The McKinleyville Panthers fought the good fight in their overtime matchup against the Del Norte Warriors on Thursday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell just short of the Warriors by a score of 41-39. The loss was a bit of a surprise, as McKinleyville came into the contest with a sizable advantage in MaxPreps' California basketball rankings (they are ranked 281st, while Del Norte is ranked 849th).
McKinleyville's defeat came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Nick Maher, who scored six points along with 14 rebounds and two steals. Maher is on a roll when it comes to rebounds, as he's now pulled down eight or more in the last six games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Jordan Brown, who scored 12 points along with seven rebounds and two steals.
Even though they lost, McKinleyville smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 20 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.
McKinleyville's loss ended a three-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 15-8. As for Del Norte, their win bumped their record up to 8-12.
McKinleyville will be playing in front of their home fans against Fortuna at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Fortuna is looking to tack on another W to their five-game streak on the road. As for Del Norte, they will square off against Eureka at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
