Dan Eyrich, AP Sports
The EP Panthers showed they have a short memory when it comes to basketball losses as after falling to Newman by 26 points nine days ago, they led almost the entire contest to come away with a 57-46 Senior Night win. The victory came on a big night for junior, Connor Keegan as he dropped 27 points on the Comets.
The three Panther seniors Demetree Larsen, Noah Hovey and Zach Murphy all had the thrill of starting the EP Senior Night game.
Newman jumped out to 6-2 lead on a three-ball by Evan Bushman at the 6:02 mark. Connor Keegan then hit the first of his 5 three-point buckets on the night to give EP a lead it would keep the rest of the night.
The always tough Newman 1-3-1 zone defense caused some problems for EP with turnovers leading to points for the Comets to keep them close. A nifty pass from Evan Steimle to Gus Schultz under the basket in the final seconds of the quarter gave the Panthers an 18-12 lead after one quarter.
Connor Keegan continued to be the offensive spark for EP as he converted on a traditional three point play to make it 21-14 with 5:20 left in the half. Newman was unable to get the ball inside on the aggressive Panther defense and launched several three-points shot with few finding the mark.
A nice inside pass from Keegan Winckler to Schultz made it 9 point advantage for the Panthers with just under three minutes left but the Comets made a run. Newman would cut the lead to 25-23 as Matznick found the bottom of the net slicing into the lane. EP’s Kegan finally stopped the Comet momentum burying a three from the corner with just over minute remaining. A nice find by Steimle to Larsen for an easy 2 made it a 30-24 EP lead at the half.
Gus Schultz got the Panther offense in gear early in the third as he followed up his missed shot under the rim three times , finally getting the bucket. The Panthers finally stretched their lead to 10 on a put back by Steimle.
The pace of the game continued to be up and down as the Comets tried to get the ball up the floor ahead of the Panther defense. A few of those runouts led to Schultz and max Milem sitting on the bench with three fouls each with just under five minutes left in the frame.
Consecutive turnovers by the home team allowed the Comets to cut the lead to four over the next two minutes. Steimle came to the rescue for EP as after converting on a nice assist by Derek Naftzger he was on the receiving end of a full-court pass from Keegan to score and draw a foul He converted on the free throw and pushed the lead back to nine
The talented junior then dropped in another 3-point bomb from the left corner to give EP their largest lead of the night. A pair of Comet free throws on a foul at the buzzer made it a 45-37 game heading to the fourth.
The Comet’s Matznick continued to be a thorn in the side of the Panthers as he continued to find his way into the lane, hitting a pretty teardrop shot to get Newman within four. Keegan once again kept the offensive balance in the Panther’s favor as an end-to-end drive finally got EP on the board in the quarter to make it 47-41.
The Comets didn’t quit as they went on a 5-0 run capped by a three-pointer by Bushman to close the margin to one with 2:47 remaining. On EP’s next possession Keegan once again delivered as he hit his fifth three of the night to give EP some breathing room with two minutes to go.
Coming out of a timeout the Comets missed a three-point attempt got the rebound but then turned the ball over forcing them to foul the Panthers. Keegan was the first Panther to the line converting on both his attempts to make it 52-46 with just under sixty seconds left. Keegan Winckler then picked the pocket of a Newman guard and was fouled, hitting both his shots to push the lead to eight.
Senior, Demetree Larsen got the last two points for EP from the line to make it a 57-46 final.
Connor Keegan had 27 for the Panthers including his 5 three-pointers and a 6 for 6 effort from the line. Evan Steimle had 9 with Gus Schultz adding 8. The Panthers were an impressive 14 of 15 from the charity stripe.
John Rowzee had 15 for Newman with Garret Matznick adding 14.
The Panthers pick up their second win in a row and look to wrap up the season with some quality play. “I am really proud how tough our guys played tonight,” said coach Ryan Winckler. “After our last game, we worked all week on being strong in the traps and attacking the basket hard. We did a great job of fighting through a lot of adversity this game and made some big baskets. We worked on some new set plays and then executed them great. Defensively we limited their two best scorers to 10 points, an incredible defensive effort. Our team defense was great and we battled all night on the boards. I was proud of how hard we practiced all week to be prepared for tonight. It took all 13 guys this week in practice to be ready to compete tonight. It was a great night to honor our seniors.”
The 8-15 Panthers will travel to Mendota next Friday.
The F/S Panthers, after a close first half, lost 36-15.
