Alberton Panthers win against St. Regis Tigers
Summer Crosby
After losing to county rival Superior the prior weekend, the Alberton Panthers were looking for a win when they faced off against the St. Regis Tigers on Thursday, January 21. Also, back in the Tiger Tail Tournament, the Alberton Panthers had lost to the Tigers, so they were looking for some redemption.
During the first quarter, the Tigers scored only one point when James Jennings put a free throw shot in. But they didn’t let the Panthers run over them. The Alberton team only managed five points, the Tigers playing a strong defensive effort. The first quarter ended with the Panthers ahead, 1-5.
The second quarter would also be tight. The Alberton Panthers managed four points in the first four minutes, while the Tigers sat on the scoreboard with one point. However, Thomas Spencer scored a layup and the Tigers began to close in upon the Panthers, only four points behind at 1:55, 5-9. The Panthers put two points on the board and the Tigers followed suit, but with 40 seconds on the clock, Josh Webb put a point on the board for the Panthers with a free throw, and teammate Brandon Lehl followed suit. The Panthers ended the second quarter ahead of the Tigers, 7-13.
The Tigers tried to close the gap as they entered the third quarter. They managed seven points, but the Panthers held the lead scoring 10. James Jennings scored a three-point shot from the outside during the quarter for the Tigers, but the home team trailed at the end of the third quarter, 14-23. However, the game was still close.
Coming out into the fourth and final quarter, Zane Worrall scored a three-point shot for the Tigers in the first two minutes and then again with 6:01 on the clock. Despite the outside shots, the Alberton Panthers were a layup and scored two free throws, resting ahead 20-27 at 6:01. The scoreboard wouldn’t change for another two minutes, but when it did Alberton took the game forward, gaining an 11 point lead on the Tigers at 2:41. Zach Lott added one point to the Tigers’ side, but Garron Grebence-Black would match it with his own free throw shot. Worrall scored a layup at 2:17, bringing the Tigers only nine points away from the lead. However, for every point the Tigers managed, the Panthers kept up the game on their end and throughout the last two minutes of the game, stayed ahead by five points or more, eventually winning by 10 points, 29-39.
St. Regis went on to lose against Arlee on Friday.
“We played against Alberton a lot better, we didn’t play very well against Arlee,” said Dan Park, head coach. “We had a hard time scoring and made some silly turnovers, which continue to plague us. We’re not putting it in the basket.”
Park said that the team has been falling behind early in the game and then find themselves chasing the other team trying to catch up. Despite the two losses, the team is still staying confident that they’ll be able to bring it together.
“The kids are still trying hard, working hard,” Park said. “We’re still planning on winning some games this season. We’ve got a couple of new kids and so we’re trying to work them into the mix, but we can’t be falling behind early. We need to stay close in the beginning.”
Alberton went on to lose against Drummond on Saturday, 30-68.
The Tigers will play against Hot Springs on Friday at home and travel to play Lincoln on Saturday. The Panthers will play Philipsburg on Thursday at home and will travel to play Victor on Friday.