KNOXVILLE — On “Senior Night” the Knoxville Panthers hosted the Comets of Cardinal High School and the depth of the Panthers was on display in an 80-21 romp past the Comets.
Knoxville coach Troy Pearson gave plenty of playing time to his four seniors and used a number of players who often do not see a lot of minutes. They all showed up to play as 14 boys got into the scoring column and they pushed the basketball.
“It has been tough with all the rescheduling,” Pearson said. “We now face a brutal schedule of seven games in the next ten days. We just needed to rest some of our kids and our bench guys needed the work. We will have to count on them more in the next few days.”
The Panthers came charging out of the chute with an 18-0 run in the first six minutes of play and then finished the first quarter with a 28-2 lead. That famous large lady was ready to sing.
Jay Kellar gave the Panthers a jump-start with three consecutive three balls in the middle of the first period and he added a deuce for an 11-point quarter. Gabe Clark nailed a triple and a baseline jumper and Koby Higginbotham knocked down a pair of inside buckets to lead the charge.
Alec Rachford muscled home an inside shot for the lone Comets points of the quarter.
Things did not slow much for Knoxville in the second stanza as Drake Larson opened the frame with a three and Kaiden Smith drove the lane for two. Clark canned his second trey of the game and then he went inside for two to give the Panthers a 38-9 lead.
The Comets began to show some life and Montana Rupe put down a couple of drives to the hoop and Nick Walker added a baseline jumper and a free throw. But in the final three and one-half minutes of the quarter, the Comets would not score.
Knoxville used a pair of buckets and a pair of free throws by Connor Willis, an inside basket and two free throws by Landon Norris and Noah Keefer rammed home and inside shot to put the Panthers up 50-9 at halftime.
The second half would be played under the 35-point mercy rule, but the younger Panthers kept things rolling as they put the wraps on an 80-21 victory.
“Senior night is always special,” Pearson said. “Our seniors set the tone with a quick start and they passed the ball extremely well. We were getting the shots we wanted and we were hitting those shots. Our defense was engaged and our pressure was frustrating our opponents.”
Kellar led a trio of Panthers in double digits with 14 points while Willis chipped in with 13 and Clark added 12. Gavin Ware led the Comets with five points.
“Knoxville is a very good team,” Comet coach Michael Strasko said. “They are quick and work really hard at both ends of the floor. We just don’t have the depth needed to stay with them. We, like most other teams, face a glut of games. Our schedule has us playing eight games in the next 12 days. We will just take our lessons and try to get better.”
For the rest of the week, the Comets will be at Clarke on Tuesday, at home with Davis County on Thursday and Friday they are at Keota. The Panthers are at Albia on Tuesday, at Davis County on Friday and they play Newton at Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday.
Cardinal 2 7 10 2 - 21
Knoxville 28 22 16 14 - 80
Knoxville scoring (FG FTM-FTA Pts) – Noah Keefer 2 1-2 5, Landon Norris 2 2-2 6, Jay Kellar 5 0-0 14, Connor Willis 5 3-4 13, Gabe Clark 5 2-3 12, Koby Higginbotham 3 1-2 8, Drake Larson 1 0-0 3, Kaiden Smith 1 0-0 2, Tristan Stevenson 1 2-2 4, Carson Uitermarkt 1 0-0 3, Trey Wright 1 0-0 2, Cael Cook 2 0-0 5, Will Van Vark 0 1-2 1, TaShawn Conner 1 0-0 2. Team 30 10-14 80. Three-point goals (10) – Kellar 4, Clark 2, Higginbotham 1, Larson 1, Uitermarkt 1, Cook 1.
Cardinal scoring (FG FTM-FTA Pts) – Alec Rachford 2 0-0 4, Montana Rupe 2 0-0 4, Nick Walker 1 1-2 3, Gavin Ware 2 0-0 5, Alijah Frase 1 0-0 3, Paiden Rupe 0 2-3 2. Team 8 3-5 21. Three-point goals (2) – Ware 1, Frase 1.
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