February 25, 2016 at 2:08 p.m.
Panthers go "Hill Climbing" for SWAL title
That would be Isaac Anderson and Brayden Johnson who lead the Panthers in about every category except time spent on the bench.
But in the planning sessions the Redbirds neglected one thing, or better still, one player.
Caleb Hill.
The junior guard nailed back to back three pointers with 12 and a half minutes left in the second half to give the Panthers a lead they never relinquished enroute to a 54-48 win. His first long range dagger gave IG the lead at 25-24 and his second sent them ahead 28-24.
The Panthers also got a big basket from Sawyer Stuckey with 9:30 left that set the score at 33-28.
There was an early omen to the game that coach Toby Tripalin saw and shared with his coaching staff at halftime.
Johnson had some rimmers from three point range the first half and had only a pair of free throws to his credit at intermission when the Panthers trailed 22-20.
"Watch out for Brayden the second half," Tripalin said. "He will break out of it in a big way."
The senior guard did that and more. He had 15 of his 17 points the second half and had four three pointers, three on long range shots and one the conventional way when he was fouled on a basket and hit the free throw,
Anderson and Collin Price held the Panthers together the first half. Anderson had 10 of his 12 points and Price six of his 11.
Down the stretch Anderson put on a defensive clinic with two of his six blocks, a couple shot altering defensive moments and two of his 10 rebounds. He also had six assists.
During the same time Johnson put in a trio of free throws and a basket, Hill dropped in four free throws to complete his 10 points and Price added three from the stripe.
Besides a classic SWAL battle it also gave the Panthers its first outright championship since 1994-95. The Panthers are ranked as high as sixth in the state's Division 4 rankings.
Josh Soper had a career night for the Redbirds with 20 points. The junior put in six in the final 2:30 to allow the Redbirds to hang around.
The game actually started with a 9-0 run by the Panthers but the Redbirds chipped away and tied it at 16-16. The game was also tied at 20-20 the first half before the Redbirds scored a basket for a two point lead at the half.
The second half went to the Panthers, 34-26.
"I love their heart," Tripalin said after the game. "And I love the atmosphere we played in."
"Those two three pointers by Caleb were huge and we really picked up the defense the second half," Tripalin added. "We really got after it."
He added that Price had a strong performance and took some nice assists from Anderson who was covered and turned them into big points. He also had a big effort on the boards.
"Sawyer Stuckey had a phenomenal defensive performance," Tripalin said. "You could almost call it irritating and he also had a huge bucket."
As for the outright SWAL title, Tripalin said, "This is the most fun I've had since I have been here. I am really proud of the boys. They have all busted their tails for three or four years and made it happen. The title is just one of their goals."
The Panthers end their regular season tonight with Mineral Point at home.
"The Pointers are playing well right now," Tripalin said. "We need this one for momentum."
The Panthers have a first round bye for the D-4 Regionals and host the Lancaster (#9) vs Belleville (#8) next Friday.
Lancaster and Belleville meet at Belleville Tuesday.
SCORE BY HALVES
IG 20 34 54
D 22 26 48
BOX SCORE
IOWA-GRANT 54: (fg-ft-tp) Reeves 0-0-0, Johnson 4-6-17, Anderson 4-3-12, Hill 2-4-10, Price 4-3-11, Stuckey 2-0-4, Raimer 0-0-0 Totals 16-16/24-54 Fouls-13
DARLINGTON 48: Schwarz 4-0-8, B. McDonald 0-0-0, B. Hardyman 0-0-0, Glendenning 3-0-7, H. Hardyman 0-0-0, T. Johnson 3-0-6, H. Johnson 0-0-0, Ruesga 1-0-2, Soper 9-2-20, Golackson 2-0-5 Totals 22-2/3-48 Fouls-25 Fouled out-Golackson
3 point goals:
IG-Johnson 3, Hill 2, Anderson 1
D-Glendenning 1, Golackson 1
+
