Coach Chris Clevenger knew that the Alberton boys were in for a showdown this weekend when they were matched up to play two tough games, one against St. Ignatius on Friday and Charlo on Saturday.

But the Panthers weren’t about to be ran over on Friday when they clashed with St. Ignatius and nearly had a win, 33-37.

It was a point for point battle out on the courts Friday night. St. Ignatius sprang to an early lead in the fourth quarter and left Alberton trailing by four, 4-8. The second quarter was close. Alberton scored eight points, while St. Ignatius scored 10. The Panthers trailed at halftime, 12-18.

It was a fierce battle in the final two quarters of the game. Alberton left the third quarter still behind, 21-28. The final quarter of the game, the Panthers made up for some lost ground and cut St. Ignatius lead to just one point with 30 seconds left on the clock. However, a couple of free throws from St. Ignatius’ Austin McDonald stole it away from the Panthers.

“We were close the whole way, but we weren’t able to make some shots in fourth quarter and we let some opportunities fall away,” Clevenger said. “They’re a class B school, so it was a  good sign for us. It looks pretty promising.”

Junior Jake Thompson put in 15 points to lead Alberton, followed by Todd Mrystol who shot six.

After the nail biting game against St. Ignatius, the team was u against Charlo on Saturday, another powerhouse team. The Panthers didn’t fare quite as well against Charlo and lost 32-52. They came out of the first quarter tied, 9-9, but wound up falling behind in the second and fourth quarters.

“We played them pretty evenly in the first and third quarters and half of the game we did really well,” Clevenger said. “(Charlo) is a very athletic team with a lot of seniors and a lot of depth and I think that wore us down.”

Clevenger said that the team got into foul trouble because of a lack of depth and that resulted in putting in some younger players. It was also hard to give some players a break, but Clevenger said that once conditioning improves so will the team’s overall game.

“When you’re playing at that high level, it’s difficult to stay at that level of play for a full four quarters, but as conditioning gets better, I think we’ll be right up there and the kids will be able to handle the amount of play,” Clevenger said.

Clevenger added that he was pretty happy with the one and a half games that that boys plated over the weekend.

“We know we’ve improved from last year,” Clevenger said. “It’s disappointing not to get one win out of the weekend, but hopefully we’ll bounce back. We know we can play.”

With the two nonconference games finished, the team is looking ahead to a game with St. Regis on Thursday and a matchup against Drummond on Saturday.

Clevenger said he expects a tough game against St. Regis this week.

“I know Thomas Spencer is pretty good and Coach Dan Park is doing a good job and things are going in the right direction for them,” Clevenger said. “We’re assuming it’s going to be a tough game.”

Drummond will also be another top team for the Panthers. The Panthers play in St. Regis on Thursday and at home on Saturday.