The Saratoga men’s varsity basketball team evened their record to two and two with a 50 to 37 win at home this past weekend. The North Park Wildcats met the Panther team Saturday in a game that Saratoga dominated from the tip.
The Panthers came out of the locker room ready to play, jumping out to a 14 to six lead by the end of the first quarter. But, a determined Wildcat team gave the Panthers a run for their money in the second quarter, scoring 23 unanswered points.
“That was not a good quarter for us,” head coach Josh Sandlian said. “We moved from our man-to-man coverage into a 1-3-1 trapping defense and it just didn’t work for us.”
Going into the locker room, North Park had trimmed Saratoga’s lead to three points.
“Unfortunately their good shooters got good looks at the basket in our 1-3-1, and their boys were consistent at the free throw line,” Sandlian said. “We’re pretty good in man-to-man.”
The Panthers returned to that game plan in the second half, and the Wildcats only scored eight more points total to the final whistle.
“Take away the second quarter, and its apparent we were in control the whole time,” Sandlian said of the overall effort of his Panther team.
The offensive push of the Panthers was evenly distributed throughout the team with senior Ben Gates leading the night with 14 points from the field. Braxton Schwartzkopf and Daniel Kerbs also contributed with 8 points each, followed closely by Cameron Collamer scoring seven points.
Gates led the team, not only in scoring, but also with nine rebounds and three assists.
“Ben is consistent with 10-14 points per game and, as a four-year letterman, knows what it takes to get it done,” Sandlian said.
The Panthers tucked a solid win under their belt Saturday demonstrating an ability to adjust midway through a game.
Still, with a full season ahead, there is room for improvement, according to Sandlian.
“We need our big guys, Jake Fourman and Ben Falk to become more aggressive and get to the foul line more often,” he said.
Fourman made the rounds defensively, coming out of the game with two blocked shots, two steals and seven defensive rebounds.
The first four games gave two other starters, Ryan Malone and Cameron Collamer, some time to find their rhythm before stepping into conference play.
“We’re waiting for Malone and Collamer to get hot,” Sandlian said. “When they are on, they both have good consistency.”
Increasing their free throw percentage is another weapon the Panthers need to sharpen as the season builds.
“We’re shooting 61 percent from the line and that has us leading the conference, but we need to be shooting 70 percent consistently,” Sandlian said.
“Our kids are aggressive,” Sandlian said. “They get in and hang with anybody up to this point.”
Saratoga will get a chance to test their mettle in their first conference games this weekend against teams that will represent their biggest challenge yet in the season.
“Lusk leads the conference so far in the season, and the next two games will be a good indication of where we are as a team,” Sandlian said.
The Panthers travel to Lusk on Friday and then to Pine Bluffs on Saturday.
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