Panthers Beat Falcons and Coyotes

By John Earp

Monday evening at Loving High School, the Jal Panthers took on the Falcons. The game was a slow starter for both teams, with the Falcons moving ahead in the latter half of the first quarter. With a minute remaining in the first, the Falcons led 12-7. The Panthers battled back in that final minute, and at the beginning of the second period, the Falcons’ lead had been reduced to one point, 12-11.

Eyan Faulkner sank a three-pointer early in the second period, giving the Panthers their first lead of the game, 15-12. A few seconds later, Davian Navarette also sank a three-pointer for the Panthers, followed by yet another about a minute later. The Panthers had moved ahead 23-14 in the first half of the second period. At halftime, though the Falcons had made a little bit of progress, the Panthers remained in the lead, 29-20.

The third quarter continued at the same pace, and with a minute and a half remaining, the Panthers were leading 39-29. The Panthers began to build solid momentum in the fourth period, and with about 6 minutes remaining in the game, the Panthers had extended their lead to 20 points, 55-35. The final score was 61-45.

The Panthers traveled to Tatum Tuesday night to take on the Coyotes. The first period was very competitive from the start, with Tatum pulling ahead early but with the Panthers taking the lead after the first few minutes. By the end of the first, Jal led 10-6. Halfway through the second period, the Panthers had extended their lead a little, to 16-9. The Coyotes rallied back though, and by halftime, the Panthers led by only 5, 19-14. Both teams struggled to put points on the board in the third period. At the start of the fourth period, the Panthers led 26-18. The Panthers continued to lead throughout the fourth, though Tatum did rally in the last couple minutes. Final score was 39-34.

The Panthers are now 9-13, and ranked third in District 4-2A, behind first ranked Texico (6-0) and second ranked Eunice (5-2).