Photos by Maxwell Misner
The Pinnacle Panthers hosted their rivals, the Green River Pirates, for their last regular season game of the year.
The Panthers started off aggressive, going after the rim. Cole Barton and Brody Howell had a couple strong finishes, showing their strength in the paint. Green River’s Jason Hernandez then made a nice steal and brought the ball coast to coast for two.
Joey Howell would get the next score for the Panthers with a quick drive to the basket, finishing the layup. Brody Howell was then found by Barton beyond the three-point stripe as Howell would knock down the catch and shoot three-pointer. The Pirates would call a timeout to cool down the fired-up Panthers, with a score 14-2 in the first few minutes.
Toward the end of the quarter, Luis Hernandez would put down a nice three-point shot for the Pirates. On the next possession, Raul Mendoza had a steal, which he converted to a quick pass to Jason Hernandez, who would then find Mendoza for the assisted finish as Green River would start to find its groove as the quarter ended, 16-10, in favor of the Panthers.
Ryker Meadows started the second quarter off with a three-pointer to get the Pirates rolling, followed by a basket from Barton, then another score for Luis Hernandez. Jarrett Guerrera then had a nice contact layup.
Mendoza would get a nice offensive board, which turned to two points with two minutes remaining in the half. On the next Green River possession, Luis Hernandez knocked down another shot from three-point land. With seconds left on the clock, Mendoza hit a jumper as the buzzer sounded, closing out the half 29-28, with Green River taking the lead.
Starting off the second half, Luis Hernandez was hot from the three-point line as he would get his third of the night. Panther Jaxon Atwood hit a long two-pointer, followed by Hernandez’s fourth three-pointer of the evening, bringing the score to 35-30, Pirates.
Pinnacle’s Riley Davis answered back on the next possession with a three of his own. Mendoza would then find Hernandez as he put up a teardrop shot. Joey Howell then took the same shot on the other end with a basket for two. Mendoza followed that up by hitting a big three for the Pirates. Davis then answered back with a three on the other end.
Green River would still lead the Panthers, 40-38, with two minutes left in the third. Mendoza kept his nice game going as he scored a contested basket for the Pirates. His teammate, Meadows, would then hit a mid-range jumper on their next possession. With seconds remaining in the third, Dominick Vigil hit a buzzer beater with a score of 44-40 at the end of the quarter in favor of Green River.
Antonio Macias had a nice contact layup for two, giving Green River the lead with four minutes remaining. Barton would then answer back on the other end with a layup of his own. Mendoza responded, tying the game at 50 with three minutes remaining.
Luis Hernandez then put down his fifth three of the night in a clutch moment for the Pirates, which was followed by a nice mid-range shot from Roland Anguiano to bring the lead to five. Green River would make a couple more free throws and a nice hustle layup by Jason Hernandez. In the end, Green River would get the victory, 60-50.
Both teams showed excellent sportsmanship after the game as the players showed great respect toward each other following a very competitive game.
Luis Hernandez led the game in scoring with 25, followed by 13 from Mendoza and 11 from Meadows. For the Panthers, Barton put up 17 points, Joey Howell scored nine, Davis had eight points and Vigil ended the night with seven.
Both teams will now prepare for the state tournament, which will be held at the Sevier Valley Center and Richfield High School on Feb. 28 through March 2.
