Seven wins to start the season sounds pretty sweet.
Especially when the Washougal Panthers think about all they went through Wednesday night to get that victory for their town.
A relentless attack under the basket by Mustapha Bah, Isaac Bischoff, Aaron Diester, Michael McElroy and Karsten Short erased Tenino’s 10-point advantage in the third quarter. David Crowley came off the bench and delivered a big 3-pointer that tied the game up at 37-37.
The Panthers kept feeding Crowley under the basket, and he put the hot potato in the net. In one breathtaking sequence, Crowley leaped over the 6-foot-6 Bischoff and palmed the ball back up for two points.
Tenino hit a huge 3-pointer to get back up by six points with 2 minutes, 35 seconds left in the game. Crowley’s palm ball cut it to four, but the Beavers got back up by five. Jaden Janzter jumped off the bench and nailed a 3-pointer from up top to get Washougal within two.
The Panthers got the ball back with a chance to tie in the final 30 seconds. Diester dished the ball to Janzter on the right wing, and he swished another 3-pointer. All of the sudden, Washougal led 53-52 with 19.7 seconds to go. After three misses by Tenino, that would be the final score.