The Paschal Boys Varsity basketball team is looking for another year of success from their much-needed playoff appearance. Paschal looks to improve on their 19-14 year last year and to do this, they must dominate the district schedule.

Last year, the Panthers were led by Colton Patterson, who averaged 14.7 points per game. Coming into his Junior year, he is looking to dominate. Patterson also led the team in assists per game at 4, steals per game at 2, and blocks per game at 1. Colton’s twin brother Christian is coming off of an impressive year as he shot the ball 43% from the three-pointer. Paschal Juniors Luke Tevis, Chris Debenport, and Carson Wessinger will also play major roles in this year’s team. 

The Panthers made it to the playoffs last year off of a 7-7 district record, which secured them to play Keller, who was coming off of an impressive 25-11 record and a 13-1 district record, which would land the Keller Indians as first in their district. This would be a massive test for Paschal as they were the underdogs. Unfortunately, things did not go the Panther’s way, and they lost the game 89-46.

Although the ending of last year’s playoffs did not go as planned, the Panthers had a very successful season. The Panthers significantly improved from their record of 6-24 in the 2021-2022 season and winless in the district. 

The Panthers opened their season in Waco as they played the Belton Tigers. The Tigers would take this one in a close effort from the Panthers by a score of 68-59. The Panther’s next game is against Tiber Creek on November 20 at 2:30 pm. Paschal starts district play on December 20 against North Crowley. The Panthers will end the lengthy season against Weatherford on February 13.

Overall, the Panthers are looking to build off of a promising year. The team is still young, with most of their players being juniors who are experienced with varsity basketball. As I spoke to the players earlier, they all made clear that the goal was to make it back to playoffs for the second year.