Knocking the rust off

The Saratoga Panthers had just one game coming out of the winter break, but added yet another win under their belt as they prepare to enter conference play. On Saturday, the Panthers hit the road and were hosted by the Rock River Longhorns. The night before, Rock River had been dealt a loss while in Encampment and would be given another one by Saratoga.

“The Rock River game was a good game for us and gave us a chance to knock off the Christmas rust,” said Jason Williams, head coach for the Panthers. “I was pleased that the boys were able to come out and play with intensity after the long break.”

Playing against the Longhorns, it appeared that there was very little rust to remove for Saratoga. The Panthers would end the game against Rock River with a 41-point lead with a final score of 64-23.

Junior Teegan Love led the Panthers with 19 points and 4 assists and was followed by senior Menphis Smith with 13 points and 5 rebounds and senior Noah Rimmer with 11 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Senior Logan Seahorn scored 9 points and had 3 assists and 4 steals and junior Gavin Bartlett scored 5 points and had 2 assists.

Following their win against Rock River, the Saratoga Panthers are now 9-0 for the season and will enter conference play this week as they host the Encampment Tigers, who are 10-0 for their season.

“Thursday’s game will be an important game for us, obviously,” Williams said. “Encampment is a very good team and has been playing very well. They are the team to beat in our conference. It will be a fun night and it will be hard to find a 1A boys game in the state this season with more talent on the floor than this matchup. Encampment is very talented and very well coached, so this will be a big challenge for us.”

The Saratoga Panthers will face-off against the Encampment Tigers beginning at 7:30 p.m. on January 9 at Saratoga Middle High School.