Panthers scratch out more wins

As the Saratoga Panthers enter the regular season, fresh off their holiday break, they appear eager to prove that their showing at the 2020 1A State Championship was not a one-off event. 

On January 7, the Panthers had a windswept victory as they were hosted by the Southeast Cyclones for a second time this season. Then, on Friday, Saratoga hosted and hobbled the 2A Shoshoni Wranglers with a nearly 30 point lead.

"Overall, I was pleased with how we played against Southeast and Shoshoni. Coming out of Christmas break I knew we would be a little rusty and out of shape, and we were, but the boys played through it," said Jason Williams, head coach of the Saratoga Panthers. "Those were two good games to get us ready to open up conference action."

Panthers vs. Cyclones

When Southeast hosted the Panthers on December 12, Saratoga would come away with a 15 point lead over the Cyclones. While Southeast would manage to close that gap when they hosted the Panthers for a rematch, they would ultimately be unable to blow past Saratoga.

Senior Teegan Love would lead the Panthers with 26 points and 4 rebounds. The Bartlett Bunch, consisting of senior Gavin and sophomore twins Grant and Grady, also worked the Cyclones' homecourt to Saratoga's advantage. Grady followed Love with 15 points, 3 steals and 3 assists. Grant scored 6 points and had 6 rebounds and was followed by Gavin with 6 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. Senior Noah Rimmer also contributed with 6 points and 8 rebounds.

Saratoga would take the wind out of the Cyclones with a final score of 58-47.

Panthers vs. Wranglers

Following their win against Southeast on Thursday, the Panthers hosted Shoshoni on Saturday. Despite playing in a higher conference, the Wranglers would be unable to keep up with Saratoga. While Shoshoni was able to throw points on the board in the opening minutes of the game, the Panthers were quick to correct course and gain the lead as they ended the 1st quarter 12-7.

Throughout all four quarters, the duo of Grant and Grady Bartlett would often put the Wranglers on the defensive and with some frustration as the twins used their speed and height to their advantage with a number of steals and turnovers. In the 2nd quarter, this pushed the Panthers to a lead of 36-20 over Shoshoni as they went into halftime.

When they returned in the 3rd quarter, Saratoga continued their lead over the Wranglers. While some errors on the part of the Panthers allowed Shoshoni to score, it would do little to overcome the deficit created by Saratoga. Going into the final quarter, the Panthers would still lead 53-32 and would put up another 20 points in the final eight minutes.

Love led the Panthers against Shoshoni with 17 points and 4 rebounds and was followed by Rimmer with 14 points and 6 rebounds. Gavin scored 13 points against the Wranglers and had 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Grant scored 6 points and had 6 rebounds and 5 steals while Grady scored 6 points and had 4 steals.

The final score was 73-45.

Following these two wins, the Saratoga Panthers are 6-0 for the season and begin conference play this weekend as they are hosted by the Encampment TIgers, who are also 6-0 for the season.

"As far as Encampment, they play hard, they are very well coached, and they are undefeated," Williams said. "That is going to be a tough game and we are going to need to play a lot better than we did this weekend if we want to get a win in Encampment."

The matchup between the Valley and conference rivals will begin at 6 p.m. on January 15 at Encampment High School.