The Whitharral Panthers took on the Klondike Cougars this past Tuesday at Frenship High School for their regional quarterfinal in UIL Boys Basketball matchup where the Panthers won 63-53.
For the start of the first quarter the Panthers were on fire offensively as they were able to take the 9-2 lead over the Cougars with five minutes left in the first quarter. Not only was their offense on fire but all game long Nate Sansom went to work for Whitharral as the first six points were from Sansom grabbing the offensive boards and getting the points to go for him down low. Although the Panthers started great they let the Cougars get back into the game by tying the game at 15-15 with a few seconds left in the quarter. For the final shot of the quarter, Jack Griffin was able to hit a three pointer to give Whitharral the lead going into the second quarter.
For the second quarter of the game it was be all Panthers once again as they went on a 10-2 run in the first four minutes of the game as Klondike had to call a timeout to slow the game down for them. Whitharral was able to keep grabbing what felt like all of the rebounds as they went into the halftime break with the lead.
The score at the halftime break was Whitharral leading Klondike 34-24.
Leading the Panthers in scoring at the half was Nomar Gomez as he had 11 points, 10 of them from inside the arch as he could get wherever he wanted against the Cougar defense.
Going into the third quarter the Panthers was able to get the team involved in rebounds as it was a group effort in Whitharral being able to grab every board. Whitharral was able to still outscore Klondike 13-12, holding onto their lead heading into the fourth quarter of play. The score at the end of the third was 47-36 with the Panthers leading.
For the final quarter of the game, it was a very offensive battle as neither team was able to get a stop on defense.
Whitharral was picking apart the Cougar defense with their passing as they would be able to get good looks from inside the paint and from beyond the arch.
Klondike was still trying to get back into the game by calling a timeout in the final minute of the game with Whitharral holding the 10 point lead.
In the final minutes it was Sansom that would send away shots from down low being able to put the game away for Whitharral as they win their regional quarterfinal game in playoffs.
Leading the Panthers in scoring on the night was Gomez as he finished with 22 points, 20 of them from close range.
Sansom had another 19 points for the team, Griffin added another seven, Brolin Kennedy had six, Brent Robinson had five and Landon Lee had four in the team’s win.
The Whitharral Panthers progress to 24-5 on the season.
The Panthers next game was against the Texline Tornadoes Friday at South Plains College for their regional semi-finals playoff game at 1 p.m.