Though it was not an easy win, the Panthers earned a 31-29 victory over the Whitewater Wildcats last Friday.

“They’ve worked hard all year and they’ve gotten better and you can see it every day,” head coach Taylor Sweeney said. “They’re certainly improving.” 

Scott Stevens led the Panthers with 15 points. Owen Clevenger contributed six points, and William Robinson added four.

“[Today] we learned to fight through bad times, fight back when we’re down, and just lean on the teammates more,” Logan Inagawa said. 

The game started off relatively slow. Halfway through the first quarter, Starr’s Mill trailed 7-0.

The energy increased as the Panthers neared the end of the first half of the game, though they could not surpass Whitewater. Starr’s Mill was down 14-10 at the break.

“I knew we were going to have a good second half,” Sweeney said. “Scott Stevens hadn’t played the first half…I knew he was capable of scoring and getting us back in the game.”

The Wildcats worked back up to a seven-point lead as the Panthers fought to even the score. At the end of the third, Whitewater led 22-15.

Starr’s Mill battled hard throughout the last quarter, including several scoring streaks. The effort was enough for the Panthers, winning 31-29.

“The adrenaline of winning (helped us play better),” Robinson said. 

The 9th grade boys team travels to McIntosh to begin a day of Battle of the Bubble games for all five basketball teams. Games start at 11 a.m. on January 22.