JUDA — The Panthers finally broke the egg. On Jan. 27, facing Six Rivers East rival Albany, Juda picked up its first win of the season, 62-43.

“It was all on the seniors tonight — it was Senior Night/Parent Night. They worked their butts off to get this. They earned it for sure,” said Juda coach Aaron Duecker.

Of the 62 points, 61 came from three Juda seniors. Aaron Makos led the way with 24 points, while Ward Steinmann had 19 and Mason Kammerer 18.

“They’ve worked really hard — especially the last two weeks — and they’ve earned this. I see this type of team showing up moving forward. It’s time to click,” Duecker said.

Steinman scored 14 of his 19 in the second half, including going a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line down the stretch. Kammerer and Makos each had eight seven points in the second half. Lucas Powers hit a free throw in the waning minutes — the only other Panther to score.

“I think the leadership we have of us seniors, we bring it every day. After Tuesday’s game against Johnson Creek, I think it really pushed us to come out tonight with the win,” Makos said.

Comets leading scorer this season, Carson Brewer, finished with 14 points. He picked up his fourth foul with 11 minutes left in the second half, negating his effectiveness for large spurts of the period when the game was still in contention. Albany was whistled for 14 fouls in the second half, with four players picking up at least four fouls. 

“I am proud of the kids for not folding. They kept at it, they chipped away,” said Albany assistant coach Mitchell Trow. “We found a way to play solid defense. We made a little run there and had some extra effort, and it showed.”

Trow filled in for head coach Derek Allen, who missed the game due to a work trip. 

“Juda played a great game — I have to give it to them. (Makos), he’s a heck of a player. We had a hard time stopping him and keeping him in front of us,” Trow said. “I think we’re trending in the right direction. We’ve played some tough games recently — we played well against Monticello — but we just didn’t show up tonight. We showed stints where we would play well, and I think these kids are starting to play as a team and playing better.”

Despite the foul trouble, the Comets went on a run with Brewer on the bench, bringing their deficit back to as close as six points with 7 ½ minutes to play. However, the Panthers took back control of the game from there, hitting open shots and free throws down the stretch.

“I think our defense that we ran caused some problems for them. We were able to shut them down from driving, which is something they are really good at,” Makos said. “The crowd was amazing. We played as a team. That momentum — that helped us pull it out in the end.”

Makos said in the locker room after the game, emotions were much more jubilant than in the other 15 games played this season. 

“It was a lot of fun. We threw some water up in the air and celebrated,” he said.

Two days later, Juda lost a nonconference game at Cassville 79-51. Makos scored 20 points and Kammerer 18 points. The Panthers trailed 36-25 at halftime.