by Steve Bradley
Panthers Lose To Mt. Anthony
The Panther boys basketball team traveled over to Bennington Saturday evening to face the Mt. Anthony Patriots. In a fast paced game, the Patriots used sheer numbers to outrun the Panthers and get the win. The Patriots subbed five players at a time and just tuckered out the Panthers. The Patriots jumped out to a 9 – 0 lead, but the Panthers slowly but surely made up ground and were only down 28 – 25 at the half.
In the third quarter, the Panthers began to tire, and the Patriots got hot shooting three-pointers. They even banked one in, giving an indication of how well it was going for them at that point in the game. The Patriots outscored the Panthers 26 – 16 in that deciding quarter. As the game wore on, the Panthers tired more, and the Patriots extended their lead.
Two Panthers fouled out of the game, always a possibility when playing in Vermont. When the final buzzer sounded, Mt. Anthony had outscored the Panthers 70 – 56. This is actually a respectable score considering Mt. Anthony, the largest school in Vermont, has approximately 1,000 students in grades 9 – 12 compared to 400 at HFCS. The teams are scheduled to meet again on February 11.
Mark Hackett led the Panthers with 18 points. Austin Pitt added 12. The Panther overall record goes to 5 – 1.
Panthers Crush Stillwater, 69 – 33
To avenge their first loss Saturday against Mt. Anthony, the Panthers came out on a tear Tuesday evening against the Stillwater Warriors. The offense put up 15 first quarter points while the defense took everything away from the Warriors, allowing only 2 points. The team was firing on all cylinders. Passing was crisp; shots were dropping, and team play was sharp. Mark Hackett scored 12 points.
The second quarter was played with a little less intensity. The Panthers put sixteen on the board in the quarter, but the Warriors kept pace by putting up 15 of their own. Stillwater drew closer to the Panthers as the quarter was coming to an end. Panther play was a little sloppy at that point. With two minutes left in the quarter, the score was HF 27 – Stillwater 9. The game went into the halftime break with the score Hoosick Falls 31, Stillwater 17.
Perhaps it was something that was said in the halftime locker room, but there was no let up of intensity in the entire second half. The Panthers dominated from the start of the third quarter until the final buzzer sounded. The Panthers outscored the Warriors 38 – 16 over the final two quarters. Stillwater beat Greenwich and took Hoosic Valley right to the end before losing by 5. But the Panthers were not going to let them be that team on this night.
Hackett led the assault with 17 points, including three first quarter three-pointers. Andrew Hoag also scored 17. Austin Pitt and Noah Chani each dropped in 11. The Panthers are now 6 – 1, 5 – 0 in league play.
On Friday, January 10, the Panthers will travel to Schaghticoke to play the Hoosic Valley Indians. This could be a very good game. Both teams are undefeated in WASAREN League play and will be playing for the League’s first place. Saturday, January 11, the Panthers will travel to Greenwich to face the Witches. Tuesday, January 14, the team travels up Route 22 to face Granville. All varsity games are scheduled to begin around 7:30, immediately after the 6 pm JV game.