Panther boys suffer fourth-quarter falter

The Panthers boys basketball team led Grinnell through the first three quarters Friday, but the Tigers took off in the fourth, defeating Creston 57-53.

“Offensively, we got a lot of opportunities. We just didn’t put the ball in the hoop for a majority of them,” Creston coach Bryce Schafer said. “We just fell off with fatigue I think, but we are trending in a direction I like.”

Creston senior Jake Hoyt led all scorers, posting 20 points and 10 rebounds in a double-double game, but even his six fourth-quarter points weren’t enough to keep up with the Tigers who posted 18 in the final quarter.

“Jake is our primary scorer and he did that again tonight, but you saw other guys get up there in the points,” Schafer said. “We’re going to need that to keep up with good teams.”

Sophomores Rhett Driskell and Tanner Ray had 10 and eight points, respectively, to help with Panther scoring. Senior Parker Varner logged a team-high three steals.

A bucket by Driskell put the Panthers up seven points in the third quarter, but the Tigers outscored Creston 8-2 through the remainder of the third to be only one point behind going into the fourth.

“I think we played with a lot more energy and fight,” Schafer said. “You saw guys getting on the ground for balls. Defense for most of the game was much much better, and it’s trending in the right direction.”

Ray helped keep the game close in the final quarter, putting up two huge 3-pointers for the Panthers.

“I think Tanner Ray has taken a huge step forward.” Schafer said. “He had two big shots in the second half. He’s a spark on the defensive end; he’s really fighting hard. He’s made the biggest strides as the season’s gone on.”

With 36 seconds left, the Tigers went up by four with a free throw. The Panthers got the ball back, and Hoyt was fouled on a shot, making the bucket anyway for an and-one situation. The free throw was good, putting Creston back only one point with 29 seconds to go.

In an attempt to get the ball back with short time, the Panthers fouled, but good shooting by the Tigers gave them the edge to win by four.

Grinnell was led by seniors Derek Doty and Brady Coffman who had 18 and 14 points, respectively.

Atlantic

Saturday, the Panthers traveled to Atlantic where they earned their first conference victory in the 51-41 road win.

Though Atlantic scored the first points of the match, the Panthers came back to score seven unanswered for an early lead. Creston led 11-6 at the end of the first, Hoyt logging six and Driskell with five as they dominated scoring early.

The second quarter began with Josh Schaefer leading a fast break for the Panthers, getting the assist to Driskell for two. Schoon scored four in the second quarter while Varner logged a 3-pointer to open a 10-point lead.

The Panthers led by 12 at halftime.

Atlantic outscored the Panthers after the half, coming back to close the lead to seven points, but the Panthers came back to outscore the Trojans in the final quarter to win the bout by 10.

The Trojans were led by Grant Petty who scored 15.

FRIDAY STATS:

GRINNELL (57) — Totals (FG FT PTS) — 20 14-27 57. Derek Doty 4 9-13 18, Brady Coffman 6 2-2 14, Ryan McIlrath 4 1-6 9, Jake Van Compernolle 2 1-2 6, Kayne Pavey 2 0-0 4, Jase Koester 1 0-0 3, Kellan Harter 1 0-0 2, Jack Gallagher 0 1-2 1. 3-point goals — 3 (Van Compernolle 1, Doty 1, Koester 1). Rebounds — 33 (Van Compernolle 6, Doty 6, Coffman 6, Gallagher 5, Pavey 3, McIlrath 2, Kegan Hobbs 2, Harter 1). Assists — 13 (Doty 7, McIlrath 3, Van Compernolle 1, Coffman 1, Koester 1). Steals — 6 (McIlrath 3, Doty 1, Harter 1, Gallagher 1). Blocked shots — 0 Team fouls — 15. Fouled out — McIlrath.

CRESTON (53) — Totals — (FG FT PTS) 20 9-16 53. Jake Hoyt 8 4-5 20, Rhett Driskell 3 4-4 10, Tanner Ray 3 0-2 8, Brayden Schoon 3 1-4 7. Parker Varner 2 0-1 5, Josh Schaefer 1 0-0 3. 3-point goals — 4 (Ray 2, Varner 1, Schaefer 1). Rebounds — 26 (Hoyt 10, Driskell 3, Schaefer 3, Ray 3, Varner 2, Tommy Sand 2, Schoon 2, Cael Barton 1). Assists — 10 (Driskell 2, Varner 2, Schoon 2, Schaefer 1, Hoyt 1, Sand 1, Ray 1). Steals — 9 (Varner 3, Schaefer 2, Ray 2, Driskell 1, Hoyt 1). Blocked shots — 1 (Hoyt) Team fouls — 17. Fouled out — None.

SATURDAY STATS:

CRESTON stats unavailable.

ATLANTIC (41) — Totals — (FG FT PTS) 14 8-12 41. Grant Petty 6 0-0 15, Kinnick Juhn 2 4-4 8, Hunter Nelson 3 0-0 8, Gavin McLaren 2 0-2 4, Reid Woodward 1 2-2 4, Hudson McLaren 0 1-2 1, Shelton Mualia 0 1-2 1. 3-point goals — 5 (Petty 3, Nelson 2). Rebounds — 21 (Juhl 3, Mualia 3, Petty 3, H, McLaren 2, Nelson 2, Woodward 2, G. McLaren 1, Gage Gross 1). Assists — 9 (Juhl 5, H. McLaren 2, Mualia 1, G. McLaren 1). Steals — 7 (Juhl 3, Mualia 2, Petty 1, Nelson 1). Blocked shots — 0. Team fouls — 19. Fouled out — Mualia.