KALONA

Pathway Christian finished their boys basketball season with a seven team tournament February 14-15 at Pathway.

The Panthers faced Mt. Pleasant Christian in game one and took control early leading 23-4 after a quarter.

Pathway would cruise to a 56-28 win. Justin Hertzler led a balanced Pathway attack with 11 points while pulling down 17 rebounds. Ian Shetler put in 10 points to go with 7 rebounds. Elijah Dhooge scored 8 points and brought down 6 rebounds. Ryker Miller scored 7 points and had 3 steals.

Levi Dhooge scored 6 points and had 6 takeaways. Luke Brokaw, Denver Nelson, and William Swartzentruber each finished with 4 points. Brokaw led the team with 6 assists. Asher Stutzman had a basket to complete the scoring.

Pathway played the Spot Warriors in game two with a spot in the championship game on the line.

The Warriors were able to use their length and quickness to turnover the Panthers and create easy opportunities on their end. Pathway found themselves behind 9-16 after a quarter and 26-33 at the break.

The Spot was able to build an 18 point advantage heading into the final period. Pathway mounted a run late, but was not able to get the lead under eight points as they would be defeated by the Warriors 57-67.

In the loss, Pathway had three players finish with double doubles. Preston Yutzy led Pathway with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Ryker Miller scored 16 and pulled down 10 rebounds. Denver Nelson scored 13 to go with 10 rebounds.

Ian Shetler put in 7 points, Asher Stutzman finished with 3, and Luke Brokaw completed the Panther scoring with a basket. Miller had a team high 6 steals.

Pathway faced the Des Moines Defenders in game three with a chance to play for third on the line.

Pathway got off to a strong start building a commanding 23-0 lead after a quarter and extended the lead to 44-5 at the half. Pathway would go on to win 65-27.

The Panthers were led by Ryker Miller’s 18 points on 7-13 shooting including three triples. Denver Nelson scored 14 points and dished out 6 assists to go with 4 steals. Preston Yutzy netted 11 points and had 3 steals.

William Swartzentruber put in two 3’s. Asher Stutzman finished with 5 points, Ian Shetler had 4, and Luke Brokaw finished with a basket.

Saturday afternoon Pathway played the Oskaloosa Knights for a third place finish on the line.

Ryker Miller helped get Pathway off to a good start with back to back threes to end the first quarter giving Pathway a 19-12 lead. After an even second quarter Pathway was able to create some breathing room in the third period, outscoring the Knights 13-5 to take a 46-31 lead into the fourth.

An Asher Stutzman three ball followed by a Miller steal and Preston Yutzy basket pushed the Panther lead to 55-35 with five minutes to play.

Pathway would not score the rest of the way in a 55-47 win. Yutzy finished with 21 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals. Miller scored 13 points and had 4 steals in a strong defensive performance against all tournament member, Gidion Van Mersbergen. Sophomore Denver Nelson had an excellent floor game, scoring 14 points to go with 8 assists and 5 rebounds. 

Pathway finishes the year with a 15-11 record and will graduate three seniors: Ryker Miller, Preston Yutzy, and Asher Stutzman.