Panthers look forward to district tournament games

ALBERTON – When the Alberton Panthers played against the Valley Christian Eagles they took a loss in their final game of the regular season.

The team played a good game as they kept the Eagles from taking off. The guys had trouble against the other team’s defense. The first quarter ended with an 11-point gap with Valley Christian in the lead. The quarter ended with a score of 5-16.

The second quarter saw Alberton struggle against the opposition’s guards where they were only able to bring in two points. The exchange was to keep the Eagles from making a huge jump in their scores. The first half ended with 7-33 on the scoreboard.

As the second half began, the Alberton boys rallied and came back stronger. The scores in the next two quarters were much closer and while still behind, the Panthers made themselves a force to be reckoned with.

The guys were able to decrease the point intake of their opponents and improve their own. Throughout the third quarter the Panthers doubled their points as they fought back hard. By the end of the quarter the score was 15-44.

The final quarter saw an almost identical point spread as the teams fought for last minute points. While both teams increased their lead, neither made huge leaps in their play. By the end of the game, Alberton was 32 points behind with a final score of 24-56.

The top scorers had a good game and senior Keir Sanzano was the highlight player as he brought in eight points. The rest of the points were split between seniors Andrew Lommen, David Stafford, Troy Munsch and eighth grader Creighton Callison. Callison brought in five points as the second highest scorer.

Head Coach Dan Moe said the team had lots of energy for their senior night game. He was proud of the team and the defenses they used against Valley Christian’s top players.

The coach attributed the loss to a low shooting percentages and multiple turnovers. He said these allowed the Eagles to pull away and take the win.

In their final game of the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 15, the Panthers took a second loss against the Darby Tigers.

The first quarter was close as both teams played a strong game. Neither team was able to gain an advantage. Darby came out slightly ahead and the quarter ended with a score of 14-17.

The Tigers were able to get a big jump ahead in the second quarter. The Panthers struggled to bring in points as they made a handful of baskets. The first half of the game ended with a score of 21-42.

As the second half opened the Alberton boys came out with the same strength they showed in the first quarter. The team was able to recover and close in on the other team. The quarter had an improved score of 34-59.

In the final quarter the Darby players were unable to press back on the Panthers as they did earlier in the game. While the Tigers brought in more points than Alberton, the Panthers were not far behind. In the end the Tigers had a 31-point lead with a final score of 43-74.

Lommen continued to play a strong game as he brought in a team best of 17 points. Close behind him was Callison with 10.

Moe said this was one of the team’s best shooting games of the season. After the first half, he felt the guys were more careful to not have a repeat performance.

“We took much better care of the ball with only four turnovers in the second half,” Moe said.

The team played one more game this week. The team went up against Drummond in a game to make up for a Jan. 11 game, which was cancelled because of weather. After a hard struggle, the Panthers came away with a loss.

The game early last week saw the guys exhausted with three games in four days. Moe said there was very little in the team’s tank as the game went to a final score of 22-68.

This week the guys play in the district tournament in Frenchtown. Moe said the key was for the team to keep their turnovers down.

“If we can keep our turnovers below 15 and continue the improved shooting we’ve seen signs of lately, we have an excellent chance to be competitive,” Moe said.