by Ben Gaines
The healthy Panthers’ JV squad loaded onto the bus Friday, January 25, for the lengthy ride to Granville.The team was in great spirits now that midterm week was behind them, and it was game day. Upon stepping into the Granville gym everything came into a different light, literally. The gym was dark with a blue light that took time to adjust to. The boys didn’t do so well in warmups at first, but they finally adjusted. The Horde tapped the ball to start, but Falls caught the skewed tip. The Panthers wasted no time and scored within 23 seconds. They ran the score for the first quarter to 21-12. The eight man Granville squad had its hands full the first half. Falls attempted 30 shots and connected 18 times for a 41-21 score at
the half. The smoothest transition of the game was an impressive, six second, three man, scoring sequence. Mark Hackett rebounded a Horde shot attempt in the paint, passed the ball to Noah Chani near half court by the scorer’s table. Chani turned, dribbled once, and passed to Justin Gaines who ran the court to near the three point arc 10 feet from the base line. Justin spun and drove around two players and laid the ball in for two points to close the first half. The second half saw more of the Falls reserve players take the floor for some well deserved game experience. During daily practice it is these reserve players who polish the starters into the players they are. Practice isn’t the same as on court game experience. But it is a time when Coach Flemming gets to hammer out flaws, adjust technique and trim away rough edges so that the reserves can grind and polish the starters so they can shine on game day.
Offense sells tickets…defense wins games. That point was proven yet again Friday evening. Screens and picks were set all night long so players had open paths to score. The entire squad contributed to the 70-34 score for win #32 of the streak, and they should be proud of their play.