The Flagler Panthers just played last yesterday, but they'll still welcome the Lone Star Longhorns at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. The two teams have had a bumpy ride up to this point with five consecutive losses for Flagler and three for Lone Star.
Flagler is headed into the game out to prove that what happened against Otis on Friday (when they were outscored in every quarter) was just a minor bump in the road. Flagler was beaten by Otis 73-36. The Panthers were in a tough position after the first half, with the score already sitting at 53-13.
Meanwhile, it's never fun to lose, and it's even less fun to lose 74-43, which was the final score in Lone Star's tilt against Otis on Monday. While losing is never fun, the Longhorns can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Colorado basketball rankings (they are ranked 286th, while the Bulldogs are ranked 92nd).
Flagler will need to focus on slowing down Jesus Hermosillo, one of several Lone Star players who made an impact when they last played. He dropped a double-double with 12 points and 11 boards. Hermosillo has become a key player for Lone Star: the team is 2-1 when he posts at least ten rebounds, but 5-8 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Grant Kuntz, who almost dropped a double-double with ten boards and nine assists.
Even though they lost, Lone Star smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive boards. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Otis only five offensive rebounds.
Lone Star's defeat dropped their record down to 7-9. As for Flagler, their loss dropped their record down to 4-15.
Flagler came out on top in a nail-biter against Lone Star in their previous meeting back in February of 2024, sneaking past 41-39. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Kuntz, who dropped a triple-double with ten points, 13 rebounds, and ten steals. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Flagler still be able to contain Kuntz? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
