Two Panther teams showed up for last Wednesday’s Holiday Showcase basketball game against Jackson County Central in Marshall.
One played toe-to-toe with one of the best Class AA teams in the state. The other repeatedly stubbed their toe, and that resulted in an ugly 78-42 nonconference loss on the final day of 2025.
“I was really happy with the way we came out and competed — we played hard, rebounded … and then we just kind of ran out of gas,” TMB coach Ryan Kruse said.
For the first 10 minutes of the first half, the Panthers were as good as ever on both ends of the court. A three by Griffin Zick tied things at 10 just under 4 minutes into the game, and the Panthers took a 16-13 lead on a bucket by Jackson Kruse. Another Kruse basket put TMB up 18-17 and after JCC scored, a free throw by Aiden Sanow with 7:27 left in the half knotted the game at 19.
“I thought we were playing really well at that point,” coach Kruse said.
That was Team No. 1, the version that had won four of its previous five games heading into the break.
However, after Sanow’s free throw, the proverbial bottom fell out when the Huskies went to a zone defense.
Thanks to handsy guards who interrupted pass after pass, TMB turned the ball over on its next seven possessions and watched as JCC’s lead grow, point by point — or, at times, three points by three points.
“After they went to a zone, we didn’t execute very well,” coach Kruse said. “We didn’t get a lot of shots in that stretch, and we didn’t make any of the ones we took. Then our energy just kind of went away. We can’t; have our offense dictate how well we do defensively.”
The Huskies (6-3) scored the final 21 points of the half — a span that covered 7:21. TMB couldn’t even buy a free throw during that stretch. TMB also failed to score over the first 2:25 of the second half, but by the time the scoring drought ended, JCC had built an insurmountable 46-19 advantage.
The stretch of seven straight turnovers were unfortunately just a fraction of the team’s season-high 31 miscues.
The Panthers (5-3, 3-1 in the Camden) were playing their first full game without starting guard Connor Lanoue, who serves as the team’s primary ballhandler. Lanoue suffered an ankle injury against RTR on Dec. 23.
“He would’ve helped when we were struggling with turnovers,” coach Kruse said. “He’s probably our best ball handler. That hurt, but everyone’s gotta step up.”
TMB’s 42 points was the lowest scoring output of the season and the first time the Panthers failed to score at least 55 points.
Zick led the way for the Panthers with 17 points; Kruse scored eight and had eight rebounds and three steals, and Emery Xiong had seven points and three assists.
• The TMB B-squad struggled to score and lost 49-27 to JCC. Kruse had nine points and four rebounds, Carson Lanoue had seven points, and Nolan Carlson had 10 rebounds, five points and three blocks.
The Panthers play their first game of 2026 against SWC in Edgerton today (Dec. 8), and will play at 6 p.m. on Friday at home against CMCS.
