The good times keep rolling for Panther men’s hoops.
On the week of Jan. 20, the team played a two-game home stand, hosting East Henderson and Tuscola in conference games. With a loss to the Eagles and a win over the Mountaineers, Franklin ended the week in second place in the Mountain Seven.
On Jan. 21, the Panthers welcomed East to Tom Raby Court, in a rematch of their 55-44 loss to the Eagles last month. Before tipoff Franklin honored Jack Teesateskie, who recorded his 1,000th career point at Hayesville Jan. 16.
While most of Teesateskie’s points were scored for the Cherokee Braves, the junior has been a revelation after transferring to Franklin last summer, scoring 255 points in his first 17 games (15.0 per game) for the Panthers. Teesateskie is just the fourth male Panther ever to reach 1,000 points, joining teammate Max McClure and Class of 2022 graduates Miles McClure and Griffin Green.
East Henderson came out firing in the first, racing out to an early lead as Franklin’s shooters struggled to heat up. Despite six points and a block from Noah Brannon East ended the quarter with a 21-10 lead.
Franklin’s defense tightened up in the second, getting a block and a 3-pointer from Teesateskie. The Panther offense couldn’t make up the difference however, ending the half down 29-20.
East kept their foot on the gas to start the third, scoring nine of its first 11 points. Despite five points from McClure and four from Teesateskie Franklin ended the quarter down 46-31.
Lance Parker tried to spark a Panther comeback in the fourth, posting four points and a steal in its first three minutes. Despite these and five more points from McClure, East went on to win 59-46.
Three nights later the team returned to Tom Raby Court to rehash their 30-point win over Tuscola last month. Teesateskie came out firing in the first, racking up nine points, two assists and two steals. McClure added nine points of his own to end the quarter up 24-11.
Franklin’s defense harassed the Mounties in the second, getting steals from five different Panthers including two from Peyton Hervey. Tristan Gibbs added a steal and eight points to end the half up 48-15.
Hervey stayed hot after the break, scoring four points in the third to make it 69-23. Franklin’s second unit played the entirety of the fourth, getting two steals from Brennan Cabe en route to an 81-30 rout. The win improved Franklin to 6-2 in the conference, ending the week in second behind the 8-0 Eagles.