Fast-starting Panthers roar past Bulls

PRAIRIE CITY — The Prairie City boys basketball team gave a strong performance at their home court for their season openers.

The Panthers defeated the Redmond junior varsity team 44-24 on Friday and toppled Burnt River 74-30 on Saturday.

Head coach Jonathon Gill said he was glad to see them get the wins.

“I think that these kids, they’ve been through some tough seasons,” he said. “They’ve put in their hard work, and to see it come to fruition means a lot to these boys.”

Dorran Wilson was the Panther high-point scorer with 18 in the win over Redmond.

In Saturday’s game, the Prairie City held Burnt River to two points in the first quarter, jumping out to a 21-point lead.

Prairie City rolled on to a 22-point lead at the half.

Garrett Hitz collected 22 points and 14 rebounds to lead the team. Ethan Camarena added 20 points and 10 rebounds.

“Those victories are all on the kids,” Gill said. “I take no credit. They’re the ones who got those victories. We’re going to build on this foundation that we started this weekend.”

The team is now preparing for the Condon Tournament where they’ll face Mohawk at 4:30 p.m. Friday and McKenzie at 12:30 pm. Saturday.

“Starting tonight, we’re going right back to the drawing board,” Gill said. “The schedule only gets harder from this point. We enjoyed the win, and now we need to get back to work.”

We have a good chance,” he added. “We’re going to put in the work and the results will speak for themselves.”