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Washington Evening Journal
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Washington, IA 52353
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Panthers fall in Game 1
Cedar Rapids Washington runs away from Mt. Pleasant boys late
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MT. PLEASANT — A shorthanded Mt. Pleasant boys basketball team gave a good fight to up-and-coming Class 4A team Cedar Rapids Washington on Monday night, but the Panthers didn’t have enough firepower to take down the Warriors in Game 1 of the 2025-26 season.
The Panthers were close for three quarters, but wound up falling 73-45, resulting in their first loss of the season.
The Panthers had a decent start, trailing just 16-10 after one quarter and 29-26 at the half, thanks in part to some hot shooting from sophomore Carter Gehling, who hit three 3-pointers in the first half.
“He was certainly a force tonight, I thought, on both ends,” said Panther head coach Eric Rawson. “He defended well and hit some big threes for us in the first half.”
The Warriors stretched their lead to 49-39 after three quarters. In the fourth, star sophomore Traeshon Fields led the team on a 24-6 run. Fields finished the night with 29 points to lead all scorers.
“The idea was to face guard and really make him work for it,” Rawson said. “It worked for us in the first half, but in the second half, we started gambling a big and started behind him, and when you do that, he’s really dangerous.”
Mt. Pleasant was led by Gehling’s 16 points. Isaiah Lange had nine. Aiden Humble scoredeight. Brody Clark finished with five. Grayson Lowery had three, and both Grayson Walker and Kaden Schadt finished with two.
Mt. Pleasant is now 0-1 on the season. The Panthers will start conference play in Burlington on Friday night.
