Panthers remain undefeated

The Saratoga Panther High School basketball team continued their winning ways this week and have a perfect record on the season.

Their game against Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow (HEM) went well for the Panthers. They won the game on January 10 by a score of 61 to 31.

It was noticed by the HEM head coach Cliff Jones how Saratoga did not try to run up the score. Williams said he asks his players to be well behaved on the court because he knows there are young children who watch the games and he wants the Saratoga boys to be a positive example.

"Winning games is great, but the true legacy that these boys will leave is youngsters seeing how to treat each other and opponents with respect," Williams said. "I realized this when my son, who was four at the time, was more involved in watching individual players and how they were on court versus the score. I saw through my son's eyes, it is key for a player to be on his best behavior so little kids can see good examples of what basketball can be."

The next game against Little Snake River Valley (LSRV) on January 13, was a game down to the final seconds. The Panthers came out on top by one point. The score was 50 to 49.

"We know there is a target on our back being undefeated," Panther head coach Jason Williams said. "LSRV is a team that is athletic, well coached and proved they can play as hard as any team in the state."

Williams said the LSRV game almost came down to having the ball last.

"We got some lucky bounces, which helped make the difference in the game," Williams said. "I knew this was going to be a game that was going to be exciting and I told the boys to enjoy it, because these games don't happen often. Win or lose, these types of games are really fun."

The game against Rock River was one where the Panthers pounced early and the Longhorns never really had a chance. The score was 68 to 25.

"I don't like to run up scores, but that one got away from me before I realized how far we were up," Williams said. "But it was the game after Baggs, and the adrenaline was still up. Plus we have some big games next week with Cokeville and Farson-Eden and I think they are getting ready for those games coming up."

Williams was pleased how balanced the scoring was over the weekend and was happy how Frank Crimmins came off the bench and brought his best.

"We have to bring our best to our practices and our best to the games," Williams said. "We may be undefeated, but we have to look at improving something every week. This target on our back means we have no choice but to bring our best each week.

The Panthers play Cokeville on January 20 in Cokeville.