Sue Sitter/PCT Rugby’s Devan Michels puts a shot down in a game against Our Redeemer’s last week in Minot.

The Rugby Panther varsity boys turned up the heat last weekend when they faced District 11 rivals TGU-Towner and District 12’s Our Redeemer’s Christian School.

Rugby Head Coach Mike Santjer described the games as “physical.”

The Panthers dominated TGU’s Titans from the start in their matchup in the RHS gym, ending the 1st quarter with a 20-10 lead.

The Titans struggled to keep up as the Panthers widened their lead to 12 points by the end of the first half, with a score of 47-25. The third quarter left the Titans in the Panthers’ dust, as Rugby scored 34 more points to the Titans’ 15. As the 4th quarter began, the Panthers expanded their score of 81 by 8 more points, and the Titans managed only 13 more points. The game ended with a decisive 89-53 Panther win.

Panther Trace Goven led the game’s point totals at 25, with Kevin Vetsch not far behind with 18. Devan Michels added 17 points to the total, while Jaden Hamilton scored 16 points. Isaiah Bundy-Smith scored 5 game points, while Logan DeMontigny and Warren Walker each logged 3 points. Mayson McCabe put 2 points on the board for the evening.

Scoring points for the Titans were: Shayden Luna with 18; Hunter Miller with 11; Cy Luna with 9, Matthew Dickinson with 6, Garrett Bailey and Jordan Stone each with 2 points, and LJ Wells with 1 point.

The 12- 1 Panthers would soon improve their record to 13-1 when they traveled to the Minot Municipal Auditorium the next day for the Shootout Tournament against Our Redeemer’s Christian High School.

The Panthers began their game much as they did the night before, ending the 1st quarter with a 15-10 lead, after Goven beat the buzzer with a 3 point shot. The Panthers held onto their lead as they stood their ground defensively, taking advantage of multiple Our Redeemer’s Knights turnovers. After ending the first half with a 30-23 lead, the Panthers broke loose in the 3rd quarter, increasing their lead by 20 points to the Knights’ 11 points.

The Knights managed only 13 more points in the 4th quarter, while the Panthers continued racking up 2 and 3 point shots. Goven capitalized on a late free throw opportunity, adding to free throw points made in the first half by DeMontigny and Michels.

“I told the guys that I was the most proud of them tonight, because we stepped up to the challenge,” Santjer said after Saturday’s game. ” The game was really physical. We came out in the second half and didn’t fold and be tentative, so I was really proud of them.”

Santjer said of the game’s tempo: “The game was really fast, but even with how physical Our Redeemer’s played on us, they were pushing us around, and trying to push us off lines, and our kids responded, so that was really good to see.”

Goven led the point totals against Our Redeemer’s again with 23 points, while Vetsch put 14 points on the board for the Panthers. Hamilton scored 12 points for the game, while Michels scored 8 points. Bundy-Smith scored 7 total points, and DeMontigny and McCabe each scored 6 points for the Shootout.

The Panthers were scheduled to face Velva’s Aggies last Tuesday, but the game was postponed due to hazardous cold and wind chills. The Panthers will face the Aggies in Velva Monday, and the Four Winds-Minnewaukan Indians Tuesday in at Four Winds High School.