Panthers, Lady Panthers compete at Osceola Tournament

OSCEOLA — The Sheldon Panther and Lady Panther basketball teams opened play at the Osceola Invitational Tuesday evening. Both the boys and girls teams suffered the same fate, falling to Climax Springs in opening-round play.

The Panthers were edged, 58-57, while the Lady Panthers were upended, 50-41.

“We came out playing (great) defense,” said Sheldon head coach, Jacob Well of the boys’ opening-round thriller. “It was back-and-forth all game long.”

Improved second-half play helped Sheldon erase a 10-point deficit, as the Panthers seized a three-point lead with three minutes remaining in regulation, before eventually falling to Climax Springs.

“Both teams made timely shots,” concluded Well.

The Panthers were paced by forward Jason Leavell’s team-high 15 points, while point guard Clayton Loyd dropped in 14. Additionally, junior Dylan Brzuchowski, and sophomore Issac Hall chipped in a dozen points apiece for Sheldon.

In the girls’ contest, Sheldon trailed by five at the break, but was unable to draw any closer in the second half.

“(We) played a good 2-3 (zone) defense tonight,” noted Well, also the Sheldon girls’ head coach.

CONSOLATION BRACKET

In the consolation semifinals Wednesday, the Sheldon boys drubbed tournament host Osceola, 62-29 — while the Lady Panthers were derailed by GVVC conference foe Montrose, 41-29.

In the boys’ contest, Leavell exploded for a season-high 24 points, as the Panthers climbed back over the .500 mark, at 9-8 overall.

“We came out strong from the (opening) tip, and didn’t look back,” explained Well, of his club’s excellent play. “We moved the basketball around, inside-and-out, (resulting in) plenty of lay-up opportunities. We played great defense as well, and didn’t give up much in the paint.”

In addition to Leavell’s sparkling offensive performance, Loyd and Brzuchowski combined for 30. Sheldon returns to the court tonight, and squares off with either Montrose or Appleton City in the consolation finals.

In the girls’ consolation semifinal game with Montrose, the Lady Panthers were hampered by early foul trouble, and never recovered. Swink again led the way offensively for Sheldon, concluding with a team-high 13 points.

The loss eliminated the Lady Panthers from tournament-play. Sheldon (9-8) returns to action Jan. 28 for a non-conference road matchup with Dadeville.