On Saturday, December 14th, the Millard West Varsity Boys basketball team played in their home opener against the Norfolk Panthers. This game also marked the start of conference play for the Wildcats. Entering the game, Millard West had an overall record of 1-2, a win would be able to get them back to .500. Norfolk entered the game with an overall record of 0-2, trying to capture their first win of the season.

The Wildcats started the game off very hot. They dominated the first quarter and everything seemed to be a bucket for Millard West. With such a fast start they were to rack up 19 total points. Meanwhile, the Panthers could not say the same. They got off to a slow start and nothing seemed to be falling for Norfolk, they were only able to muster 7 points in the first quarter. After the first quarter the Wildcats had a sizable lead, 19-7.

Millard West was able to build on their success from the first quarter and translate it into the second as well. The Wildcats were able to score 13 points in the second quarter, giving them a total of 32 after the first half. Norfolk was able to score and defend better in the second quarter which allowed them to cut the deficit by a significant margin. They held the Wildcats to less points then the did in the first quarter and were able to score more as well. The Panthers were able to score 10 points in the second quarter, giving them a total of 17. At halftime the Wildcats were up 32-17.

In the third quarter Millard West blew the game wide open. They combined great scoring and offensive plays with strong effort and stops on the defensive side. They scored an incredible 23 points in the quarter alone. They also had a great quarter defensively, the Wildcats were able to slow down the Panthers offense almost entirely, limiting them to only seven points in the quarter. After another strong showing by Millard West, the score after three was 55-24, Wildcats on top.

In the final quarter of play Norfolk was able to stifle the Wildcats offense. Millard West’s shots suddenly stopped falling and as a result the Panthers were able to narrow the gap a little bit. The Wildcats were only able to muster a 7 point fourth quarter, not the way they wanted to end such a well played game on their part. Norfolk’s offense was also able to turn it up in the fourth quarter to the tune of 11 points on their part, this was their highest scoring quarter of the game. When the final buzzer sounded the Wildcats were on top 62-35. Millard West looked dominant throughout the entire game and this was evident in the final score. They were able to combine a strong scoring effort offensively with great play of the defensive side of the court.

The player of the game for the Wildcats was junior James Conway. Conway ended the game with a total of 11 points on 5/7 shooting with one free throw. He gave the team a boost offensively and was tied for the most points on the team. Conway also grabbed a total of six rebounds and two steals. The Panthers had a strong game from their senior Cameron Eisenhauer. Eisenhauer finished with a total of 12 points on 4/10 shooting with two free throws. He also was able to grab five rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block. Eisenhauer was all over the court for Norfolk.

With the win the Wildcats were able to improve their record to 2-2, a .500 start to the season. Meanwhile, for the Norfolk Panthers, they drop to 0-3; not the start they wanted to have on this new season. Millard West will travel for their next game against the Papillion-LaVista South Titans on December 20th. Then the Wildcats will return home for a game against the Gretna Dragons. If the Wildcats are able to win both of those games they would have an overall record of 4-2, a great place to be at this point in the season.