9 December, 2023- The Panthers fight in overtime against the Canby Cougars.
For their second game of the preseason, the Panther Pit was packed for the Central boy's basketball game against the Canby Cougars. Following a loss in the first game of the season, the Panthers were on the hunt for a win. Starting on the court for Central were the seniors Esteban Chavez, Andrew Eames, Matt Quinn, Kai Bennett, and sophomore Jack Holestine.
The first quarter started great: the Panthers were looking sharp, and slowly they pulled away in the score. Andrew Eames led the board in the first with 5 points total, contributing to a fourth of the Panther's 20 points overall. A point behind him was Kai Bennett with 4.
In the second quarter, the Panthers continued their lead but were met with resilience by the Cougars. At half, the score was 37-32, with the Panthers still leading. At this point, Bennett had the most points scored with an overall of 10 and 6 rebounds to top it off. Behind him was Eames with 8 points, Holestine with 6, Quinn with 5, and Chavez with 4. Senior Carter Holt and Junior David Walle also contributed 2 and 3 points, respectively, to the Panthers 37 points total.
Coming out of the half, the Panthers seemed comfortable with their performance thus far. Because of this, only seven points were scored this quarter, and it allowed the Cougars to pull ahead by a couple of scores leading into the fourth. After this supposed wake-up call, the Panthers flung back into action and scored 11 points, gaining their lead back with 5 seconds to go. As the clock was winding down, and the student section roared, the Cougar's Dallas Michel was fouled, resulting in two free throws. He would make both, the game now being tied 56-56 with half a second left. With any hope of ending it here and now, Bennett tosses it across the court to Eames when time expires before he can shoot. Before this, it seemed there should have been a foul called on the Cougars for pushing Chavez down the court as Eames grabbed the ball, but it was not called, and the game went into overtime.
Outraged with the decision, the Pit got loud, and as the four minutes dwindled on the clock, increasing stress was placed on the players. The lone scorer in overtime was Esteban Chavez, with five points. As the game draws to a close, the Cougars pull ahead by several scores and end it with two free throws due to another foul. The ending score would mean a defeat for the Panthers, 61-66.
The boys will have their first league game next Tuesday at the Lebanon Warriors. The girls will also play Lebanon at the Pit. Please make sure to support both teams.
All pictures taken by Brielle Lowry.