Two point turnout

Panthers play Tigers tough in two point loss, head to pigtail play-in game in Rawlins Tuesday

It was a battle of wills on Thursday evening as the Saratoga Panthers hosted their Valley and conference rivals, the Encampment Tigers (20-1, 7-1). Despite the best efforts of the Panthers, the match would result in a Valentine's Day heartbreaker as they lost their final home game in the final seconds by a 2 point margin. The next night, Saratoga had one final chance to avoid a pigtail game as they were hosted by the Little Snake River Valley (LSRV) Rattlers (10-10, 2-6). With a spot in the 1A West Regionals on the line, LSRV dealt the Panthers a loss for their final game of the regular season as Saratoga fell by 11 points.

Saratoga vs.

Encampment

When Saratoga was hosted by the Tigers on Jan. 4, they were dealt their first conference loss of the season as they fell to Encampment, 58-77. The rematch between the big cats of the Valley was originally scheduled for Jan. 31, but, due to other games needing rescheduled, fell on Feb. 14.

Throughout the entire game, the most Saratoga would trail Encampment was 4 points, keeping up with the No. 1 ranked Tigers. The Panthers, intent on a victory for their last home game of the season, provided both good offense and defense as they tried to keep Encampment from having a similar lead to their first game.

By the end of the first quarter, the Panthers trailed by 3 points, but would fight to lead by 1 point as they headed into halftime. The second half saw much of the same as Saratoga and Encampment went basket for basket. More than once, black and white jerseys mixed beneath the basket as the Tigers and Panthers fought for rebounds.

In the fourth quarter, Teegan Love pulled a muscle and looked as if he would have to sit out the rest of the game. Walking it off, however, Love returned to the court.

As the game came to a close, it looked as if going into overtime was a very real possibility. Trailing by 2 points, Saratoga went in for a final basket to tie the score with nine seconds left and, ultimately, missed. With only a second left, Encampment went to the freethrow line, but missed both shots. In the final second, Sam Schneider made a Hail Mary shot from across the court as the buzzer rang. The ball, unfortunately, missed its mark.

With the final score 60-62, the Saratoga boys headed to the bench with tears in their eyes as a hard fought match came to a close.

"I told the boys in the locker room that I am just really proud of them. They played their tails off, put themselves in the position at the end to win it and that's all we can ask for," said Jason Williams, head coach of the Saratoga Panthers. "It's the last home game, we really, really wanted to win it. As far as conference standings, the game tomorrow is the one we really need."

Love, despite an injury, led the Panthers against Encampment with 24 points and 13 rebounds. Following Love was Schneider with 22 points and 8 rebounds while Gavin Bartlett scored 6 points, had 8 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 steals.

Saratoga vs. LSRV

On the following day, the Panthers braved the winter roads to head to Baggs for the final game of the regular season. When Saratoga hosted the Rattlers on Jan. 24, they won with a 17 point margin and ended the game 70-53. Before Friday, LSRV did not have a single conference win.

"Looking at their record, they don't look like much. We also know that we're playing their gym and it's a tough place to play and they know the situation just as well as we do," said Williams, following the game against Encampment.

With regionals less than a week away as the Panthers were hosted by LSRV, it was the Rattlers that would come out on top as they handed Saratoga yet another loss as the game ended with a score of 59-70.

"We knew LSRV was going to be a desperate team and they played that way on Friday," Williams said. "We came out well and built a good lead in the first quarter, but we went really flat in the second quarter. We simply didn't have the same energy that we had the previous three games and LSRV took advantage of that."

Getting a win under the belt, LSRV forced the Panthers into a pigtail game that will have taken place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Rawlins High School. Following their game against Saratoga, the Rattlers got another win against the Cokeville Panthers on Saturday and put LSRV and the Panthers at the same conference record of 2-6.

"It was a disappointing loss to be sure, but our season isn't over yet and we need to bounce back and use that loss as motivation for our play-in game with them," said Williams.

Love scored 14 points against the Rattlers and had 13 rebounds. Greg Swanson scored 13 points and had 7 rebounds while Sam Schnieder and Menphis Smith both scored 11 points with Schnieder grabbing 14 rebounds.

Following their 0-2 weekend, the Saratoga Panthers are 10-9 for the season and 2-6 for conference. The outcome of the pigtail game will determine whether or not they will make it to the 1A West Regional Tournament. Should they make it to regionals, the Panthers will face off against the No. 1 Northwest Burlington Huskies.

 

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