The Knoxville Boys Basketball Squad wanted a second chance at Newton, but the Panthers could not cash in on chances during the game and fell to the Cardinals 59-55 in the class 3A Sub State ending their season as heard live on 95.3 KNIA. The Cardinals dominated the Panthers on the boards getting second chance points, plus getting loose on back door plays on numerous occasions. Interim Coach Matt Ritchhart told KNIA/KRLS Sports several times his team got close but rebounding was a major key to his team’s loss.

Ritchhart:
“We just couldn’t quite get over the hump. Looking at the box score, they had 52 shots to our 35 and that can’t happen, and we just got dominated on the boards, and you can’t do that if you want to win those close games.”

Knoxville was down by nine in the 4th quarter, but could only get to within four points the rest of the way. Kieren Nichols finished out a brilliant career with 27 points, scoring 1,499 for his career, which is 2nd on the all-time list at Knoxville. Spencer Hixson was the other Panther in double figures with 12. Knoxville finishes the season with a 13-8 record.