It was a proper cat-fight when Hershey challenged Paxton on Tuesday. The Panthers managed a 47-41 victory over the Tigers. The Panthers have seen this before: they got the W the last time they saw the Tigers, too.

Cole Murdock
| 02/10/26 vs Paxton | 2 |
| 01/31/26 @ Chase County | 1 |
| 12/19/25 @ Ogallala | 1 |
| 12/04/25 @ Perkins County | 1 |
Hershey can attribute much of their success to Cole Murdock, who posted ten points and six rebounds. The dominant performance also gave Murdock a new career-high in blocks (two). Jack Smith was another key player, putting up four points and four blocks.
Paxton lost despite a true team effort on offense. The best among them was Tristen Hebblethwaite, who almost dropped a double-double with 20 boards and nine assists. Paxton is 11-5 when Hebblethwaite posts eight or more rebounds, but 1-3 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Maddex McConnell, who dropped a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards.
Hershey is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matchups. That's provided a massive bump to their 11-10 record this season. As for Paxton, with the loss, they broke their four-game winning streak and moved their record to 12-8.
Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Hershey will host St. Patrick's on Thursday. The Panthers will need to watch out since the Irish have now posted at least 55 points in their last four contests. As for Paxton, they will look to defend their home court on Thursday against Sutherland at 6:00 p.m.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps