Panthers look to conference games

"I'm really proud of these boys. I'm really proud to be their coach. They play hard every game and that shows their character," was coach Jason Williams' takeaway from last week's basketball games.

On Jan. 19 the Panthers boy's varsity team (0-2 conference, 1-10 overall) played at Hanna-Elk Mountain-Medicine Bow (6-5) in a game that got to within one point. In the end the Miners bested the Panthers 37-49. Williams reported that after a slow start the Panthers fought bravely in the second half but just couldn't make the win happen.

Friday's game against the Little Snake River Rattlers (1-1, 5-9) in Baggs started faster for the Panthers with a close half-time score. The Rattlers found their feet in the second half going up on the Panthers by 10 points. In a heart-stopping fourth quarter the Panthers came to within 1 point in the last minute of the game. Saratoga had the ball at the end of the game but could not get the shot to fall. Coach Williams stated his pride in the boys for taking the game to its end in a gym that is tough to play in when the Baggs crowd is riled up.

Jace Berger and Cameron Lehr led the Panthers scoring with 22 and 16 points against Baggs. On the boards, Berger had 10 rebounds, Lehr with nine and Rodrigo Escobedo took down nine balls.

The away game at the south end of the Valley for Encampment's (2-0, 12-1) homecoming was a different experience. "Encampment is a team you have to play really well to beat. Encampment is a team you can't have any let downs against," Williams said. Possibly a little tired from the Baggs game the night before, the Panthers suffered from a first quarter 6-point run by the Tigers and never came back. Even with strong second and third quarters, the Panthers headed into the fourth quarter down by 15 points. Scoring only one basket in the fourth quarter the game ended 45-78 in favor of Encampment.

Berger had another double-double against Encampment with 19 points and 19 rebounds. Lehr scored 12 points.

Looking forward, Williams said, "The great thing about playing a really great team like Encampment is that it gets us ready for the conference games." The Panthers will face two 2A Southeast conference opponents in Lusk (2-1, 4-10) and Southeast (1-1, 3-9) this weekend. Games that Williams said are winnable for the Panthers.

The Panthers play away at Lusk with a start time of 6:30 p.m. on Friday and host Southeast starting at 4 p.m. on Saturday.