Panthers raise heart rates

Watching the Saratoga Panthers varsity team on Saturday was like watching the Denver Broncos, stressful.

The Panthers (0-4 conference, 1-12 overall) came out fighting against the Cyclones (2-1, 5-9) keeping the game tied over the first four minutes before pulling ahead with 3:46 left in the first quarter. The Panthers tied the game at 16 all with 2:33 left in the first quarter and held their ground until the Cyclones drained two from the line with 55.5 seconds left. The Panthers never caught back up. After trading point runs back and forth the first half ended with the Panthers down 21-30.

Saratoga outscored Southeast by 6 points in the third quarter with three short runs, but were still down 37-42 going into the fourth quarter. A defensive battle ensued but the Cyclones were hot from the line and came away with a 14-point win, 49-63.

Panthers Head Coach Jason Williams said that his defense played well, but the Cyclones were hitting their shots. Williams pointed out that they kept the press against Southeast and Aaron Kerbs, who had been sick all week, and Morgan Rempel kept pressure on the Cyclones the whole game. The Cyclones may have had their best game of the year against the Panthers.

Jace Berger had a strong scoring performance against Southeast with 25 points, Cameron Lehr had 13 points and Jerriah Gonzales scored 8. Berger also had 8 rebounds and Lehr had six. Rodrigo Escobedo had nine assists against Southeast continuing his role leading the team in assists.

On Friday, Saratoga took a long bus ride to Lusk (3-1, 5-11). Williams said the boys started out strong, which was a focus for the team last week. The Panthers also played tough defense both boxing out their opponents and pulling down rebounds.

Williams pointed to a couple of let downs in the second and third quarters which led to the Tigers taking the lead. Even with a good run in the fourth quarter by the Panthers, Lusk was hitting free throws and the Tigers took a 40-52 victory.

Berger had a good game, shooting well from the outside, scoring 11 points. Both Lehr and Darian Williams scored 8 points while Gonzales put up 7. Berger put another double-double in the books by adding 16 rebounds to his stats. Lehr and Escobedo each had eight rebounds and Gonzales pulled five from the boards.

The Panthers will have two more chances in conference play this week as they take on the Burns Broncs (1-3, 7-10) and the 2A Southeast-leading Pine Bluffs Hornets (3-0, 14-2). The away game at Burns tips off on Friday at 6:30 p.m. and the home game against Pine Bluffs on Saturday starts at 3:00 p.m. for the boy's varsity squad.