Prairie City/Burnt River’s Hagen Workman brings the ball upcourt during his team’s matchup with Imbler during the second day of the 13 Mile Shootout.

PRAIRIE CITY — The Prairie City/Burnt River boys basketball team faced off with Imbler in a battle of the Panthers during the second day of the 13 Mile Shootout, falling 43-34 on Saturday, Dec. 16, at Prairie City High School.

Imbler scored first with just over 2:00 gone by in the first quarter before Prairie responded with a pair of quick field goals to make it a 4-2 game with just under 5:00 to play in the first quarter. The game then became a series of lead changes, with Imbler nursing a slim 13-12 advantage headed into the second quarter of play.

Imbler would open the second quarter on a 6-1 run to go up 19-13 with 3:30 left in the first half. Prairie would struggle offensively in the quarter, getting its first field goal with 1:45 left in the half while scoring a mere four points in the period.

Even with those offensive hiccups, Prairie still found itself with an opportunity to seize control at the half, trailing 19-16.

The home team came out inspired both offensively and defensively to start the second half, outscoring Imbler 5-2 to open the third and tie the game at 21-all. Imbler would respond by going on a 14-2 scoring blitz to build a 35-23 lead with 6:01 left in the game, forcing a Prairie timeout.

Now down 42-32, Prairie City called a timeout with 1:03 left looking to make a late run. Tucker Wright hit a field goal to bring the hosts to within eight points at 42-34, but there just wasn’t enough time left on the clock for a Prairie City rally.

Imbler called timeout following Wright’s basket with 19.1 seconds left, ultimately holding Prairie/City Burnt River scoreless in the final seconds to leave Prairie City with a 43-34 win.

Wes Voigt led Prairie City/Burnt River on offense, finishing with 11 points, six of which he scored in the first quarter. Cayden Howard and Tucker Wright both chipped in six points for the Panthers in defeat.

The defeat was Prairie City/Burnt River’s second of the 13 Mile Shootout after a close 45-47 loss to Adrian on Friday, Dec. 15, at Grant Union High School during the Shootout’s opening day. The Panthers are now 3-5 on the season without having played a league game thus far.

The team will look to get back into the win column when they visit Powder Valley on Thursday, Dec. 21. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.