Loboes Humbled at Seminole, Panthers in town Tuesday
    By Randy Hogan, Staff Writer ~~ The Monahans News, January 10, 2006

The Monahans Loboes were unable to continue their two-game winning streak Friday night in Seminole, dropping the district contest to the Indians 76-25.

"We played as hard as we have all year," Coach Thomas Clay said.  "Our effort and hustle was great, we just couldn't get our shots to fall."

Monahans (1-2 District 3-3A) started slow, and could not find their shooting touch to recover from a dismal six first-half points.  The Loboes trailed 35-6 at the half.

"It's frustrating, no doubt," Clay said.  "You never know how kids will react, but they keep playing hard and to the wire.  Good effort needs to be rewarded."

Trailing by fifty points with only 10 seconds to play, Coach Clay made special mention of the Loboes effort in the closing moments.  "We were down by a lot of points but the kids kept playing and getting to the ball, and that's a credit to this group," Clay said of the Loboes last foul as the Indians tried to run out the game clock.

Sean Merrick led the Green with nine points on the night.  Blake Whisnand added three field goals for six points.

Chris Roberson and Cole Cornelius each added three points, loading the net from beyond the circle.  Justin Patterson recorded a field goal, and Ricky Rivera and Ben Banegas each went one of two at the free throw line to score one point in the game.

Micah Clay was the games leading scorer with 20 points, to lead Seminole (2-0 District 3-3A), followed by Lance Sheets with 12 points for the game.

Monahans will host Fort Stockton Tuesday night, in a game that features former Lobo Joe Flores as the Panthers head coach.

The Loboes dropped a game to the Panthers in the Sandhills Tournament earlier this season, but Coach Clay knows that there is no comparison in the game he expects Tuesday from both teams.

"We are a different team than we were then," Clay said.  "We had a late start with most of the kids coming out of the football playoffs, and we were trying to learn a new system in a very short time."

The Panthers are scrappy according to district coaches who have faced them.  Fort Stockton was within 4 points of Seminole last week before succumbing to the district leaders 62-50.

"We had a rough start facing the top three teams (Greenwood, Lamesa, and Seminole) to start district play," Clay said.  "We need to take advantage of our opportunities against Fort Stockton, Presidio and Pecos."

But first on the list is the Panthers, and Monahans can make some noise in the district race with a win.

"Losing to Seminole by two points or 50 points doesn't make much difference," Clay said.  "We are still in the same position.  It's a process to turn the corner and win games, and the kids understand that.  We have great leadership from our four seniors and they are having fun.  Things will turn our way."

Game time is set for 7:30 pm at the Jerry Larned Sports Complex

Keyed by Chino Arsiaga, Senior