The Panthers fall in the 1A State Championship Finals

Without question, the Saratoga Panthers had an amazing season despite their tough loss to the Upton Bobcats, 55-36. The Panthers’ loss to the Bobcats is nothing to be ashamed of.

Upton had only one loss the entire season and it was to the Hot Springs Bisons 62-45 on January 12. Since then, the Bobcats continued winning in conference and non-conference play, regionals and state. Upton’s season was almost perfect and they became the Southwest 1A Killers, defeating every team in the Southwest 1A Conference.

The Saratoga Panthers’ road to just getting to the State Championship Tournament was a challenging task. After getting a 3rd Place finish in the 1A West Regional Tournament, the Panthers knew they had their work cut out for them, especially facing the always-tough Cokeville Panthers for the fourth time.

Panthers vs. Cyclones

The Southeast Cyclones are known to give any team a good fight whenever they are on the court and playing against the Saratoga Panthers was no exception to the rule.

Saratoga had some deep struggles early in the first half but managed to come back.

In the final seconds of the 4th quarter, Saratoga Panther’s Finn Rolseth would pull a whammy on the Cyclones when he hit a 3-point shot to give Saratoga a 48-47 victory and another shot at the Cokeville Panthers.

Jason Williams, head coach of the Saratoga Panthers, said this was one of the most amazing moments he has ever witnessed both as a coach and player. He said this game will live with him forever.

“The last minute and a half of the game was a roller coaster of emotions,” Williams said. “Fischer Williams hit a tough 3-pointer with just over a minute left to tie the game and, then, with the score tied, we were called for a foul with 3.6 seconds left.”

When Coach Williams called for a time out he knew his team was going to pull it off. He said he saw that look of determination that his team wanted to move to the next round.

“Southeast converted both free throws and then, fortunately for us, called a timeout,” Williams said. “We were able to set up a play designed to get either Finn or Fischer the ball for the last shot. It didn’t work quite the way we drew it up but Finn got the ball on the move towards our basket and he made it count. It was the most exciting end to a game I have been a part of in over 30 years of coaching and playing.”

Saratoga vs. Cokeville

The number four became the Saratoga Panther’s lucky number and it happened at the right time. Cokeville has been a thorn in Saratoga’s side all season. After three straight losses to the Panthers, Saratoga finally got the monkey off their back when they defeated Cokeville 70-62.

The Saratoga Panthers found a way to slow down Cokevilles’s Jack Dayton and Andrew Jackman. Williams said both he and his assistant coach, Joe Johnston, worked together on watching films to set up a great game plan.

“We spent last week focusing on Southeast, knowing we would likely play Cokeville in the semifinals if we won, but also feeling like we knew Cokeville pretty well,” Williams said. “After the Southeast game, Coach Johnston and I each watched our regional semifinal game against Cokeville, but we just knew we had to play our style of basketball to win. We focused on rebounding, limiting turnovers, and making each offensive possession count”.

Panthers vs. Bobcats

Even though it was a tough loss to the Upton Bobcats, Saratoga can still keep their heads high knowing they did the best they could. The Bobcats ran off with the 1A State Championship in a 55-36 victory.

Upton just simply played every Southwest 1A Conference team like a bowling match where they hit every pin and turned it into a perfect game. Although Upton only had one loss the entire season they were as close to perfect as they could get.

The Saratoga Panthers found out when you play a team that is not easy to beat, you have nothing to be ashamed of. Williams said despite the loss to the Bobcats, he sees a lot of the positive and less of the negative.

“We talked about the fact that no one even expected us to be there in the first place,” Williams said. “From the beginning of the season, we have talked about how the scoreboard does not define us as a team. Saturday night was a great example of that. I feel like we have a lot to build on moving forward, especially the experience that we were able to get at the top level.”

Saratoga Panthers 48 Southeast Cyclones 47

Fischer Williams: 15 Points, 5 Rebounds, 1 Steal, 2 Assist

Finn Rolseth: 13 Points, 5 Rebounds, 1 Steal, 2 Assist

Snowdon Willams: 8 Points, 3 Rebounds, 1 Steal

Hazen Williams: 4 Points, 5 Rebounds, 1 Steal

Griffin Bartlett: 4 Points, 5 Rebounds, 1 Steal

Saratoga 70 Cokeville 62

Snowdon Willams: 21 Points, 14 Rebounds, 3 Assist, 2 Steals

Finn Rolseth: 16 Points, 12 Rebounds, 1 Assist

Fischer Willams: 14 Points, 2 Rebounds

Hazen Willams: 10 Points, 2 Rebounds, 1 Assist

Upton 55 Saratoga 36

Finn Rolseth: 14 Points, 9 Rebounds, 1 Assist, 1 Steal

Hazen Williams: 9 Points, 3 Rebounds, 1 Assist

Fischer Williams: 5 Points, 5 Rebounds