Don Kuhnen, AP Sports
The EP Panther boys varsity hadn’t played in 10 days and struggled to find their shooting touch Friday night at Orion falling to the Chargers 51-37.
The home team started strong and led 18-11 after the first 8 minutes. Panther senior Noah Wiseley’s consecutive 3-point shots midway through the second quarter gave EP a little momentum to close a 15 point lead to 9 but Orion scored the last 7 points to make it 37-21 at the half.
Jeremiah Kochevar’s 3-point shot and a free throw were the only points EP was able to muster in the third and Orion led 46-25 entering the fourth quarter. Six points in the fourth quarter from senior Caleb Naftzger who was playing his first game after a football injury helped the Panthers keep the game from getting out of hand.
Wiseley led the Panthers in scoring with 13 while Naftzger added 8. The Panther sophomores also dropped their contest by the score of 55-37.
Both teams travel to Lanark Tuesday to face Eastland starting at 5:30.
