Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Observations all along the line - Kimball & the Southern Panhandle First
Ethan Hinrichs defends Banner County’s Ben Hostetler.
The Banner County Wildcats gave the Potter-Dix Coyotes quite a run in their meeting January 25 at Potter-Dix’s home court.
The Wildcats started the game strong with Ben Hostetler hitting a 3 pointer at the top of the key off a pass from Kadan Huber putting the Wildcats on the board 3-0 just five seconds into the first quarter.
The Wildcats were able to get a five point lead before the Coyotes were able to get on the board with Bryant Knigge hitting a shot with 6:50 to go in the quarter leaving the score 5-2.
“They had a lot of character and a lot of heart. They’re getting a lot better,” Banner County Coach Jim Wyatt said of his team.
However, the Coyotes quickly overtook the Wildcats ending the quarter with a 16 point lead with the score resting at 25-9. The Coyotes were able to keep the lead through the second quarter leaving the Wildcats behind at 41-25.
Though the Wildcats were down, they proved to be far from out in the second half of the game.
Banner County started cutting away at the Potter-Dix lead early in the third quarter with Ben Hostetler and Tyson Dahlgrin both scoring in the first minute leaving the score at 41-29.
The Wildcats were able to come within three points of the Coyotes with 35 seconds left to go in the third quarter with Hostetler driving into the paint for two leaving the score 46-43.
“We started out on fire and then we just got out of rhythm a little bit. They made some good adjustments, and we just held on,” Potter- Dix’s Luke Johnson said.
The final quarter saw Potter-Dix keep their lead with a 3 pointer from Bryant Knigge off a pass from Jake Johnson to give them a nine point lead with 7:15 left to go in the game.
The Wildcats made one final run at the Coyotes with 1:36 to go in the game with Hostetler hitting another three pointer off a pass from Mike McKown cutting the lead to eight points. The Wildcats kept cutting away at the Potter-Dix lead coming within 3 points with 15 seconds left to go in the game with McKown hitting a three pointer off a pass from Brenton Soule, putting the score 64-61.
“We came a lot closer this time. It feels good to get down to the end of the game and only be a few points away,” Soule said.
Bryant Knigge was able to shut down the Wildcats hope for a win with two free throws off a foul by Banner County’s Tyson Dahlgrin, leaving Potter-Dix victorious over the Wildcats 66- 61.
“Give them credit. Their kids never gave up. They keep fighting. It’s just kind of a you win, but you wish you would have played better situation,” Potter-Dix Coach Chad Miller said.