The Pinnacle Panthers season came to a close in Richfield on Friday afternoon in the consolation bracket of the 1A State Championships, that have been taking place since Wednesday in Richfield. Drawing a familiar opponent in Monticello, these two teams would battle back and forth all game with the Buckaroos hitting free throws down the stretch when it counted taking the 46-44 win.
Pinnacle had a season for the record books finishing with an overall mark of 17-6 and a 7-1 mark in Region 23 which earned them a region title. In the 1A State Championships that started last Saturday and a contest with Dugway, in which the Panthers came up with a 61-30 win. In the next game, they faced Wendover, No. 7 Wendover, and the Wildcats handed Pinnacle their first loss in the tournament, 64-41, dropping them into the consolation round, where they faced Green River taking a 46-43 win.
Getting to face Monticello for the third time this season presented it’s own set of challenges. Each time they met this season, the home team won, and they even shared the region title.
In the first half, neither team could buy a basket, Pinnacle earned the advantage and got some defensive stops, mostly while the Buckaroos leading scorer, Tommy Sheeran left in the first quarter with three quick fouls and didn’t return until the second half, and the Panthers took a 19-13 lead by half time.
Things got very interesting in the second half, as Monticello came out with Sheeran in the line-up, and outscored Pinnacle 19-16 in the quarter, carrying that momentum into the fourth, and things got very competitive, with the Buckaroos hitting free throws down the stretch when they needed to take a 46-44 win.
Cole Barton scored 12 for the Panthers. Jonathan Kessler scored 10 and Ryker and Brody Howell each scored nine.
The Panthers will lose four seniors in the off-season, Kessler, Ryker Howell, Owen Neil and Daniel Carpenter are all members of the class of 2023.
Check back with Castle Country Radio in the coming weeks for a recap of the Pinnacle Panthers season.