Panthers fall just short of Atlantic

The Panthers kept the offense rolling Monday as they hosted Atlantic, but they couldn’t stop Trojan senior Colton Rasmussen. His 50-point performance not only dismantled the Panthers, but also set a new Atlantic record for points in a single game.

“First of all, the kid just goes in fuego; he couldn’t miss,” Creston coach Bryce Schafer said. “We hold him to 40 and we win by eight.”

Down by two points with five seconds left, Turner took the ball up the court and launched a shot for the win. The ball his the rim, bouncing off to give Atlantic the 75-73 comeback victory.

“That’s the nature of the beast sometimes, especially late,” Schafer said.

Though the Panthers held a 10-point lead at halftime, they didn’t gain their first lead until midway through the second quarter.

In the first quarter, Jake Hoyt put up 11 of the team’s 18 points. He finished with a team-high 23 points. Tony Davidson added 18 for the Panthers and Turner had 12.

A big part of both sides of the ball, Davidson’s presence was sorely missed when he fouled out after his third fourth-quarter foul.

“Late in the fourth quarter, legs looked a little wobbly. I’ve got to look back at my rotations to see if I can get some extra time for our guys to get out and get a rest. I think that played a role,” Schafer said. “I think it really hurt that Tony got his fifth foul. I think he changed us defensively and he gave us another body that we could really put pressure on Rasmussen. I think it changes the game for sure.”

Atlantic took over the lead with less than two minutes left to play. It was the first lead change since the Panthers took over in the second quarter.

Two Panthers fans were ejected from the game after comments made from the bleachers.

The lead switched five times in the final two minutes, Turner hitting a shot with 30 seconds left to put the Panthers down by one. A foul was called on Hoyt against Rasmussen, the senior stepping up to shoot free throws. His first went in for his 50th point of the game. The second missed, putting the Panthers down by two with less than 20 seconds on the clock.

Turner was fouled and stepped up to the line for his two shots and the chance to tie the game with only five seconds left. The first shot went in, but the second didn’t, leaving the Panthers just shy of the win.

“Offensively, we’ve hit our stride,” Schafer said. “We saw a lot of inside finishes at the rim. That led to some kick out threes later on. We’re facilitating more, carrying the ball. Offensively, I don’t really have anything I was frustrated with. We’ve just got to figure out how to get a stop.”

The Panthers will have another shot tonight at home as they host Glenwood.