The Saratoga Panthers started off their season with three losses at the Winter Classic basketball tournament in Burns this weekend.
They lost 41-56 against the Lingle/Fort Laramie Doggers Friday afternoon. The Panthers were leading at half-time against the Shoshoni Wranglers, but lost 46-57. The Wind River Cougars, a team that won all of their games last weekend, beat the Panthers 64-83.
Overall, the team played a very good defense, Saratoga Panthers Head Coach Joe Johnston said.
Foul trouble with two of the Panther starters hurt the team in the first game against the Doggers, Johnston said. “They were reaching instead of moving their feet.”
Johnston said the third quarter in the first two games kept them from making progress on the court. Against Lingle/Fort Laramie, the Panthers only scored 4 points in the third quarter, and 2 points in the third quarter against the Wranglers.
Johnston made some changes during half-time of the final game against the Cougars and it paid off, Johnston said.
“I should have made the changes the first two games,” Johnston said. The Panthers scored 20 points during the third quarter in the game against Wind River.
During the first quarter, the Panthers were down 12-30, but kept up with Wind River the rest of the game, Johnston said. “They played right with (Wind River).” Johnston was pleased that the gap in points did not spread throughout the game.
Wind River put on a lot of pressure and plays press, Johnston said, but the Panthers had great stops, boxed out the players and played hard.
The teams played at the tournament were some of the best. “It stinks to lose, but it’s better to lose to better teams,” Johnston said.
The team played well, Johnston said, particularly in the last three quarters of the final game. “They played 100 percent all of the time.”
The Panthers never gave up, Johnston said, even when they were down by several points. The team was plagued with turnovers, having 31 against Wind River and 25 against Shoshoni.
There were some jitters, as this was the first game of the season, and the Panthers normally plays in the Carbon County Classic against 1A teams. This is the first year they have played in the Winter Classic in Burns.
Wind River is ranked number one in their conference by WyoPreps.
In preparation for the game against Hanna/Elk Mountain/Medicine Bow (HEM), Johnsston said he will work on the help-side defense, ball pressure and denying the ball. “We just need to take care of the ball,” Johnston said.
On Friday, the Panthers play at home against HEM. The junior varsity boys play at 4 p.m., followed by the varsity girls and then the varsity boys. Since there is not an HEM JV girls team, the varsity girls will be playing earlier than usual.
Reader Comments(0)