Panther Boys schooled by Cardinals

By John Earp

Tuesday night in Panther Gym, the Panther Boys Varsity Basketball Team (10-10 overall; 2-1 in district) had difficulty getting in gear at the start of the game, with the Cardinals (17-5 overall; 4-0 in district) quickly jumping ahead 10-2. With 3 minutes remaining in the first period, the Cardinals led 12-4. At the end of the first period, Eunice led 15-8. Late in the second period, the game turned into a bit of a foul fest, with an apparent fight almost breaking out at one point. The Cardinals had the better skills and execution by far in the first half. At halftime, the Cardinals led the Panthers 25-10.

The third period started off slowly, with the Panthers scoring 2 points to the Cardinals’ 3 in the first five minutes. The Cardinals then began to put points on the board, while the Panthers seemed unable to sink even an easy basket. At the end of the third period, Eunice led Jal 36-12. The Panthers started to gain some traction midway through the fourth period, sinking a few three-pointers and overall playing a much better game, while the Cardinals put in several backup players for the most part and didn’t appear to try to run up the score. With three minutes remaining in the game, Eunice led 39-24. The Panthers continued to trail behind the Cardinals, though overall they played an improved game in the last period, scoring 16 points to match Eunice’s 16. The Cardinals were simply too skilled overall for the Panthers to be able to keep up. The final score was 52-28.