By Allen Hamrick
It was a make-or-break week for the Panthers last week as they wound down the last three games of the 2026 season. Friday night’s game was also senior recognition night, and seven players played even closer to their last game on Panther maple. Jacoby Nichols, Dalton Griffin, Michael Brown, Kaden Fitzwater, Michael Foster, Levi Morris and Jaxon Brown have one more home game on Monday and will bid their final goodbyes to their senior year of basketball. This group of veteran Panthers has been a force during their years on the courts of CCHS. They will be missed when the next season begins, but their story will just be starting, whether they decide to take their skills to the next level or not.
These young men let their skills hang out against the visiting Nicholas and South Harrison teams’ team early this week. Both games were full of high-flying Panther action, and they were devastating on the court on defense and offense.
In their game against the Grizzlies, the Panthers pounded the offense but missed some great looks at the net yet went into the half ahead of the Grizzlies. Panther defense was killing the Grizzlies early in the game as the Grizzlies couldn’t buy a net shot – it was as hard to get as stacking donuts on their edge. In the end the Panthers still had trouble landing the shots they needed to win and lost by the narrow score of 51-56. Michael Foster was top shot in the game with 17 points followed by Joel Elliott with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals. The boys did prove one thing and that was that the Panthers have a great offense and defense and can beat anybody. They have speed and agility and can out rebound, out steal, out dribble and get players open, but the ball must sweep the net.
Next up was South Harrison, and this game would be different to say the least. The Panthers zeroed in on the net and racked up points, living up to their skills. The boys glued on their game face this time so it wouldn’t fall off and got down to the business of playing basketball, as did South Harrison. This was a game that fans would expect it to be between these two great teams. There were not a lot of mistakes on either side, just good, hard playing action. The Panthers were firing shots at the board, setting the net on fire and playing some good defense. South Harrison was also gnawing at the bone, grabbing some points of their own and hanging tight with the Panthers in the first half. The turbo was kicked in after the half, and the Panthers were off and running. In the end, they buried the bone beating South Harrison 61-51. Joel Elliott was top shot in the game with a whopping 26 points, hitting 15 of those points with triples. The Panthers will be at home this Monday and will butt heads with Poca. It should be a whale of a game so come out and support the team and the seniors in their last home game as Panthers.
