Panthers basketball: Close but no cigar

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Panthers basketball: Close but no cigar

Wed, 02/03/2021 - 18:00
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Fort Stockton head coach Jimmy Martinez iterated after Tuesday’s home game against Andrews the theme of the season in close games.

The Panthers battle and play tough but are unable to capitalize in those game-deciding moments.

“We played good, we played well. We just didn’t knock down shots when we had them open and missed out on some opportunities,” Martinez said. That’s what I wanted from them. They showed up, they played, just didn’t execute on the opportunities we had.”

Fort Stockton fought their way back from a 27-16 halftime deficit, closing the Mustangs lead to 35-33 on a Dominic Aguilar two-point basket with one minute remaining in the third quarter.

A back-and-forth scrap ensued the rest of the way. Ethan Acosta gave Fort Stockton’s its first tie since the early stages of the game at 38-38 with 4:18 left in the fourth quarter.

Fort Stockton brought it within two points on an Acosta two-point basket with 33 second left before Andrews took control in the final 30 seconds.

Two charge calls and a travel call went against Fort Stockton in the final 90 seconds of the game, enabling the Mustangs to get a 51-44 win.

Aguilar had a team-high 17 points, with 15 coming in the third quarter despite being in foul trouble. Acosta also finished in double digits for the Panthers with 13. Cruz Rojas had 8 eight points.

The Panthers record sits at 2-19 and 0-7 in district play heading into Friday’s game at Pecos.

Panthers score below 30 for 4th time this season in loss

For the second consecutive game, the Fort Stockton boys basketball team failed to reach the 30-point barrier when they competed against Greenwood on the road on Friday, Jan. 29.

“The Panthers struggled offensively the whole game,” Fort Stockton coach Hunter Grice said.

Greenwood claimed a 64-23 win over Fort Stockton after defeating the Panthers 76-31 in their first meeting on Jan. 12.

Aguilar had a team-high nine points, doing a good job getting to the free throw line. Acosta also had six points, while Caleb Garcia finished with four, and Anthony Gomez contributed with three points of his own.