The District 5B tournament held over the weekend proved what many of us already believed: it is very tough to win with the strong teams in the district. Both of the Panther teams won two games and lost two games in the three-day tournament and both ended up in the Saturday night action. Only two teams travel to the divisional tournament this year out of 5B and that really made it tough to advance.
The Panther boys started the tournament on Thursday with a game with Manhattan. The two teams were tied in conference standings and had split in head to head games during the year. Noah Fader put the Panthers up 3-0 50 seconds into the game, and the Panthers took a 9-7 lead with baskets by Josh Eckmann and Hayden Guisti late in the quarter. Manhattan tied it at 9 at the end of one and hit a three starting the second. Lincoln Leary answered for the Panthers when he connected on a pair of free throws and the teams stayed close, with Eckmann finishing the half with a three to give the Panthers an 18- 16 halftime lead. The third was slow with both teams struggling to find the range. Once again Eckmann ended the quarter with a three, and the Panthers held a 24-21 lead going into the final quarter. The Panthers were up 34-31 with 1:17 left, so the Tigers were forced to try to steal and ultimately foul, and the Panthers took full advantage. Eckmann came through on the free throw line, hitting 5 of 6 to make it 40-31 with 26 seconds left. The Tigers hit a three at the 13 second mark to make it 40-34. Those final 13 seconds were packed with action. Eckmann sank two more free throws, Manhattan buried a three, and Eckmann collected two more free throws to give the Panthers a 44- 37 victory. Eckmann hit 9 of 10 free throws in the last 52 seconds to keep the Panther lead and ended up with 28 points in the fine performance. Fader chipped in 11, Guisti and Leary 2 each, and Bryce Harrington 1.
BOYS MOVE INTO FRIDAY GAME WITH TROJANS The Panther boys found the going tough in their game with Whitehall. Right off the bat Josh Eckmann was called with a charge, Whitehall put in the first nine points, and the Panthers called time out. After regrouping, the Panthers got three points from Fader. The Panther defense held the Trojans to three points the last 4:44 but the offense had trouble making up the distance, and Whitehall led 12-6 after one. The Panther shooting woes continued in the second; six of the 10 Panther points came in the last 1:36 of the quarter with Mead Blake, Nolan Sonsteng and Britton Peterson putting in the Panther points. At the half the Trojans were out front 29-16. Guisti got the Panther scoring started in the third and the JHS boys trailed by 11, 34-23, after free throws by Fader and Eckmann. That didn’t last long, though, as the Trojans knocked down back to back three pointers to end the third up 40-23. Three pointers by Peterson and Eckmann trimmed the lead to 44-29, but that was as close as it would get, with Whitehall taking the win 54-34. Fader was the Panther scor- ing leader with 11 points. Peter- son added 9, Eckmann 7, Blake, Guisti and Payton Loveridge 2 each and Sonsteng 1.
SATURDAY BRINGS IN THE HERDERS The Panther boys took on Big Timber on Saturday morning in a loser out contest. Free throws accounted for the first six Panther points with Lincoln Leary, Hayden Guisti and Britton Peterson each hitting two. A long pass from Josh Eckmann to Guisti, who laid it in, put the Panthers up 8-4 with 2:04 left in the first. Guisti scored again at the end of the first to give the Panthers a 10-6 lead. The Herders came out in the second with the first seven points to go up 13-10. Bryce Harrington stopped their run with a successful free throw, Noah Fader scored and Eckmann hit a three to put the Panthers up 17-14 with 3:14 left. Big Timber answered with a three to tie, but Nolan Sonsteng had a ready answer, hitting back to back three pointers that put the Panthers up 23-17. Guisti closed out the Panther offense for the quarter with a bucket and the panthers held a 25-19 lead at the half. While the defense held the Herders to a mere two points, Fader started the third with a two and Eckmann added an old fashioned three to set the score at 30- 21 at the 5:09 point. Both teams found it tough to score in the quarter with each hitting seven, and the Panthers led 32-26 at the end of three. The Herders got within four, 41-37, but the Panthers held on to take a 48-41 win. The win put the panthers into the Saturday night game for third and fourth and a possibility of a challenge game. District 5B only sends two teams to divisional this year as opposed to the more usual three, something that happens every third year. That means the winner of the consolation game can challenge the second place finisher if they have not already played them in the tourney. Guisti led the Panthers past the Herders with 13 points, followed by Eckmann with 11, Harrington and Fader 7 each, Sonsteng 6, and Leary and Peterson 2 apiece.
CONSOLATION FINAL WITH THREE FORKS The Panther boys took on Three Forks in the consolation game. Eckmann started the scoring, Fader added a pair of free throws, a steal by Hayden Guisti resulted in a free throw, and the Panther lead was 5-0 with 5:43 left in the first. The Panthers were up 9-5 with baskets by Fader and Eckmann, when a steal and score by Eckmann gave them an 11-10 lead at the end of one. The second quarter was a disaster for the Panthers. The ball just would not go in the basket and that would prove to be the difference in the game. Baskets by Fader and Guisti were the only points the Panthers would get. The Wolves, on the other hand, had their best quarter with 20 points and took a 30-15 lead at the half. The Panthers kept pace in the third but just could not get that little edge that would bring them back. Three Forks led 45-29 at the end of three. The Panthers pulled to within 11, 50-39, with baskets by Fader and Harrington and were only down 12 after a three by Eckmann with 3:09 left, but the Wolves closed it out by hitting 6 of 10 free throws to take the win 60-45. That win may prove to be very important for them as Whitehall lost to Townsend in the championship game and since the two teams had not met in the tournament Three Forks can challenge for the right to advance to divisional next week. Eckmann led the Panthers with 16 points. Fader amassed 15, Harrington 8, Guisti 3, Lincoln Leary 2, and Sonsteng 1.
