RHS Panthers win two in front of hometown fans

RANGELY I The Panther boys’ basketball team earned two wins last weekend in front of hometown fans and will play one on the road Friday before returning home to Saturday for league contest. The Panthers beat Vail Mountain 66-51 Friday last then pounded North Park 59-31 Saturday.
“We got off to a good start with Kody (Denny) getting to the rim and Cameron (Enterline) getting a couple to drop from the outside,” head coach Eric Hejl said.
Denny scored four points in the first quarter and Enterline scored eight, including two 3-pointers to help their team jump out to a 19-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.
“One of our goals was to hold them under 10 points per quarter and we were able to do that in the first quarter,” Hejl said.
The Panthers scored 15 more in the second and held the Gore Mountain Rangers to 10 to lead 34-19 at halftime.
“Overall we played a pretty good game offensively and had one of our better team shooting nights,” Hejl said. “Our defensive intensity wasn’t quite where I’d like it to be in the second half, especially in the third quarter.”
The Panthers scored 17 in the third period behind Denny’s seven-points and Cory Evans hitting two 3-pointers, then Connor Phelan scored 10 of his game high 17 points in the fourth.
“We’re going to have to eliminate some of those mental lapses in the game we have coming up against good teams,” Hejl said. “Overall we had a pretty balanced team performance and got a team win we had to have.”
Denny finished with 14, Enterline scored 10, Mason Fortunato added seven, Evans six, David Contreras and Ethan Peacock each added five and Chaz Byerly finished with two.
Hejl said his team’s “shooting touch” did not carry over from the night before and the defense seemed “a little unfocused.”
Denny and Peacock combined for 11 of the Panthers’ 13 first-quarter points and matched their output in the second to lead 26-19 at halftime.
“We couldn’t really stretch our lead because we were missing too many easy buckets,” Hejl said. “It was nice to see a bunch of different guys come off the bench and get the energy up a little up.”
The Panthers scored 15 in the third and 18 in the final quarter, while holding the Wildcats to only 12 points in the second half.
“This game was about more than just beating North Park,” Hejl said. “It was also about playing with the kind of relentless winning mentality that this program has been lacking a little bit lately. I asked the guys at halftime to go out to play with some pride and with purpose. They responded well, especially defensively, only giving up eight points in the first 15 minutes of the second half. Guys were hustling after rebounds, loose balls and did a good job of jumping into passing lanes to force some turnovers and run-outs for lay ups.”
Denny and Peacock led the Panthers with 16 each, Fortunato scored eight, Phelan, Evans and Jake Massey each added five, while Enterline and Colt Allred each made a basket.
“Hopefully this is the start of a good defensive trend,” Hejl said. “If we get that consistently in every game, we’re going to hang around and have a chance to win down the stretch no matter who we’re playing.”
The Panthers will travel to DeBeque to take on the Dragons Friday and host Plateau Valley Saturday afternoon.