With their loss against Bangor last week, the Panther boys basketball team knew they had to beat Wilson Friday night if they wanted to stay in contention for playoffs.
Senior Cody Zrinski put the Panthers on the scoreboard first in a little over a minute of playing time. Will Smith, Brad Yeahl and Josh Snead also put points on the board for Saucon, making the score 10-8 Panthers after the first quarter.
Wilson pulled ahead in the second quarter, but the momentum changed when a Wilson player received a technical foul immediately followed by a Wilson coach getting another technical foul. Senior Snead made three of the four free throws, pulling the Panthers into the lead again. Cam Allen and Zrinski added points, giving the Panthers a narrow lead of 23-19 at the end of the second quarter.
The third quarter, which is typically not the best for the Panthers, lacked intensity from both teams. Saucon and Wilson added 7 points each for their teams, bringing the score to 30-26 Panthers.
The Panthers managed to pick up their game in the final quarter when they knew it was do it or die time. They played well defensively, keeping Wilson trailing behind them the entire last quarter. Allen, Snead, Zrinski and Smith added a combined 21 points to bring the final score to 51-40 Saucon.
Senior co-captain Josh Snead assessed the team;s performance by stating, “We struggled in the first half, but were able to get stops and layups when needed them.”
The journey to the playoffs continues at home Tuesday when Saucon will face off against Northern Lehigh at 7 p.m. at home.
