Panthers shut out in Shoshoni

The Saratoga Panthers boy’s basketball team (1-4, 1-0) braved the weather to get to the Shoshoni tournament last weekend only to lose two games.

Their first scheduled game against Rocky Mountain on Friday afternoon was postponed due to the storm. Friday night the Panthers met the Shoshoni Wranglers (7-0) for the second time this season. While Saratoga Head Coach Jason Williams said, “I felt like we played Shoshoni pretty well,” the game resulted in the Panthers second loss to the Wranglers (37-60).

Coach Williams noted that the Panthers were missing starters Darian Williams and Cameron Lehr. Darian Williams received a concussion during the Burns tournament and there is no prediction on when he will return to the court. Lehr was out of town for the holidays and should be back for games in January.

The Panther’s big man, Jace Berger, had 15 points against the Wranglers Friday night and Morgan Rempel scored 11. Even with the power of Berger and Rempel’s scoring the Panthers just couldn’t keep up with Shoshoni.

During Saturday’s game against Cokeville (6-0), Coach Williams said his Panthers came out a little flat but steadily improved until the fourth quarter. “The score doesn’t show it, but I feel like we are a better team than they are,” Coach Williams said of the Cokeville game. While Berger scored 21 against the Cokeville Panthers, Rempel and Rod Escobedo were the next highest Saratoga netters with 6 and 5 points respectively. Coach Williams said the wheels came off the Saratoga boys in the fourth quarter which led to a 60-38 loss.

After a Christmas break in the schedule, Saratoga Panthers will host the Encampment Tigers in a cross-Valley rivalry and home opener for the Panthers. Panther coach Williams said, “It is always exciting to play Encampment.”

The coach said the Panthers will be working on offensive execution and toning the defense before the Encampment game. The injury status of Darian Williams will also be revaluated in the first week of January to see if he is eligible for the Encampment game. Williams return would add an all-around player who can put points on the board for the Panthers.

The Saratoga Panthers host the Encampment Tigers on Friday, Jan. 8 with tip off for the varsity boys at 7 p.m.