Central Oregonian

Panthers claw Cowboys 55-42

Redmond rolls out to 21-3 lead before Crook County battles back to make the final score respectable

Lon Austin

January 14, 2013

The Crook County Cowboys were unable to recover from a horrific start as they fell 55-42 to the Redmond Panthers on Friday.

“They were pretty opportunistic,” Crook County head coach Jeff Lowenbach said of Redmond. “They got on us early and then we battled and battled. My speech to the team after the game is we beat them the final three quarters. That isn’t to say that we outplayed them, but we beat them by two the final three quarters. We just dug ourselves too deep a hole.”

Redmond ran out to an early 21-3 lead and still led 21-6 at the end of the first period. From that point on, the contest was even. The Cowboys outscored the Panthers 10-8 in the second period, and the two teams played to a 26-26 tie in the second half.

However, the damage had already been done. Three times in the second half the Cowboys closed the gap to 10 points, but each time the Panthers responded.

The Panthers were led by the one-two scoring punch of Trevor Genz and Matt Dahlen who finished with 19 and 15 points respectively.

Jacob Mahurin led the Cowboys in scoring with 15, while Dillon Dees added 11.

One of the positives for the Cowboys on the night was their strong rebounding effort. Despite the fact that Redmond is possibly the tallest team that the Cowboys will face all season, Crook County was able to take a 28-27 rebounding advantage. Dees came up huge on the boards with 11, while Dillon Dean contributed six rebounds.

Although Lowenbach was disappointed in the loss he was pleased with the way his team battled back.

“These guys aren’t going to give up,” he said. “They are going to give it their all. Now we have to figure out a way to put 32 minutes together. There are places where we could improve for sure, but we played 24 minutes of pretty good basketball. In our situation, in the league that we are in, 24 minutes just isn’t good enough.”

With the victory, the Panthers improved to 8-4 on the season while Crook County fell to 6-6.

The Cowboys are at home again tonight when they take on the Ridgeview Ravens (2-11) in an important Special District I contest. A lot is on the line when the two teams take the court tonight. The winner of the two-game series between Crook County and Ridgeview is guaranteed a play-in contest. The other team will have to wait and hope for an at-large berth.

“We would just like to have a crowd for that game like we had tonight,” Lowenbach said Friday night. “It was a great crowd. What an atmosphere.”

Friday, Jan. 11

Redmond 55, Crook County 42

at Crook County

Redmond (55) — Trevor Genz 19, Dahlen 15, Rodby 6, Thomas 6, Bordges 4, Cravens 3, Troutman, Powell, Brown. Totals 21 8-13 55.

Crook County (42) — Jacob Mahurin 15, Dees 11, Washechek 7, Benton 5, Dean 2, Egbert 1, Bartels 1, Lee, Rutz, Cooper. Totals 14 9-17 42.

Redmond 21 8 12 14 — 55

Crook County 6 10 8 18 — 42

Three-point goals — Redmond: Genz 4, Cravens; Crook County: Mahurin 2, Dees 2, Benton.