PANORA — IKM-Manning raced to a 24-9 lead after the first eight minutes of play Saturday en route a 73-35 win over host Panorama in a boys non-conference basketball contest.
The Wolves stretched their lead to 42-17 at the half and never looked back in handing the Panthers their third loss in as many games to start the season.
Panorama had played at West Central Valley Friday, where a 14-4 first quarter deficit ballooned to a 32-12 gulf at the half, a margin the Panthers could not erase in suffering a 63-52 setback. The season had started Nov. 29 with a 66-30 road loss at Des Moines Christian.
As in the second and third games of the new campaign, a slow start hurt Panorama, as the team faced a 20-4 deficit after eight minutes, a disadvantage that swelled to 40-11 at the intermission.
Head coach Bryce Halterman said the team had simply “committed too many turnovers” against the Lions in their opener.
“DMC is a really good team and we just didn’t give ourselves a chance on numerous possessions,” he said.
Early struggles doomed the Panthers against the Wildcats Friday. Although Panorama outscored WCV by 11 points in the second half, they could not make up the difference on the scoreboard.
“We dug ourselves a huge hole in the first half, and it turned out to be too big of a hole to get out of,” Halterman said. “We are a very inexperienced team right now with a goal to get better each day. That is not an excuse, just a fact. The boys played hard right up to the end — we just need to take better care of the ball and hit shots when we are open.”
IKM-Manning may have caught their hosts somewhat flat-footed Saturday, but Halterman said there was no excuse for poor execution.
“We just didn’t show up to play,” he said. “You can say we spent too much energy Friday night and were tired the quick turnaround game Saturday afternoon, but I don’t buy it — no excuses. We need to take advantage of the opportunities set before us each day. Again, way too many turnovers, and we need to find a way to put more points on the board.”
Senior Bryce Halterman leads the Panthers in several categories through three games. He has scored 31 points, 15 of which have come on 3-point shots. He had 18 rebounds, nine assists and eight steals as well.
Sophomore Gracen Welberg has scored 26 points and corralled 13 rebounds, with senior Jeramy Randol accounting for 19 points and 20 caroms while freshman Luke South has scored 16 points and sophomore Trey Cobb 12, to which he has added six assists.
The team is 25-of-44 (57 percent) at the foul line and 12-of-53 on 3-pointers (23) while shooting a combined 40-117 (34 percent) from the floor.
Panorama will host Earlham Tuesday and AC/GC Friday in a pair of girl/boy West Central Conference twin sets. Both dates will begin with the girls game at 6 p.m.
