Roundup Record Tribune & Winnett Times -

Friday evening the Panthers traveled to Joliet for their last regular season 4B conference game of the year. Earlier in the year the Panthers lost to Joliet at home in a heart breaker as the Panthers led most of the game but struggled to make shots in the second half. Lately, the Panthers had struggled with players taking multiple turns getting sick. Joliet got off to a quick start but the Panthers had answers as Jordan and AJ knocked down a couple of Three's and Jace cleaned up some missed layups. It was a very solid night for the Panthers as they outworked the Jayhawks and really put together their best game of the year. Kylen and Morgan did a super job in the middle of zone. The Panthers made a minor defensive adjustment that had the Jayhawks off balance most of the night. The Panthers led 27-23 at the half and built their lead to 45-32 by the end of the third quarter. The Jayhawks made a run in the final quarter but solid defense and rebounding allowed the Panthers to prevail, 55-47.

Scoring was as follows: Jace Lemmel 23, AJ Gray 14, Braedan Bilden 6, Jordan Olson 5, Kylen Wolff 3, Morgan Sanner 2, and Dustin Gairrett 2.

Carol Ann Schaeffer

Thomas Bruner (12) and Aaron Van Dyke (right) position for a rebound in Saturday's win over Forsyth.

Senior night took place on Saturday evening as the Panthers hosted the Forsyth Dogies. AJ Gray is the only senior on the Panther team this year. AJ has done a tremendous job leading this group of Panthers. Throughout the year he has led by example working extremely hard on both ends of the floor and continually communicating to his teammates. The Dogies came to play Saturday and the Panthers were still languishing in the glory of their win the night before in the first half. The Dogies outworked and hustled the Panthers consistently. The Panthers did enough to stay ahead most of the first half until the midpoint of the second quarter. Forsyth scored on consecutive plays to take the lead but Braedan buried a buzzer beating three pointer to give the Panthers the lead at the break, 31-29. Jace was a consistent scorer and he had help from AJ and Braedan. After halftime Kylen came out on fire. He scored ten points in the quarter and made four consecutive shots to give the Panthers some breathing room. In the fourth quarter the Dogies never got closer the twelve points but put forth a valiant effort as they were defeated by the Panthers, 63-46.

Scoring was as follows: Jace Lemmel 25, Kylen Wolff 15, AJ Gray 13, Braedan Bilden 5, Jordan Olson 4, and Morgan Sanner 1.