The #15 ranked Whitharral Panthers took on the Klondike Cougars in the Bi-District Round of the 1A Division 2 basketball playoffs this past Monday at Brownfield High
School, and the Panthers dominated them 84-44 to win the Bi-District Championship.
The game was close after
the first frame as the Pan - thers led 16-8, but they’d pull away in the second quarter, outscoring Klondike 32-10 to basically put the game out of reach, as they’d coast to the win in the second half.
“I think early we started slow. We knew they were going to get after us, so I just told them to stay the course,” Panthers Head Basketball Coach Brett Berger said. “We have a high standard, and I knew they were going to junk up the game a little because they’re quick and scrappy. We just needed to keep our head and eventually it broke through and we gained a lead and settled in at the end.”
Coach Berger would go on to refer to the win as “ugly,” but noted that the adversity is a good tool for growth as they advance in the postseason.
As a team they can build on that, and take confidence from the fact that an ugly win was still a 40-point win, and individually, they can take confidence from sev eral fantastic performances, including Brent Robinson, who led the team with 24 points on 10/17 shooting and three three-pointers made, adding five assists, four re bounds and a steal.
Other standouts included Damian Rodriguez with 18 points behind 7/13 shooting and 4/6 free throws made, adding five steals, five re bounds, two assists and two blocks, Nate Sansom with 13 points, seven rebounds, four blocks and three steals, Cooper Burns with nine points, two steals and an assist, and Hudson Dobrovolny with eight points, eight rebounds and one steal.
The win improves the Panthers 22-10 overall and advances them to the Area Round of the playoffs, where they’ll face the Lorenzo Hornets over the weekend at Lubbock High School. Lorenzo is 19-11 overall and the undefeated 1A District 7 Champions.