Sophomore Terrion Burgess going up for a dunk. Photo by Abi Fogleman. Visit the Benton Panthers sports coverage home page at www.mysaline.com/benton-panthers-sports – featuring writing and photography by Benton High School students. See the archive of all articles by EAST Students at www.mysaline.com/benton-east.
November 29, 2022 –vs Cabot Panthers
Opening with the Cabot Panthers at home, the Benton basketball team had a full house to witness the first game of the season. Led by Sophomore, Terrion Burgess and his 34 points, the Panthers came up short against the Cabot Panthers 55-52. What made the difference for the Cabot basketball team was their ability to take care of the basketball.
The Benton Panthers turned it over 16 times while only responding with 8 steals of their own. Cabot caused turnovers and limited their own, allowing them to fight back early and lead for the majority of the second half.
With the amount of fouls Cabot committed, the Benton Panthers were never fully out of the game. Benton played hard all throughout the game with a few key performances keeping them in it.
Junior, Carter Hedden, had 7 points and 9 rebounds. Senior, Jonathan Bell, scored 5 and marked 7 rebounds and 2 steals.
Only shooting 13/28 from the free throw line, Benton had opportunities to put the Cabot Panthers away with just a few shots from the line but came up short. The Benton basketball team should be excited to step on the court again after such a well fought home opener.
Senior Jonathan Bell reaching for a block. Photo by Abi Fogleman
December 1, 2022 – vs Alma Airedales
After suffering a tough loss to Cabot, the Panthers were looking to rebound against the Alma Airedales. With Bell, dropping 15 points, the Panthers were able to fly past the Airedales, winning Thursday night 62-37 to complete the bounce back win.
Another double-digit game from Burgess stretched the game apart as well. The Panthers will take on Farmington on Friday, December 2nd and plan on taking the energy and momentum from this win into the next one.
Farmington is a talented team with a scorer that can keep up with any team by himself. The Benton team has a tough game ahead of them Friday night, they will need to stop Layne Taylor in order to win. This Benton team has a real test in front of them.
Sophomore Carter Hedden blocking a layup. Photo by Abi Fogleman.
December 2, 2022 – vs Farmington Eagles
Coming off a blowout win against the Alma Airedales, the Panthers were looking to continue the streak they started and carry some momentum over from the night before.
This Benton team was never able to get hot against the Farmington Eagles while the Eagles caught fire immediately. Eagle Layne Taylor scored 43 of the 65 points, put up 6 rebounds, and had 2 assists.
The Panthers do have some high scorers of their own but after coming off a big win Thursday, shots just weren’t falling. Burgess and Bell put up 26 points in their combined effort. Senior, Tyre Jemerson, put up 7 as well. Hedden and Burgess each had 6 rebounds with 2 assists as well. Bell and Kyle Payne also had 2 assists on the night.
The Panthers were not able to stop Farmington’s big scorer and couldn’t return much of the points they gave up, so they ended up losing 65-45. Benton will look for redemption December 3rd against the Jacksonville Titans.
December 3, 2022
Finishing the week off with 3-3 Jacksonville, the Panthers were looking to take care of business and end their week off at an even 2-2. Bell led the charge with a double-double, racking up 21 points and 12 rebounds. He also swiped 6 steals by himself.
Burgess had 2 steals and 2 blocks while Jemerson had 3. Burgess put up 32 points for the Panthers, he also had 9 rebounds and a couple of assists as well. Second chance points were big for the win over the Jacksonville Titans. Jemerson, Bell, Hedden, Burgess, and AD Gray were all able to get a few offensive rebounds for a chance at a second shot.
Along with the Panthers’ lead on the boards, they were able to rack up more than 15 steals, creating fastbreak opportunities for two very good finishers in Burgess and Bell. These opportunities gave Benton a 70-63 win over the Jacksonville Titans.
If the Benton Basketball team will continue working on the little things and keep playing as hard as they can, they could be a very dangerous bunch. This week the Panthers will have some time to rest until their Friday and Saturday games.
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This is Benton Panthers sports coverage, with writing and photography by Benton High School students. Visit their home page at www.mysaline.com/benton-panthers-sports. Writers are Devon Hunt, Jack Woolbright, Whit Warford & Bentley Stamper. See the archive of articles by EAST Students at www.mysaline.com/benton-east.