Panther men’s hoops is on a hot streak.
After a successful five-game road trip, in which senior Jack Teesateskie broke program records for points (52) and 3-pointers (12) in a single game versus Union County, Georgia, on the week of Jan. 5 the team returned to Tom Raby Court. With blowout wins over Andrews and Tuscola, they improved their overall record to 11-2.
On Jan. 5, the Panthers hosted Andrews in a nonconference game. Franklin’s defense played aggressively in the first, pressuring the Wildcats for seven steals and a block. Teeateskie posted three steals, four points and one assist, but Andrews ended the quarter up 17-14.
Jackson Wilson and Gunner McConnell heated up in the second, combining for 10 points and three steals. Slowly the Panthers began to pull ahead, ending the half up 33-26.
McConnell stayed hot in the third, racking up eight points, an assist and a steal. Hervey and Will Rauers combined for 11 points to end the quarter up 57-35. Rauers added eight points and a steal in the fourth en route to a 75-45 win.
The next night they returned to Tom Raby Court for a Mountain Eight game with Tuscola. Teesateskie came out firing in the first, racking up 10 points and a steal. McConnell added six points and two assists to end the quarter up 24-10.
Rauers served as Franklin’s distributor in the second, posting two points and four assists including a behind-the-back dish to Wilson. Teesateskie added five points, two steals and two assists to end the half up 46-21.
Teesateskie stayed hot in the third, racking up 10 points, three assists and a steal. McConnell added seven points, an assist and a steal. Franklin’s second unit took the court for the fourth, getting three points, an assist and a steal from Nolan Collins to win 89-44.
With 25 points against Tuscola, Teesateskie capped an incredible week, having broken Panther single-game records for 3-pointers (12) and total points (52) versus Union County, Georgia, Dec. 30. After the game the senior discussed his historic performance.
“It feels good – it’s what I’ve worked for,” he said of breaking the record set by his former teammate, Max McClure. “That couldn’t have happened without my teammates finding me. I mean, you saw it tonight – we probably had the most assists we’ve ever had. We love sharing the ball; it’s not stagnant at all.”
With 22 total assists in their fourth straight 30-point win, Franklin’s offense continued to fire on all cylinders Tuesday. At the Battle of the States tournament in Towns County, Georgia, the previous week, Teesateskie said the stars had aligned.
“Actually I woke up like a normal day, and I normally take a nap on the bus,” he said. “We were taking the short bus, and [statistician Cindy Harrell] was driving. She was hitting all the bumps and everything so I couldn’t go to sleep, and I feel like that was one of the things [that helped], just staying up and being prepared the whole time.”
“I’m actually glad they didn’t tell me [his point total] until I came out of the game, because if somebody tells me at halftime how many points I have, I normally won’t shoot well after that. But, they left it to me. Whenever I came out of the game right there at the end, they said I had 52. Coach [Doug Plemmons] didn’t put me in in the fourth quarter, but it was a good game. I mean, it wasn’t just me that day, it was the whole team. We put up 104 points, and it was all spread around.”
In defeating Tuscola, the Panthers improved their Mountain Eight record to 5-0. With just 10 games left to play, Teesateskie believes they’ll need to keep their foot on the gas.
“We’re coming in hot,” he said. “I feel like we’ve got a big ol’ target on our back from last year, and the things we’ve been doing this year ... It’s a big target, and we’ve got to just show up and play every night.”