Submitted Photo Panthers guard Jacob Ripplinger finds his way out of a corner set up by Bottineau Braves.

Days after the Bottineau Stars slowed the Lady Panthers with a tough defensive strategy on the basketball court at Bottineau High, Bottineau Braves brought the same defense to the Panther boys’ team in Rugby.

After the on-court struggle, the Panthers scratched out a 55-50 win.

The battle began at tip-off, when Rugby forward Gavin Schepp hit the floor, struggling for the ball against Bottineau’s Gabe Nero.

Both teams traded leads after Bottineau’s Tracen Pollman landed the first bucket. Fouls led to free throws for Bottineau’s Carson Haerer and Rugby’s Brody Schneibel and Will Kuntz. The first quarter ended with a nail-biting 14-13 lead for Rugby.

The second quarter saw both teams’ defensive players turn up the pressure. Haerer, who would lead in scoring for the Braves with 19 in the game, landed one of two free throw shots and a rebound bucket. Jacob Ripplinger, who led the Panthers with 15 points, landed his first of four three-point shots. Two buckets from Schneibel and one from Panthers forward Erik Foster rounded out the total. The half ended with a 23-23 tie.

“These guys were in a 1-2-2 press. They tried to trap them in the corners and in the middle. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” Panthers Head Coach Mike Santjer said of the Braves’ defense after the game.

The third quarter saw more buckets for the Braves, this time by brothers Tracen and Ryder Pollman. Although Ripplinger put in five points with a shot landed inside the paint and a three pointer, the Panthers found itself cut off from scoring opportunities. The quarter ended with a 34-38 deficit for Rugby.

The Panthers battled back against Bottineau’s press in the fourth quarter, with Ripplinger drawing a foul after making two three-pointers and Foster moving through traffic to sink two buckets and draw two trips to the free throw line. The Panthers pulled ahead, each free throw giving the team some breathing room. Guard Kory Vetsch landed another shot on a rebound and forward Lathan DeMontigny sank another for the Panthers. The score stood at 47-55 as the last seconds of the game ticked away before Ryder Pollman landed a three-point shot with five seconds to go. The Panthers held onto its win.

“A lot of these district games are going to be tough. It seems like when teams come in here, they’re going to give you their best effort. Our kids responded great. They got the free throws when they needed to and made some defensive stops. It was a good game,” Santjer said of the win.

The Panthers traveled to Towner for a game against the TGU Titans on Jan. 28, then to Bismarck against Shiloh Christian’s Sky Hawks on Jan. 29.

“Towner always plays tough. They know our kids. Some of them play other sports with our kids. There’s a big rivalry, so we’re going to put our best effort into it. Shiloh has a great girls’ team and they have a great boys’ team, so it will be a good test to see where we’re at,” Santjer said.

The Panthers defeated TGU 54-42 before falling to Shiloh Christian 45-74. The Panthers would return to Rugby High’s Hanneman Gym on Feb. 1 for another district game, this time against Velva’s Aggies.