The #9 Whitharral Panthers hosted the Anton Bulldogs for a district basketball matchup this past Thursday night, and the Panthers made a statement with a 108-42 win.
The Bulldogs held their own in the first quarter, only trailing 24-18, but the Panthers would respond by outscoring them 38-7 in the second quarter, and the deficit would only grow from there.
The Panthers dominated the boards and played suffocating defense, forcing countless Anton turnovers, which they often converted into easy points in route to the 66-point win.
“I really press defense in practice, and this week we really only did defense; we didn’t really do any offense,” Panthers Head Basketball Coach Brett Berger said. “My big thing is defense because defense turns into offense, and we’re going to score. We’ve got some great shooters, so the buckets are going to come, but down the stretch, defense is how we’re going to make a long playoff run.”
They executed their gameplan to a tee, which Coach Berger also talked about being the continual goal as they continue district play as clear favorites. He stated that it’s difficult to replicate postseason adversity in their district, but if they can continue to play high level defense, it’ll help them prepare for postseason play.
They did that against the Bulldogs, and it led to numerous individuals stuffing the stat sheet including Nate Sansom with 35 points on 13/18 shooting from the field, going 4/4 from three and 5/8 from the free throw line, adding 15 rebounds, three blocks and a steal, and Brent Robinson with 35 points on 12/18 shooting from the field, going 3/4 from three and 8/8 from the free throw line, adding six steals, three rebounds and two assists.
Others included Hudson Dobrovolny with 14 points on 7/12 shooting, eight rebounds, two steals and a block, and Damian Rodriguez with 11 points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal.
The win improves the Panthers to 15-9 overall and 3-0 in district play, which puts them first in the 1A District 5 standings.
On the Bulldogs side of things, the loss drops them to 12-8 overall and 2-1 in district play, which puts them second in the 1A District 5 standings. Following the frustrating result, Bulldogs Head Basketball Coach Ezekiel Clay shared his thoughts.
“They’re big farm boy football players and we’re not. They’re pushing us around, and that’s part of it. That’s what makes them a great team. It sucks man, but we’ve got to learn lessons from it. You’ve got to learn whatever lesson you have to individually. We’ve got to get stronger and better at blocking out and holding position.”
Coach Clay went on to be very complimentary of the Panthers program, and he also noted that he encouraged his guys to hold fast to the fact they played with them in the first quarter and use it as a confidence builder.
Scorers for the Bulldogs included Shooter Campos with 19 points, Xavi Avalos with six points, Isaiah Alafa and Tiny Juarez both with four points, Kaden Starns and Zian Martinez both with three points, Joey Jimenez with two points and Caleb Carlock with one point.
Following the game, both teams are back in action early in the week for district matchups. The Panthers play versus Cotton Center, and the Bulldogs play at Amherst.