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The student news site of Atlantic High School

AHSneedle

The student news site of Atlantic High School

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AHS JOURNALISM GOLD SPONSOR

Trojans fall by a single point

Sophomore Chad Christensen leading the Trojans at the point.

by Anthony Robinson

Sporting gold jerseys in a special “Gold Out” game, the Creston Panthers defeated the Atlantic Trojans 54-53. Senior Luke Eblen and sophomore Luke Neitzel combined for 33 of the Panthers’ 54 points.

Scoring only three points in the past three games combined, sophomore Chad Christensen scored 7 of his team high 15 points, in the first quarter. The Trojans were able to control the pace of the game in the first quarter. As time expired in the first, senior Chase Blazek hit a 3-point field to give the Panthers momentum heading into the second.

The Trojans were plagued by turnovers in first half, just as they have all season long. The Trojans were able to control the boards, but the Trojans’ turnovers left the Trojans with numerous open possesions.

Creston hit a huge three just before the end of the half to take a 26-25 lead. As time expired, the Panthers commited an offensive foul, sending Christensen to the line for a chance to give the Trojans the lead heading to the locker room. With the Panthers already in the locker room, unaware of the situation, Christensen hit two free throws to give the Trojans a 27-26 lead at the half.

Christensen led all scorers with 9 in the first half.

The Panthers were 8-for-8 from the free throw line in the first half.

Christensen hit two 3-pointers early in the third to extend the Trojans lead. Sophomore Sam Markham also came out playing well in the third quarter, scoring four points early.

Leading scorer, sophomore Dalton Franken, could not buy a bucket all night. Franken had a drought of more than a quarter without a field goal, before making a shot at the end of the third to give the Trojans a 44-41 lead, headed to the fourth.

The second half for the Panthers was keyed by Eblen and Neitzel. Neither scorer broke double digits in the first half, but the pair combined for over 50 percent of the Panthers offensive in the second half.  Neitzel hit a big shot from behind the arc to give the Panthers a 51-49 lead with four minutes to play in the game.

After over a minute without either team scoring, junior Gunnar Blum was sent to the charity stripe for two free throws, giving the Trojans a chance to tie the game. Blum was 0-for-4 in the first half from the line, and this was his first trip to the line in the second half.  Blum hit both free throws to tie the game at 51 with two and a half minutes remaining in the game.

The Panthers hit a three, and the Trojans hit a jumper in the lane to make the game 54-53 Panthers with less than a minute to play.  The Trojans were forced to foul the Panthers four times before Creston was in the bonus.  The Panthers went to the line with 8.2 seconds left, with a chance to extend their slim one-point lead.

Creston missed the front-end of the one-and-0ne situation.  The Trojans got the rebound and had a chance to win. Christensen, the leader of the entire game, found himself trapped under the hoop, and tried to kick the ball out to junior Blake Esbeck, but the pass was too hot to handle. Christensen’s pass rolled into the backcourt, giving the Panthers the huge win on senior night.

The Trojans travel to Council Bluffs on Tuesday to play the Abraham Lincoln Lynx.

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