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Paola hangs with Gardner but comes up short PDF Print E-mail
Sports
Written by Andy Brown   
Wednesday, 24 December 2008 08:00
For three quarters, the Paola boys’ basketball team went toe-to-toe with the high-powered, and more athletic, Gardner-Edgerton squad Thursday.

The Panthers just couldn’t stay with them that final quarter.

The Blazers broke open a close game in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Panthers by 10 points, en route to a 59-45 win over Paola in a game that was tied at halftime. Paola slowed down the Gardner offense and forced several turnovers in the first half that led to some easy baskets.

Gardner didn’t help itself either after it converted on only four of 20 free-throw attempts that kept Paola in the game.

“We played pretty good defensively for the most part, but have done a pretty good job on that end the first five games,” Paola head coach Dave Cash said of his team that is now 2-3 on the season. “We had a tough time scoring the ball, which is going to be tough for us.”

Except for the opening basket, Paola held the lead the rest of the first quarter thanks to a 3-pointer from Adam Henn, a basket from Skylar Hawkins and free throws from Travis Hayes and Michael Bryson. In the second quarter, the Panthers hit 10 of 12 free throws to keep the game tied at halftime, 21-all.

Gardner, however, started to pull away in the third quarter, but Paola senior Jonathan Pomatto scored six points in the quarter to keep the game close. The Panthers struggled with foul trouble that left forwards Hayes and Bryson on the bench for most of the second half.

But in the back of their minds, the Panthers knew they could pull off the upset of the Blazers.“Our guys believe that they can win, it is just getting over the hump, which is sometimes pretty tough,” Cash said.


The “hump,” at least on Thursday, was the fourth quarter. Gardner outscored Paola 21-11 in the final frame to seal the win.

Pomatto was the only Panther in double figures with 12 points and Hayes finished with eight. Brint Hastert came off the bench to score all of his seven points in the fourth quarter.

Despite the loss, Cash is still encouraged with the progress his team is making.

“I am pleased with the effort thus far, and we will continue to work on our deficiencies over break,” Cash said. “We haven’t shot the ball very well from the line really, although (Thursday) we did a pretty good job of knocking down free throws.”

When the Panthers return from their holiday break, they will play Girard on Jan. 6 in Paola.

Paola    9  12 13 11 — 45

Gardner 8  13 17 21 — 59

Paola (2-3): Jon Pomatto 3 6-8 12, Travis Hayes 2 4-4 8, Brint Hastert 1 4-6 7, Skylar Hawkins 2 2-2 6, Adam Henn 1 2-2 5, Michael Bryson 1 3-4 5, Nick Wilson 0 2-2 2, Hayden Mersman 0 0-2 0. Totals: 10 23-30 45. 3-point field goals: 2, (Henn, Hastert).

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