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Panther basketball teams face district opponents

By Staff | Jan 27, 2017

Braves best Panthers in close rout

The Rugby Panther boys and girls basketball teams faced District 11 opponents late last week and earlier this week.

Both teams are in Minot today for a region matchup against the Lewis & Clark-Berthold Bombers. Both squads will play at the Minot Municipal Auditorium with the varsity girls game at 5 p.m. and the varsity boys game at 6:30 p.m.

Region action will continue for the Panther girls, who host the Des Lacs-Burlington Lakers on Monday (Jan. 30, 4:15 p.m. start).

The boys continue district action on the road Tuesday (Jan. 31, 4:15 p.m. start) to face the Velva-Sawyer Aggies in Velva.

Lady Panthers dismantle Stars, Cardinals

As of Monday the Panthers are ranked seventh in the state in Class B girls basketball.

And a 63-27 dismantling of the Bottineau Stars last week and a 60-16 affair against the Nedrose Cardinals on Monday evening was icing on the cake.

On their home turf last week the Panthers held the Stars to just two points in the opening quarter, coming solely from guard Sydnie Nelson-who led the Stars in scoring with 12 points on the night.

After both squads going scoreless for nearly three minutes, the Panthers got on the board first with guard Anni Stier going 2-for-3 from the foul line. Stier would go on to get 13 points on the night, and junior forward Madison Uhlenkamp wasn’t far behind with 11.

The Panther defense managed to hold the Stars to single digit scoring in both the second (18-8) and fourth (13-4) quarters of play. The only time the Stars scored double digits was in the third quarter, with the scoring still in favor of the Panthers by 19-13.

The Rugby Panthers had a shift in momentum that started last Thursday at Nedrose, and reared its ugly head Tuesday in Bottineau.

The Nedrose Cardinals banked more shots from outside than the Panthers despite a 56-43 loss and turning the ball over on the tipoff. Forward Dawson Brekhus got the Cardinals on the board first with a three, and junior Seth Wagner chipped one in nearly two minutes later.

For the Panthers Landen Foster opened the second quarter on the first of his two threes on the night. The Panthers would get three three-pointers on the quarter for a 10-point lead to end the first half.

After being kept down in points for the third quarter, the Cardinals outscored the Panthers 17-16 in the fourth quarter, with senior guard Dominic Magpali hitting two threes, and Brekhus and fellow forward Trevor Cannon chipping in one apiece.

Foul trouble reared its ugly head for the Cardinals, with four Panthers being sent to the line at least once. Foster was on point from the charity stripe, going 4-for-4, while senior guard Dillon Marco went 3-for-4, and fellow guard and classmate Anders Johnson was able to complete a three-point play after missing one in the first half.

On Monday the Panthers had a one-point lead over the Bottineau Braves at halftime.

Braves guard Bryce Haerer opened up the first quarter from range.

The Panthers were not far behind with Marco and classmate/center Cade Heilman each chipping in two to get a one-point lead.

In the final minutes of the quarter, forward Michael Sorenson was able to tie the game at 9-9 after going 1-for-2 at the foul line. A last second jumper by Anders Johnson put the Panthers ahead by two at the end of the first.

The second quarter saw the Braves get hot from outside, as Haerer and fellow guards Max Henry and McKinley Agnes were able to briefly take the lead back for their squad on three-pointers of their own. A last second layup that could’ve been a three-point play put the Panthers ahead only by a point.

Henry opened the third quarter for the Braves on a jumper. Marco then responded for the Panthers.

Three-point makes from Agnes and Haerer saw the Braves again take the lead away from the Panthers, with the score being 37-35 at the end of the quarter.

The fourth quarter saw the Panthers hit pay dirt on two attempts from outside, with Foster hitting one with more than three minutes remaining, and freshman Trace Goven hitting a last second one.

The Panthers were without 6’5″ senior forward Chris Griffin for both games.

– Tribune Staff Report