Panthers take down two

The Saratoga Panthers stretched their legs this past weekend as they took on two non-conference opponents at home and on the road. Both games provided the Panthers an opportunity to get some time on the court and some points on the board ahead of this weekend's games against two conference foes.

On Thursday, Saratoga hosted the Hanna, Elk Mountain, Medicine Bow (HEM) Miners at the Panther Den in an overwhelming win. Then, on Saturday, while the Panthers stalked to Rock River where they took down the Longhorns.

Panthers vs. Miners

Before Saratoga even took the court on Thursday evening, fans of the Panthers were likely aware something was different for this match-up. Grant and Grady Bartlett, the twins who have served as Head Coach Jason Williams' wild cards on the court, were not dressed out for the game. Instead, a number of the junior varsity players-Calvin Condict, Frank Crimmins and Rowdy Alameda among them-were dressed out instead.

This was a conscious choice by Williams as HEM has a grant total of six players on the team this year. With it being a non-conference game, the Saratoga coach took the opportunity to give his less experienced players some time on the court.

"We talked about it before the game that our goal tonight was to get better. That's our goal for every non-conference game and we feel like we did. A lot of the younger guys got a lot of varsity time. Really, really happy with them. (They) executed well, got a little bit rattled and then came out of it," said Williams. "It was good stuff."

If any of the varsity players were bothered by sitting the bench at a home game, they didn't show it. According to Williams, the more experienced Panthers were supportive of the idea as the season inches ever closer to the regional and state tournaments.

"They were really supportive of it because they also know, as the season goes on, there might be games where they might be sitting on the bench," Williams said. "Not because of the coach's choice but because of fouls or whatever it may be. They understand that we're going to need these guys to step into these roles. We'd rather have them cut their teeth tonight than in a regional play-in game."

The game was a success for the junior varsity Panthers. Once they were let out on the hardwood, they quickly took ownership of their home court and found their tempo. What might have appeared to be a close game at the beginning, as the Miners made the first few points of the night, quickly turned in Saratoga's favor. Their substantial leads were helped along by a number of 3-point shots from Crimmins and Condict.

The final score was 70-38, giving the Panthers their first win of the weekend.

Panthers vs. Longhorns

Two days later, the Panthers hit the road to Rock River to face another 1A Southeast team. While the game against the Longhorns may not have been as high scoring as the one against HEM on Thursday, it was still a tally in the win column for Saratoga.

The final score was 41-16.

With the two wins this past week, the Saratoga Panthers are now 4-3 for the season and 1-0 in conference play. They'll get the chance at more conference games this weekend as they host the Farson-Eden Pronghorns at 4 p.m. on January 21 and the Cokeville Panthers at noon on January 22.

"They're going to be a handful. Been watching some of their games. Farson, they're really well coached, really well disciplined. They play hard-nosed defense. They're a team you can't make many mistakes against," said Williams. "Cokeville, the same way. They've got a lot of athletes. We're really going to have to be on top of our game for both of those."