The Alba-Golden Panthers went to North Hopkins last Tuesday ready to hand the state-ranked squad their first loss in district play. Despite a yeoman’s effort, the Panthers fell 45-36 in a game which could have easily been a signature upset by the Panthers.

No doubt, North Hopkins has a good team. They were 16-6 on the season, undefeated in district. Their basketball fundamentals are excellent, and they operate with a unique combination of speed and motion. 

Alba-Golden head coach Troy Wallace had a plan. Alba-Golden would use an aggressive man-to-man defense to stymie the North Hopkins attack, create turnovers and out-muscle the opposition inside. 

It very nearly worked. 

The Panthers came out and forced four North Hopkins turnovers in the first quarter – three in the first two minutes. But the proverbial ‘cover on the basket’ prevented Alba-Golden from capitalizing on extra possessions. 

In the opening quarter, Alba-Golden could muster only two scores, despite getting good opportunities. The shots would simply not fall.

Gavin Parker corralled a loose ball and scored, and Brayden Randolph drove the basket from the wing. At the quarter break, North Hopkins held a 10-4 edge.

North Hopkins opened up a lead of 14 points late in the second quarter. The Panthers just kept fighting, physically challenging North Hopkins with energy and hustle. 

Alba-Golden went on a 7-point run. Braylon Moffett hit two short jumpers in the lane – one was a short drive from the wing and the second finishing after a great assist from Jerry Skinner. 

Randolph added a free throw, and Cameron Lennon scored to make it a 23-16 game with only seconds left in the half.  North Hopkins put up a shot from just over the half-court line and stole momentum back as the halftime buzzer sounded. North Hopkins led 26-16. At times in the third quarter the motion offense of North Hopkins appeared as if they might take over the game. Quick feet and quick hands kept the Panthers in it. 

Assists by Conner Gibson, Lennon and a strong bucket inside by Gavin Dailey rallied the Panthers to within eight points at the end of three quarters.

Boogie Trimble started the fourth quarter by nicking the ball away and finding Randolph for a bucket. The Panther defense worked hard to force North Hopkins to take bad shots, and the Panthers crashed the boards. 

At two critical junctures in the second half, Alba-Golden muscled down repeat offensive rebounds but could not get the put-backs to fall. 

Two scores by Trimble helped close to within 6 points with 1:48 remaining.                                                                    

The last three Alba-Golden possessions, however, came up empty, and North Hopkins took the game. 

Had the Panthers registered an average shooting percentage or been able to finish second-chance shots under the basket the result may have been different.

As it was, Alba-Golden put together one of its best efforts of the year and nearly had a banner win. The Panthers will be in the middle of the district title run, and their close-call against North Hopkins will surely fuel them for upcoming action. 

The Panthers travel to Como-Pickton and Boles before returning home on Tuesday, Jan 24 to face Cumby.