Panthers keep top spot for regionals

The Saratoga Panthers are heading into the 1A West Regional Tournament as the No. 1 Southwest Seed following a tight game with the Little Snake River Valley (LSRV) Rattlers on February 11 in the Panther Den.

While the Panthers were nearly undefeated in conference wins as the regular season came to a close, nothing in the 1A Southwest Conference is guaranteed. On a nearly weekly basis, the rankings of the conference can see drastic changes as top teams fall to the bottom.

"We knew it was a big game coming in-a win would mean the No. 1 seed in the southwest for the regional tournament," said Head Coach Jason Williams, "and Snake River had a game plan to try to slow the game down on us."

While the final score between the top two teams in their conference was well into the double digits, the halftime score of 14-11 showed the Rattlers' attempts to slow the game down. When the Panthers were hosted by LSRV on January 28, Saratoga had dealt a homecourt loss to the Rattlers with a final score of 64-46 and it seemed they were determined to prevent another significant lead.

"I was really proud of how the boys kept their composure in our game Friday night against LSRV," Williams said. "The boys stepped up their defense to put pressure on them and they were very effective at it and it helped us get into more of a rhythm in the second half."

Leading the Panthers against LSRV was Grady Bartlett with 14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Grant Bartlett followed with 9 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. J.D Buttle scored 6 points and had 6 rebounds and Kelton Johnson also scored 6 points.

"The boys did a great job of grinding out a win in a physical, hard fought game," said Williams.

The final score was 42-36, Saratoga.

Following their final regular season game, the Panthers are 12-4 for the season and 7-1 in conference play. Going into the regional tournament, Saratoga will be facing the Ten Sleep Pioneers, who are ranked 4th in the 1A Northwest with a conference record of 1-5.

The quarterfinal regional game between Saratoga and the Pioneers will begin at 2 p.m. on February 24 at the Lander High School Field House. 

The winner of the matchup between the Panthers and Ten Sleep will go on to face the winner of the game between the Farson-Eden Pronghorns and the Burlington Huskies.