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Sports from the week of January 5, 2000Headlight Herald - Serving Tracy, Minnesota, since 1880

'Worst game of season' drops Panthers in tourney

The Panther boys' basketball team finished in fourth place in the Holiday Hoops Boys' Basketball Tournament when they lost to the host team by a score of 54-48. The loss dropped T-M's record to 2-4 for the season.

"It was our worst game of the season," said Panther Coach Jon Barsness.

The Panthers dug a hole for themselves when the Knights took a 19-7 lead. On the strength of good scoring from Jeremy Goltz and Derek Rignell they came back in the second period to out-score R-T-R 17-6 to close the score to 25-24 at the half.

The third quarter found T-M putting up 13 points to 10 for their opponents to take a 37-25 lead going into the fourth quarter. However in the fourth period the Panthers hit only one of six free throws while the Knights were meshing nine of their 13 free throws to reclaim the lead and win the game.

Goltz led the Panther scoring with 16 points while Rignell had 13 and Ben Lightfoot 9.

The Panther B-squad lost to RRC 42-36, leaving the junior varsity still seeking their first win of the season. Scott LaVoy led the young Panthers in scoring with 10 points, followed by Bryce Peterson with 8, Clay Caron with 6 and Darin Wilking with 4. Adam Schmidt, Dane Schmiesing, Joe Brockway and Brandon Lightfoot each added 2 points.


Defense rebounds with 63-49 win

The Panther boys' basketball team snapped a two-game losing streak by defeating Pipestone-Jasper Tuesday night 63-49. The win improved the Panther's record to 3-4 and 1-1 in the 212 Conference. Pipestone-Jasper's record fell to 4-4.

"It was our best defensive effort of the season," said Panther Coach Jon Barsness. "On offense we are getting the shots but we are just not making them. I keep telling the kids those shots will start to fall through the hoop."

Senior Ben Lightfoot meshed the first three shots to give T-M a 6-0 lead in the first two minutes. The Arrows came back and dominated the game to go ahead 9-6 with 2:27 left in the first period. By the end of the first quarter the Arrows held a 15-10 lead.

The Panthers put on a burst of their own and with the help of a stifling defense, outscoring the Arrows 15-8 in the second quarter to take the lead 25-23 at the half.

By the end of the third quarter the Panthers had pushed to a 44-38 lead. The Arrows started using a full court press to get back into the game in the fourth quarter and the action was furious with the Arrows staying with the Panthers at 53-47 with 3:46 remaining. T-M started to take advantage of the press, to hit the open man and dropping their free throws while pulling away to the final score of 63-49.

The Panthers had four players in double figures. Jeremy Goltz led the scoring with 13 points, Ben Lightfoot 12, Derek Rignell 11 and Matt Loeslie 10.

The Panthers had 15 steals with Loeslie getting seven. T-M pulled down 47 rebounds with Lightfoot leading the way with 15.

The Panther B squad lost to the Arrows 56-33.


Jon Peterreins makes all-tourney team for DSU

Jon Peterreins is averaging 10.7 points a game as a starter for the Dakota State University men's basketball team.

The 1998 Tracy High School grad was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Northwestern College-Coca Cola Tournament. Through his team's first six games, the sophomore was leading his team with 61 rebounds. He was shooting .415% from the field, .368% from three-point range.

DSU split its first six games.

Kris DeRuyck helps SDSU to 9-1 hoop start

Kris DeRuyck, a 1997 Tracy High School graduate, is seeing regular playing time for the South Dakota State University Jackrabbits.

In a recent victory against Augustana, the Milroy native scored 12 points. Through their first ten games, SDSU posted a 9-1 record.

Last season, DeRuyck played 432 minutes in 27 games, pulling down 69 rebounds and averaging 5.7 points a game She shot 49% from the floor, and 69% from the free throw line. The Jacks were 20-7 during their 1998-99 campaign.

Coach Nancy Neiber describes DeRuyck this way:

"Kris has the ability to explode on any given night. She's a very good athlete who has a good understanding of the game and plays hard all the time."