LADIES FACE THE TROJANS The Lady Panthers took on Whitehall two hours later and Whitehall took the early lead with a two. Leah Vossler stole the ball for the Panthers and put up a shot; the ball rolled round the rim a couple of times and came out. Aubree McMaster finally got the Panthers on the scoreboard when she connected on a three, and Callie Warfle scored with 8 seconds left to give the Panthers a 5-4 lead at the end of one. Ellie Evertz started the second quarter with a basket, assist by McMaster, to move up to a 7-4 lead, but Whitehall knocked down two three pointers in a row and went out front, 10-7. The teams were tied at 11 before the Panthers, led by McMaster, closed out the half with a 5-0 run to go up 16-11 at the half. The Panthers increased their lead to nine in the third with Evertz, Hanna Grimsrud, Mc- Master and Paige Yanzick spread- ing the scoring around. The JHS girls were up 30-21 going into the final eight minutes of play. McMaster started the fourth with back to back baskets and the Panthers were up 36-25 on two free throws by Evertz with 4:15 left. Yanzick put in a three to give the Panthers a little more breathing room and they held on for a 43-33 win. McMaster led the scoring with 20, followed by Evertz with 8, Yanzick 7, Leah Vossler 4, and Warfle and Grimsrud 2 apiece.
ON TO THE WOLVES The Lady Panther win over Whitehall put them in the Friday 3:00 p.m. game with regular season champion Three Forks. Leah Vossler hit the first six points of the game and McMaster added a pair of free throws to set the score at 8-5, Panthers, with 3:48 left. The Wolves came back with the next five points to grab the lead, but Yanzick tied it at 10. The turnover bug bit the Panthers in the second quarter and Three Forks took advantage by putting in the next 11 points. Evertz made the first Panther points in the second with a pair of free throws, and McMaster followed with a two and a three to close the gap a little, but when the quarter was over the Wolves had a 33-21 lead. McMaster started the third with a three, and Grimsrud connected on a free throw, keeping the Panthers within striking range at 36-25, Wolves. The Wolves closed out the third with an 11-2 run, though, to go up 47-27. The closest the Panthers could get after that was 51-32 and the number one seeded Wolves went on to win 61-35. The loss sent the Panthers into a Saturday morning loser out contest with Manhattan. McMaster led the Panthers with 13 points, Leah Vossler and Evertz each added 6, Yanzick 4, Grimsrud 3, T Vossler 2, and Hailey Rogne 1.
GIRLS SURVIVE LOSER OUT CONTEST Saturday morning the Lady Panthers played the Manhattan Tigers in a loser out game. The Panthers jumped out to a 12-4 lead at the end of one with McMaster hitting 7 and Leah Vossler 5. Warfle started the second with a two, Leah Vossler added a two, Ellie Evertz a two, and Warfle added another two to widen the Panther lead to 19-11 with 5:23 left. The Tigers closed the gap to 21-17 with 3:53 left, but McMaster answered with four quick points and Leah Vossler added a free throw. Five more points by McMaster and a free throw by Grimsrud gave the Panthers a 32- 19 lead at the half. With the Panthers up 40-25, Warfle hit a free throw and back to back baskets to make it 45-29 at the end of three. The Panthers went up 55-34 on baskets by Warfle, Grimsrud and Rogne, and Natalee Stout made it 56-38 with a free throw. T Vossler closed out the game with a basket and two free throws after an intentional foul by Manhattan, and the Panthers claimed a 60- 41 win. That kept them in the action for Saturday night’s consolation final. McMaster again led the Panthers, this time with 21 points. Leah Vossler and Warfle were also in double digits, Vossler with 13 and Warfle with 11.
CONSOLATION GAME The consolation final pitted the Panthers against the Townsend Bulldogs. Despite tired legs after a quick turnaround from the morning game, the Panthers did a good job. After Townsend scored first McMaster answered for the Panthers. Evertz scored, Leah Vossler stole the ball in a move that led to another Evertz basket, McMaster increased her tally, and Evertz scored again to give the Panthers a 10-6 lead. Townsend hit a three to close out the quarter, and the Panthers were up, 10-9. The Panthers struggled in the second; a two by Grimsrud and a free throw by Rogne were the only points they could come up with. Townsend, on the other hand, had little trouble picking up points and held a 25-13 lead at the half. Both teams struggled in the third with the Panthers scoring six and the Bulldogs eight. The Bulldogs led 33-19 going into the fourth. The Panthers pulled to within ten, 33-23, but that was as close as it would get. A three by Leah Vossler and three free throws by Yanzick closed out the game with Townsend winning 48-33. That proved to be the end of the season for both teams as Townsend needed to have Three Forks lose in the championship to challenge. Leah Vossler was the top JHS scorer with 9 points. McMaster collected 8, Evertz 7, Rogne 4, Yanzick 3, and Grimsrud 2.
DIVISIONAL IS MARCH 2-4 The Southern B Divisional Basketball Tournament will be held March 2-4 at the Metra in Billings. First round games for the girls have Shepherd versus St Labre, Three Forks against Lame Deer, Colstrip facing Red Lodge, and Roundup against Big Timber. First round games for the boys have Joliet playing Col- strip, Townsend taking on Lodge Grass, Lame Deer facing Shepherd, and Roundup against either Three Forks or Whitehall. The top three from the Southern Divisional advance to State in Billings the following week.
