By Dan Truttschel~Sports Correspondent
The final scores from two Southern Lakes Conference games last week show a pair of wins for the first place Wilmot boys basketball squad.
But neither was easy by any stretch of the imagination.
Visiting Badger battled the Panthers all the way to the end Friday night before Wilmot pulled away late in a 68-59 SLC win. The victory improved the Panthers to 9-0 in the SLC and 14-2 overall.
Badger tied the score at 46-46 with six minutes left in the contest, but the Panthers outscored the visitors 22-13 the rest of the way.
Neither team enjoyed much of a lead throughout the matchup. Wilmot held a 14-10 advantage after the opening eight minutes and led 31-28 by the intermission.
Both teams scored 13 points in the third quarter to set up the hard-fought final eight minutes.
Mike Stevensen led the Panthers with 20 points, followed by Albert Rogalski, who sparked Wilmot with 18 points off the bench. Nate Hensel chipped in with 16 points for the Badgers.
The week’s first game followed a similar path, as Wilmot found itself in a tight battle with host Elkhorn all night before the Panthers emerged with a 49-40 victory.
Wilmot led throughout the game, but the final outcome was in doubt until late in the fourth quarter. The Panthers jumped out to a 22-14 halftime lead and took a 34-22 advantage into the final period.
Hensel had a team-high 14 points and five rebounds, followed by Andrew Lartey with eight points and Jimmy Scully with eight points and nine rebounds. Brandon Schattner chipped in with seven points and six rebounds.
Following Thursday’s game at Waterford, the Panthers will play a rare Saturday afternoon contest, when they travel to Saint Thomas More for a 2:15 p.m. non-conference matchup.
Thomas More, a Division 3 school with an enrollment of 455, competes in the Metro Classic Conference. Entering play this week, it had a 7-9 overall record and was 5-6 in conference play.