Western ends regular season with loss against Carroll, 57-48
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Someone forgot to shut the gymnasium doors at Western High School on Feb. 25. The winter cold must have made it inside and iced the Panthers' shooting, as they dropped their regular season basketball finale against the Carroll Cougars, 57-48.
The Cougars opened the game with success from the tipoff, rolling out a 9-0 lead before the Western fans had a chance to find a comfortable bleacher. The Panthers did locate the basket in the first, but they only managed to keep pace with their rivals. After one frame, Western trailed 14-6.
The second and third quarters were a different story, as the Panthers topped their opponents in scoring, but only slightly. Carroll was unfazed by Western's defensive efforts and continued to score at a steady pace. The Cougars led 29-23 at the half and 43-39 after three quarters.
Western wouldn't pull closer, though the boys did remain within striking distance. With less than three minutes to play, the Panthers were still just four points shy of the lead, 50-46.
And then they went cold again. Carroll pushed past the Panthers as the game came to a close, taking the contest as Western's shots refused to fall.
If there was a culprit to blame for the home team's painfully low accuracy, it might be this. The Panthers took 35 three-point shots on the night, hitting just 10 of them. By comparison, the boys only shot 18 two-pointers, hitting just eight of them.
In fact, only three of the Panthers even attempted shots inside the arc. This live-or-die from long range strategy failed spectacularly, as Western hit just 34 percent of its shots. The percentage is something most teams can tolerate, but those teams also shoot more shots closer to the basket to make up for the inefficiency.
Junior Carter Biggs managed to shine in the shadow of the loss. He scored 17 points on 7-19 shooting, while adding nine rebounds and six assists to lead his team in all three categories.
Senior Sam Thurston managed nine points by hitting three of his 10 three-point attempts.
Sitting at 13-10 in the regular season, Western next takes the court on March 5, hosting Maconaquah (17-5) and super-shooter Josiah Ball in the opening sectional round of the IHSAA Boys Basketball State Tournament. The Braves outlasted the Panthers in their lone regular-season match-up on Jan. 24, winning 72-68 in double overtime.
See additional photos from this game, along with shots of the pep band and cheer squad, courtesy of Adam Hartsough, on the Lantern’s Facebook page or group.