Basketball Recap: Kelton Nafzinger's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Delavan over Athens

Delavan easily dispatched Greenview last Saturday, but unfortunately both the margin and the ultimate result were a different story in this one. The Delavan Panthers fell just short of the Athens Warriors by a score of 62-59 on Friday. The Panthers were given a dose of their own medicine in this game as the Warriors apparently hadn't forgotten their loss the last time these teams played back in January of 2024.

Delavan lost despite a true team effort on offense, the best among them being Kelton Nafzinger, who went 8 of 10 en route to 18 points and five rebounds. Grady Burrell was another key player, going 7 for 12 on his way to 18 points and five assists.

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Previous 1 Games

01/10/25 - Away

59-62 L

Even though they lost, Delavan was working as a unit and finished the game with 16 assists. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their assist total in three consecutive matches.

James Jones had a dynamite game for Athens, going 7 of 10 en route to 15 points in addition to eight boards and three steals. Jones is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he's now pulled down eight or more in the last three games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Sawyer Hill, who posted 13 points and five steals.

Delavan dropped their record down to 4-14 with the defeat, which was their fifth straight on the road. As for Athens, they have been performing well recently as they've won three of their last four games, which provided a nice bump to their 9-5 record this season.

Delavan didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 51-36 loss against Elmwood on the 13th. Athens has also already played their next matchup, a 66-63 defeat against Illini Bluffs on the 11th.