The #8 ranked (1A) Whitharral Panthers basketball team wrapped up their non-district schedule on the road at #12 (2A) Olton this past Tuesday night, losing 78-62.
The loss drops the Panthers to 12-9 overall this season while improving Olton to 21-3, and while Panthers Head Basketball Coach Brett Berger wasn’t pleased with the result, he still was appreciative for the learning opportunity.
“This game was good for us to deal with adversity. We’ve got to control our emotions when calls don’t go our way,” Coach Berger said. “We need to forget about it and keep our heads up, no matter what the circumstances are. These guys never quit. They fought every second till that buzzer went off. I am super proud of this team. Now we are starting district, and our goal is to go 1-0 every day.”
The Panthers had two players foul out and two more end the game with four fouls, and though the foul troubles led to a loss, they still fought until the end.
Noteworthy performances included Brent Robinson with 30 points on 12/20 field goal shooting, going 4/8 from three-point range, adding five rebounds, and Nate Sansom with 12 points on 4/6 shooting, making ¾ free throws, adding 12 rebounds, two steals and an assist.
Other Panthers scorers included Hudson Dobrovolny and Ayden Dockery both with six points, Damian Rodriguez with four points, and Cooper Burns and Greg Johnson both with two points.
Following the loss, the Panthers will be back in action over the weekend for their district opener against Amherst, and then again on Tuesday at Meadow at 7:30 p.m. for their second district matchup.