The EP Panther boys suffered two losses on their final day of the Geneseo Thanksgiving Tournament falling 62-33 to Kewanee and 74-34 to Rockridge. Both opponents have outstanding teams again this year and will be two of the top area teams while the young Panthers hope to grow from the experience.
The morning Kewanee game started slowly and Jeremiah Kochevar’s 3-pointer got EP on the board early but the Panthers didn’t score again in the opening quarter until Connor Keegan’s layup ended the period with Kewanee leading 11-5. The Kewanee full court defensive pressure was effective throughout the contest turning quite a few Panther turnovers into scores. Kochevar’s three 3-point shots were the only effective part of the Panther offense in the opening half which ended 38-15 in favor of the Boilermakers.
The second half was not much better for EP and the Boilers stretched the lead to 56-26 after 3 quarters resulting in a continuous running clock during the fourth. Kochevar was the only Panther in double digits with 11 points and Ethan Levine added 7.
The afternoon contest for EP was against the powerful Rockridge Rockets who are loaded again this year and expecting to go deep into the state series. The Rockets started quickly nailing their first three 3-point shots in route to a 14-0 lead. A 3-pointer from Panther Keegan finally got EP on the board with 3:45 left in the first quarter which ended 27-6 in favor of Rockridge.
Lavine got a hot hand for EP in the second nailing 2 long jumpers from the 3-point range but that was the majority of the Panther offense with EP trailing 51-18 at the half. A more competitive third frame saw some positive Panther adjustments as EP was outscored 12-9. The running clock in the fourth period allowed both coaches to substitute freely.
The Panthers were led in scoring by sophomore Keegan’s 9 and freshman Evan Steimle’s 8.
Coach Ryan Winckler was disappointed with the tournament scores but convinced that his young team learned a lot. “ We competed hard against some of the best teams in the area and we’re already moving forward. We just need to work hard in practice as we have a lot of positives to build on. We are looking forward to our battle with Bureau Valley Tuesday.”
The Panthers host the Bureau Valley Storm Tuesday night in Prophetstown with the sophomore game starting at 5:30.
