The Rugby Panthers boys basketball team brought home their first win of the season on the road against Langdon on Tuesday, November 30. The final score was 63-32.

The first half was a little wild with quite a few turnovers and the half ended with the Panthers leading 24-22.

In the second half, Rugby came out playing like a team and dominated.

Coach Mike Santjer knew that Langdon had graduated some seniors last year and were back with two starters. With the other three players, he wasn’t sure what to expect.

Guard Eric Kuntz put on a pretty good performance with a total of 17 points for the game.

“Kuntz is a very good athlete and works hard,” said Santjer. “Not only offensively, he played very well defensively, as well.”

“We played as a team,” was the comment from Kuntz. He said his strength in basketball is his speed. At the same time he could use a little more dribble work, especially with his right hand. Kuntz is left-handed.

Rugby played nine kids total, which means that four were off the bench.

“Everyone came in and played well,” said Santjer. “It was a good first night.”

Kuntz’ goal for the season is to get back to regionals and win the first game. In the meantime, Rugby will need to work on its game so the team can beat North Star, which is rated second in the state.

The Panthers are looking forward to playing in the Central North Dakota Conference Tournament at Harvey this weekend (Dec. 2 – 4). The first home game is on Saturday, December 11 with Minot’s Bishop Ryan High School.