BOYS
In a stark contrast from the Tuesday game to the Friday game, the number four-ranked Concordia High School boys basketball team picked up a dominant win and an ugly loss to move to 14-4 on the year.
Versus number one-ranked Rock Creek, the Panthers lost 64-40.
Rock Creek jumped out to a 6-1 lead early in the first quarter, but the Panthers were able to tie the game up at six. The Mustangs would slowly create some ground and held an 18-12 lead after one quarter of play.
The Panthers would find themselves in a hole early in the second quarter, as Rock Creek opened the quarter on a 10-3 spurt to take a 28-15 lead. Concordia’s offense would struggle to score some points as the lead expanded to 17, as Concordia trailed 37-20.
Rock Creek pushed the lead to 25 to open the third quarter as the Panthers tried their best to claw back into the game. For every Panther basket, Rock Creek would score on the opposing end, eventually holding a 53-28 lead entering the fourth quarter.
For the first time since the opening quarter, the Panthers were finally able to get some offense going, even outscoring the Mustangs 12-11 for the quarter. The lead would be too much with far too little time as the Panthers fell 64-40, with their only two NCKL losses on the year coming at the hands of Rock Creek.
Ayden Krier led in scoring with 14 points and two steals.
Chane Parker had 10 points, nine rebounds and a steal.
Ian Loudermilk had eight points and two assists.
Versus Chapman, the Panthers won 74-35
Concordia’s offense came out of the gates hot, taking an early lead and holding a 13-5 lead with 4:22 to go in the opening quarter. The Panthers kept their foot on the gas, scoring 20 more points to Chapman’s two to lead 31-7 after one quarter of play.
The Irish were able to pace the Panthers 4-4 to open the second quarter, but as time rolled on, the Panthers’ lead grew. Concordia’s offense would go on a 17-4 run throughout the rest of the quarter, and they held a staggering 52-15 lead entering the locker room.
The Panther offense continued to flow smoothly, even with the reserves getting extended playing time. Concordia outscored the Irish 16-12 for the quarter and pushed the lead to 67-27 entering the fourth quarter. With a running clock for the final eight minutes of the game, the Panthers were able to coast and pick up the 74-35 victory, capped by a Stanley Dervil layup at the buzzer.
Boone Richard led in scoring with 17 points in 11 minutes, with one rebound and a block.
Macon Farha had 12 points, two assists and a steal.
Grayson Farha had nine points, three assists and three steals.
GIRLS
Hosting the number six team in 4A and defeating Chapman on the road, the Concordia High School girls basketball team split the week’s action and moved to 10-8 on the year.
Versus number six-ranked Rock Creek, the Panthers lost 62-43.
Concordia came out red hot, jumping out to a 9-3 lead early, but Rock Creek would fight back to keep the game close. After a back and forth affair, it would be the Panthers holding the lead 17-15 after one quarter of play.
The Mustangs were able to take the lead for the first time halfway through the second quarter, 23-21. A 6-0 Panther spurt took the lead back, but the Mustangs were able to tie the game up at 27 entering halftime, as neither team could create an advantage over the other.
Concordia would still hold a slight edge coming out of the locker rooms, starting out with a 5-0 run and playing great defense. Rock Creek would retaliate with a 14-4 run to close the quarter, as the Panthers trailed 44-36 entering the final quarter.
For how great the Panthers were playing in the first half, they started to run out of gas in the fourth quarter. Rock Creek hit a three to push the lead to double digits, with a Jaylin Roush jumper finally getting the Panthers on the board to make it a 49-38 game, but Rock Creek would neutralize the Panther offense, outscoring them 13-5 down the stretch to avoid the upset.
Roush led in scoring with 18 points, four rebounds and a block.
Morgan Lister had eight points, four rebounds and a steal.
Charlize Cash had seven points, eight rebounds, three assists and four steals.
Versus Chapman, the Panthers won 65-60.
The Irish held the early advantage, leading 10-4 three minutes into the game. Chapman was able to build their lead to 11, 19-8, but a late three-pointer for the Panthers made it 19-11 to end the first quarter.
Chapman pushed the advantage to start the second quarter, expanding the lead to 14, 29-15, but five straight points from Marlee VanMeter kept the Panthers in the game. Both teams would go back and forth throughout the quarter, with a Jaylin Roush three-pointer making it a 37-30 Irish lead entering halftime.
A switch flipped for the Panthers to open the third quarter, with a pair of VanMeter baskets and a Charlize Cash layup to tie the game. Both teams would keep exchanging baskets down the stretch, but a technical foul on Concordia would give Chapman a 50-48 lead entering the fourth quarter.
After tying the game at 53 with a Rylie Jessup layup, VanMeter put the Panthers up with a layup with 4:30 to go. The Panthers shut down the Irish offense, keeping them off the scoreboard until 1:22 remaining, four and a half minutes of game time, allowing the Panthers to go up 59-54. A Roush jumper put the Panthers up seven, and allowed the Panthers to coast as the Irish were forced to foul.
Roush led in scoring with 23 points, three steals and a rebound.
VanMeter had 22 points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal.
Cash had 13 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and four steals.
