ETV News stock photo by Jeff Barrett
The Panthers began region play on Friday on the road against the Wayne Badgers.
With the score 30-24 at halftime in favor of the Badgers, the Panthers remained in striking distance. Wayne, however, used a lopsided third quarter to further separate themselves from Pinnacle. The Panthers had 19 turnovers in the game and never did recover, opening region play with a loss, 54-37.
Riley Wilson recorded a team-high 17 points for the Panthers while Ben Scott had five of the team’s 10 steals.
“The boys played very well, we just came up short,” said head coach Eric Hansen after the game. “The score does not reflect how well we played.”
It was an inopportune time to open region play for Pinnacle due to some player’s educational commitments. “We were missing a few of our key players due to college finals,” said Hansen. “But the boys that were there rose to the occasion and fought hard.”
Pinnacle (3-5, 0-1 Region 19) will head to play in a non-league tournament at Altamont Prep Academy from Thursday to Saturday this week. They will face American Prep WV, American Heritage, Tintic and Altamont. When the Panthers return from the holiday break, they will resume play in a region matchup at Whitehorse on Friday, Jan. 4.