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Panthers do ‘a fantastic job’ against number one-ranked Four Winds

By Sue Sitter - | Feb 19, 2022

Rugby Panthers battled North Dakota’s number one-ranked class B team on the basketball court in Rugby High’s Charlie Hanneman Gym Feb. 8.

Although the Panthers fell 54-71 to the Four Winds-Minnewaukan Indians, Rugby coach Mike Santjer said he was proud of the fight his team brought to the game.

Santjer said the Panthers “did a fantastic job” against the Indians’ fine-tuned full-court press.

Indians’ offense got to work right away in the first quarter, but the Panthers clawed at their backs and kept pace. Jayden Yankton sank the first two-pointer for Four Winds. Seconds later, Rugby’s Kory Vetsch answered with an outside shot for three points. Yankton put four more points on the board in the first quarter. Indians stayed on Panthers forward Erik Foster, who managed to find his way around the defense and draw a foul. Foster would score four points in the first quarter and 23 for the game. Yankton, the Indians’ top scorer, would net 33 for the game.

Panthers kept the Indians to a narrow 16-13 lead in the first eight minutes of the game before the Indians stretched their lead to 10 in the second quarter. Indians’ defense zeroed in on the ball, turning possession over as quickly as the Panthers gained control. Still, Vetsch and Foster took advantage of opportunities to hit three-point shots. Bryceton Deplazes made one of two bonus shots after a foul from Joe Shawn Shaw. The half ended with a 38-28 Indians’ lead.

Rugby shored up its defense in the third quarter while forward Brody Schneibel made inroads to land four buckets. Foster landed two shots and yet another three-pointer. Will Kuntz made one on a trip to the free-throw line. Indians would score 17 points all together in the third quarter, while Panthers scored 16.

Four Winds kept its energy in the fourth quarter, building on a 55-44 lead. Panthers’ defense battled to contain Yankton. In the process, they gifted him with two trips to the free-throw line and four more points for the Indians. Logan Harner would draw a foul for the Panthers, making one of two free throws. Foster and Schneibel continued to find shot opportunities, but their 10-point fourth quarter total was not enough to keep up with the 16 from the Indians.

Although the game ended with a defeat for the Panthers, players congratulated one another. One Four Winds player who has friends on the Panthers team posed for a photo.

“Good game,” Santjer said to each player on the Indians team as they walked by him.

“I’m just very proud of them,” Santjer said of the Panthers. “Our effort was good. We’re coming a long way. We’re on the right track. If we keep doing what we’ve been doing, good things will happen for these guys.

“They’ve been working on some things and they’ve got more confidence. I have confidence in them and they have the confidence in themselves to take shots that they’re used to,” Santjer added. “Don’t try to force it. Don’t do something that you’re not (used to), and you’ll be okay.”

Santjer said of the Panthers’ schedule, “We have Bishop Ryan, then Dunseith then Langdon. With those guys, Bishop Ryan’s in our region, so that will be a good game, then Dunseith, they’ve been high up in (state rankings), so that will be another one, then we have a make-up game with Langdon (Feb. 19.) They’ll be fun.”