 46-38.

Although the Panthers outscored Mitchell/Spray in the last 8 minutes of play, they couldn’t get the needed shots and free throws to fall for a win.

With 22 seconds to go, the pressure was on and Prairie City missed two free throws. Mitchell/Spray got the rebound; the Panthers fouled immediately, and Mitchell/Spray went 1-2 at the free-throw line.

Down by 2 at that point, the Panthers had the ball and 14 seconds – but weren’t able to score again.

“It was one of those games that we know we should have had, but turnovers and missed opportunities cost us the game,” said head coach Mark Woodbury.

“Garrett Lovell had an exceptional game with 29 points,” he said. “They all played their hearts out.”

Panthers vs. Antelopes

After a slow start, the Panthers lit up the scoreboard again Saturday in a close game with the Adrian Antelopes, who ended up with the win 45-41.

Woodbury said his team may have been a little down from the previous night’s game, yet “the kids played 100 percent.”

“We attacked the basket a little more and found rhythm,” he said.

Down 6-9 in the first quarter, the Panthers followed up with a faster pace, outscoring the Antelopes 15-8, ending with a lead of 21-17 at the half.

Adrian came on fire after halftime.

“We let them outscore us in the second half – big time,” Woodbury said. “In the third and fourth quarter they made some adjustments and took advantage of our poor defensive play.”

The Antelopes took a 37-34 lead at the close of the third, and out-shot the Panthers by 2 points in the fourth for the win.

Adrian’s 6-foot-2 Jett McCoy helped his team with a 3-point shot at the close of the first half and also at the end of the third quarter.

“We haven’t been playing full strength all season due to illness and injury,” Woodbury said.

He said the team is working on free throws this week in preparation for their game with Long Creek/Ukiah, scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

The Panthers also played Crane Tuesday, past press time.

The stats

PC Boys

vs. Mitchell/Spray

Garrett Lovell, 29; Mack Clark, 11; Garrett Hitz, 7 points; Ethan Camerena, 6; Omar Ceja, 4.

Free throws overall 9-17.

PC Boys

vs. Adrian

Garrett Lovell, 15; Garrett Hitz, 12; Chase McClung, 7; Mack Clark 5; Ethan Camerena 2.