The Princeton Tigers took down the Polo Panthers in the back-end of a Grand River Conference doubleheader broadcast Saturday night on KTTN FM 92.3, winning 66-52, moving to 4-0 in conference play and 13-2 overall.
Preston Thomas led the Tigers with 26 points, while Austin Kelly, Owen Schreffler, and Colton Estes had 10. Princeton withstood a strong floor game from Polo’s Joe Beaver, who tallied 23 points, while Alex Pilger contributed 16. The Panthers fall to 4-11 overall and 1-3 in GRC play.
The girls game went the play of Polo, by an overtime final of 56-52, as the Lady Panthers handed Princeton their second conference defeat of the season. Mary Copeland had 18 points and Kelly Baldon 15 for Polo, now 8-7 overall and 2-2 in the GRC. For Princeton, Kennedy Norton had 14 points and Jasmine Allen 12. Lacie Lewis hit a game-tying three-point shot with seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, but was one of three Lady Tigers to foul out in overtime, finishing with nine points. Princeton is now 8-6 overall and 3-2 in the GRC.
Both Princeton teams have #1 seeds for the Gilman City Tournament, while Polo will spend its week at the North Platte Tournament in Dearborn.
Elsewhere on Saturday night, the North Harrison boys beat Grundy R-V 78-42. Caden Gann led the Panthers with 12 points. The Grundy girls claimed a 48-30 road win, with Aubrey Gann scoring 22 points for the Lady Panthers.
The Mercer girls took a 42-40 loss at Linn County, while the Cardinal boys took a road win, 58-37 in Purdin.
