The Jefferson High Panther boys’ basketball team capped the weekend with an exhilarating win over the Choteau Bulldogs at home. Choteau, winners of the last two Class B state championships, came to Boulder for the second meeting of the two teams this season. In the first, the Bulldogs captured an 83-62 victory on their home court. This time would be much different. The Panthers came out full of energy, hustling and going at the basket. Noah Fader started the scoring, Choteau followed with a three, and Fader answered with a three of his own. Choteau collected an old-fashioned three to hold a 6-5 lead, but the Panthers clamped down and ramped up their offense. Britton Peterson hit a two and a pair of free throws, Hayden Guisti sank a free throw, and Josh Eckmann added a three to put the Panthers up 13-6. After an assist by Guisti to Fader, the Panthers got threes from Eckmann and Fader to secure a 21-15 first quarter lead.
Bryce Harrington started the second with an old-fashioned three, assisted by Fader, and Fader added another three to his tally for the night. Lifted by a pair of Eckmann free throws and an assist by Lincoln Leary that aided a Harrington bucket, the Panthers were out front 31-15 with 5:44 left in the second quarter. The Panthers were not self- ish and the assists kept coming. A three by Nolan Sonsteng advanced the Panther cause to 45- 28, and the halftime score stood at 46-32, Panthers. The action got scary for Panther fans early in the third quarter as the Bulldogs knocked down 15 points to erase the Panther lead and go up by one, 47-46.
After trading a couple of points, though, the Panthers got back on track and turned in an 8-0 run. Guisti went up high to put back a missed free throw to excite the crowd, and Harrington closed out the quarter with a bucket to make it 55-49, Panthers, at the end of three. The JHS boys increased their lead in the fourth with a three by Eckmann, his third of the game, and then went on to take a 20 point lead, 74-54, with 2:38 left on the clock.
