Panthers return to Casper

Saratoga heads back to State Tournament as No. 1 West seed

Since the Saratoga Panthers returned to the Valley as the 1A State Champions last season, fans have been anxious for the Panthers to make a return to Casper. 

Despite a season filled with restrictions, a two week quarantine and the general difficulty of the 1A Southwest Conference Saratoga will walk back into the Ford Wyoming Center. The Panthers do so as the No. 1 seeded team in the 1A West following a 3-0 weekend. 

On Thursday, Saratoga hosted the 1A Southwest Regional Quad where they fended off the Cokeville Panthers and the Farson-Eden Pronghorns. Those two wins sent them to Lander, where they faced the Dubois Rams for another win. While Saratoga currently is the top team in the 1A West, last year proved that anything can happen in Casper.

Panthers vs. Panthers

Saratoga and Cokeville only met once during the regular season when the orange-and-black Panthers hosted the purple-and-gold. Saratoga secured a win against Cokeville at that time with a nearly 30 point lead as the final score was 60-36.

When Cokeville entered the Panther Den on Thursday afternoon, it was their first time playing on Saratoga's homecourt since the season began. Though the visiting Panthers may have been hoping for a win, especially with the new "one-and-done" rules of the regional bracket, the hosting Panthers were ready to defend against Cokeville.

"We felt like the boys played very well at the Southwest Conference Quadrant on Thursday," said Jason Williams, head coach of the Saratoga Panthers. "Since our first round game was so important, I was concerned that we might be tight but the boys came out and executed their game plan and we were able to build a lead and play our nerves out."

In the 1st quarter of the game, Saratoga was quick to throw points up on the board as they kept Cokeville's scoring low. While the orange-and-black Panthers tried to put up a good defense, the purple-and-gold Panthers put up 12 points, which included a slam dunk from senior Noah Rimmer that energized the Saratoga fans.

As the first half of the game elapsed, it seemed that Cokeville couldn't keep up with the energy that the hosting Panthers had on the court. The 1st quarter saw Saratoga keep the visiting Panthers to 5 points while the 2nd quarter saw the hosting Panthers put up 16 points and keep Cokeville to a quarter of that with 4 points.

The score at halftime was 28-9.

Upon returning to the hardwood, Cokeville appeared to have gathered themselves and provided both better offense and better defense in the second half. It appeared to be a case of "too little, too late" as Saratoga maintained their lead. As if to punctuate their lead over the visiting Panthers, senior Teegan Love joined Rimmer in dunking against Cokeville.

The 3rd quarter ended with a score of 44-21 and the final quarter saw Head Coach Jason Williams replace his entire starting line-up. Even with five junior varsity players on the court, there was little that the visiting Panthers could appear to do against the overwhelming lead established by Saratoga.

Senior Teegan Love led Saratoga against Cokeville as he scored 20 points and had 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Gavin Bartlett followed with 12 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists and Noah Rimmer also scored 12 points and had 9 rebounds. Grant Bartlett scored 7 points and had 6 rebounds.

The final score was 59-33.

Panthers vs. Pronghorns

Less than a week after securing a win against the Pronghorns during the regular season, Saratoga would play Farson-Eden again in the Quad Championship game. The Pronghorns had just dealt a loss to the Encampment Tigers and were looking for another win before heading to Lander to determine seeding for state.

"The championship game against Farson was hard fought, just like we knew it would be. Farson plays great defense and we know our defense had to be on point that game as well," Williams said. "The boys played through tired legs and I couldn't have been more proud of them."

In the opening minutes of the game, it looked as if it would be yet another difficult match as the two teams went point-for-point on the scoreboard. Eventually, however, the Panthers were able to secure a lead as they ended the 1st quarter 12-8.

While the Pronghorns made the first basket of the game, Saratoga would make the first basket of the 2nd quarter to continue their lead. As the Panthers put up 8 points on the board, they would keep Farson-Eden to 5 points and end the first half with a 7 point. Saratoga went into halftime leading 20-13.

Returning to the hardwood, the Panthers continued their pace as they sunk their claws into Farson-Eden. While the Pronghorns put up 7 points in the 3rd quarter, Saratoga put up 11 points of their own due to a handful of 3-point shots. As the final quarter began, the Panthers led 31-20 over Farson-Eden.

The 4th quarter saw some of the lowest scoring of the game as Saratoga put up 5 points and the Pronghorns managed 4 points of their own. In the final four minutes of the game, the Panthers kept Farson-Eden to only a single point and, as the game ended, Saratoga would lead by 12 points.

Love led, again, as he scored 19 points and had 5 rebounds while Rimmer scored 10 points and had 4 rebounds. Gavin Bartlett scored 7 points and had 5 rebounds and 4 assists while Grady Bartlett had 3 assists and 3 steals.

The final score was 36-24.

Panthers vs. Rams

Two days later, Saratoga traveled to Lander to determine who would enter the State Championship as the top seed in the 1A West. On the same day that the Panthers downed Farson-Eden, Dubois had dealt a 20 point loss to the Burlington Huskies. 

Saratoga would deal a larger loss to the Rams.

"We actually played them the first game of the season back in December, but we know they had improved considerably since then," said Williams. 

When the Panthers had hosted Dubois early in the season, they had dealt a devastating 35 point loss to the Rams with a score of 75-40. While both teams entered the game as the No. 1 seeds in their conferences, it would be the Panthers who would come out on top as they won the game with a 25 point lead.

"We struggled a bit in the 2nd quarter but I was proud of how the boys bounced back in the second half and were able to earn a solid victory and win the West Regional title," Williams said.

Love scored 24 points against the Rams and had 4 rebounds while Gavin Bartlett scored 12 points and had 8 assists. Gardy Bartlett followed with 12 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists and Rimmer scored 8 points and had 8 rebounds. Grant Bartlett scored 7 points and had 4 rebounds and 4 assists.

The final score was 67-42.

Securing the top spot in the 1A West Conference, Saratoga will start their tournament play today in Casper as they face the No. 4 East Guernsey-Sunrise Vikings at 1:30 p.m. at the Ford Wyoming Center. The winner of that game will go on to play at 9 p.m. against the winner of the match between Farson-Eden and the Southeast Cyclones. The loser will play in the consolation semifinals at 10:30 a.m. in the consolation semifinals at Casper College.

 

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