[1]Albert College point guard Luke Robinson works his way around the top of the key while being chase by Greenwood deffender E. Freedman. Greenwood won the game 51-42.
By Andrew Mendler
Courtesy of Quinte Sporting News [2]
The mood was surprisingly upbeat after the Albert College Panthers lost 51-42 to their division rivals.
The Panthers loss to the Greenwood Grizzlies Wednesday afternoon was a disappointing one, as they were coming off a 47-39 victory over Lakefield College in junior boys high school basketball action
Although the season hasn’t started out the way the Panthers would have wanted, the players are still finding a way to look on the bright side.
“The season is going great, we are putting in a lot of effort,” said power forward, Jupvier Atwal. “We just have to talk more out on the court and got to have less turnovers.”
Albert College head coach, Angela Guse, wanted her team to play with intensity and keep it up throughout the entire game.
That’s exactly what the Panthers did as they proved to be a tough opponent for the second place Grizzlies.
They kept up with the Grizzlies for most of the first half, matching them basket for basket. In the last few minutes of the half, Greenwood pulled away and took a nine-point lead into half time.
By the fourth quarter, the Panthers had dug a pretty big hole and found themselves down by 12 points.
Albert College didn’t give up and managed to climb back into the game and cut the deficit to a little as four points with a few minutes remaining. They got close but where unable to make the key shots to tie the game.
Greenwood capitalized on the missed opportunities and extended their lead and took the game by nine points.
Greenwood head coach, Jamie Lester, was impressed with the Panthers never-say-die attitude.
“We jumped out to some decent leads during the game. They kept on playing and kept on going hard. They were tenacious and stayed in the game. Pushed us right to the end, said Lester.”
The Panthers loss was their second double-digit loss of the season and their third loss in four games.
Even though they suffered their third loss of the season, Guse found a positive way to look at the loss.
“Tons and tons of learning today. We hadn’t played Greenwood yet, so it was good practice and a good learning experience.”
Atwal was also very positive.
“It was very good, very intense; we played a great game, said Atwal. “Hopefully that carries into the next game.”
Albert College (3-1) is now tied for 4th place in the Junior Boys CISAA (Conference of Independent Schools Athletic Association) High School Basketball East Division II.
The Panthers next game is this Saturday, Jan. 28, when they host last place Trinity College. Tip off is shortly after 10 am.