Panther boys best WACO, fall to Fairfield

PACKWOOD – After a big win it can be difficult to keep the energy up for the next game. 

That’s exactly what the Pekin boys basketball team learned this last week. 

On Jan. 14 the Panthers were able to accomplish something their head coach, John Swanson, had never done before, beating WACO. 

Just two days later the Panthers renewed their rivalry with nearby foe Fairfield, but were unable to keep the energy up as Fairfield grabbed a 15-point win. 

In their Jan. 14 game the Panthers jumped on top of the Warriors with a strong first half. The Panthers were able to score almost at will as they led 36-12 at halftime. The scoring switched sides for much of the second half as WACO outscored Pekin 32-16 in the second half. That wasn’t enough as the Panthers were able to gain the win over WACO. 

It was the first time since Dec. 22, 2015 that the Panthers had been able to beat WACO. 

“Tuesday night we were ready to go coming out of the locker room and we just made all the plays we needed to in the first half,” Swanson said. “Our guys came out ready to run through a brick wall in that game. The shots were falling and we had all of the energy.”

Throughout the first half of the Jan. 14 game it seemed that the Panthers couldn’t miss. They scored 18 points in both the first and second quarter. Defensively they trapped WACO and held them to 12 points. 

Things slowed down in the second half. The Warriors made a run at the end of the game, but the Pekin lead was too strong and they were able to gain the win.

Nolan Glick led the scoring with 16 points in the game against WACO. Will Adam added 14 points. Kasey Davis finished 11 points.

Cole Millikin scored eight points and Alijah Brock finished with three. 

“It was the first time in my career I was able to coach a team to a win over WACO,” Swanson said. “That was big for our program, for our kids too. But sometimes after a big win you have a letdown.”

That’s part of what could have led to the Thursday night game when Pekin was defeated 55-40 by Fairfield. 

The Panthers kept pace with the Trojans throughout much of the first half. Fairfield led 31-26 at halftime.

Both teams didn’t start the second half off well. Both teams scored eight points each and Fairfield kept the lead. Throughout the fourth quarter the Trojans continued to make the shots they needed, while slowing down the scoring efforts of Pekin. 

“Fairfield cleaned up their turnovers and started to convert their shots a lot more,” Swanson said. “I thought they just flat out played better in the second half. In the first half we were struggling with turnovers and consistency. We missed layups and had more turnovers which cost us.”

The Panthers finished with  just 14 points in the second half of the game. 

“We had a hard time getting anything going in the second half,” Swanson said. “It just seemed, like, at times, all five guys weren’t on the same page. We didn’t have the continuity that we needed to get the win.” 

Glick led the Panthers with 14 points. Millikin added another 10 points.

Will and Henry Adam both finished with six points each.

Riley Smith and Alijah Brock both scored two points each. 

Overall the Panthers stand at 7-6 on the season.