Recap: Pinnacle Panthers vs. Escalante Moquis
The Pinnacle Panthers won the last time they faced the Escalante Moquis, and things went their way on Thursday too. Pinnacle walked away with a 61-52 victory over Escalante. The victory made it back-to-back wins for Pinnacle.
Cole Barton was his usual excellent self, scoring 39 points along with eight rebounds and four steals. The match was his fifth in a row with at least ten points. The team also got some help courtesy of Joey Howell, who scored six points along with five assists.
Escalante's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Kendal Gardner, who scored eight points along with 14 rebounds and three blocks. Gardner is absolutely dominating the rebound category: he's posted at least eight every time he's taken the court this season. Rayce Jenkins was another key contributor, scoring 11 points.
Even though they lost, Escalante were smashing the offensive glass and finished the game with 18 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Pinnacle only pulled down nine offensive rebounds.
The victory got Pinnacle back to even at 3-3. As for Escalante, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 3-5.
Pinnacle will be home for the holidays to greet Telos at 8:30 a.m. on Friday. Telos is hoping to put an end to a five-game streak of away losses. Escalante won't have much time to rest: their next match is against Green River at 1:30 p.m. on December 15th. The matchup should be an exciting one, as these teams are ranked near one another in Utah (Green River is ranked 116th, while Escalante is ranked 120th).
