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By Fernando Gonzalez and Ismael Ruiz

The Grizzlies were excited to play the Panthers at home on Tuesday night, but the Panthers fought hard for the win.

Early in the first quarter the Panthers were up 9-2 and the Grizzlies didn’t seem like they would be able to slow Porterville down. The Grizzly defense was just not prepared for Porterville’s speed and outside shooters.

Porterville’s Zak Wilkins and Jordan McCoy drained shot after shot from behind the three point line. It wasn’t until the Granite’s Dante Cunningham got some defensive rebounds that the Grizzlies started to get back in the game.

A couple of lay-ups scored by Tello Guzman started to shift the momentum, but the Grizzly defense could still not find a way to shut down the Panther offense.

The Panthers kept scoring points to increase their lead, which kept leaving the Grizzlies playing catch up. But the Grizzlies were relentless and kept scoring points to keep themselves in the game.

The Grizzlies went into halftime down by double digits; however, the Grizzlies came out fast in the third quarter and by late in the third quarter the Grizzlies brought the game back into single digits.

The crowd started to get into the game and so did the team. Dante Cunningham muscled his way into the lane, scoring 10 points in the third quarter. However the Grizzlies’ inability to stop the three point shots by Wilkins kept on hurting Granite.

The Panthers were able to pull away once again and put the Grizzlies out of reach from winning the game. Senior Erik Bartlett made three free throws, and played great D as well. The Grizzlies kept fighting and playing tough D but it just wasn’t enough to put them back into the game.

The once electrified and energetic Grizzly crowd slowly began to quiet as they saw the Panthers keep increasing their lead. The game ended in a devastating defeat. The game ended in the score of Granite Hills Grizzlies 35, Porterville 52.

The next Grizzly Boys Basketball Home game will be Wednesday Night January 26th against the Caesar Chavez Titans of Delano. Come and support your Grizzlies as they continue their hunt to go to playoffs.

Senior Erik Bartlett ready to shoot a free throw. Photo taken by Ernestina Quintero.