The Panthers came up short against the defending NJCAA Division II national champions over the weekend, 78-62. South Suburban has won 36 straight at home and has a 91-6 mark in the last six years.

The Bulldogs came in as one of the more productive teams in the country, but the star power of Matas Deksnys and Manny Rodriguez had allowed the Panthers to win five of their past six games entering the matchup.

In the loss, the dynamic duo combined for 24 points on 8-of-24 shooting (33%)

Rodriguez has been a shining star since December. He has scored at least 20 points in three of four December games while dropping 70 points before another double-digit performance against South Suburban. 

The 15 three-pointers in a three-game sample have been the most thrilling stretch of his Panther career. Thanks to the ability to connect on shots in crunch time, the squad should be a Skyway threat when conference play begins after the New Year. 

In the loss to the fifth-ranked Bulldogs, Rodriguez saw help from Deksnys. The southpaw hit a quartet of shots from the outside and ended with a team-high 14 points. 

Scoring came at a premium in this matchup, but there was plenty to go back to the drawing board and review for head coach Jon Rush. 

"We learned that we have to play a full 40 minutes. It is something that we have consistently struggled with all semester. Even in wins, games have been close because of our inability to execute," Rush said.

The ability to consistently score off the bench was a concern going into last week, but guard Myles Griffith has produced like a starter after posting a season-high 17 points in their win over Rock Valley.

He reached double figures again, posting 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting in nearly 28 minutes of play. The athletic guard has been an electric scorer off the bench for the Panthers, and the ability to knock down shots allows others to get open looks.

Kedric Anderson is one of those players who followed up a few big shots down the stretch against Rock Valley with 13 points against South Suburban.

Going against No. 5 South Suburban certainly was their top challenge all year. The Bulldogs limited the Panthers to 38% shooting from the field, but we saw another solid performance from three-point territory.

The Panthers were 9-of-21 (43%) from deep and made it to the charity stripe 23 times. However, they allowed the fifth-ranked Bulldogs to shoot 57% from the floor. The Panther saw their deficit rise to a game-high 18 points with 4:34 remaining in regulation.

There were no lead changes or ties, but the ability to slow a high-scoring offense was a positive note. 

"Defensively, we were able to slow them down. Our goal was to keep them under 70, so we came up a bit shy of that. But the real key was that we did not get the looks we needed when it mattered. Give them their credit because they did a good job on the defensive end," Rush said.

The next scheduled game for the Panthers is on January 10 in their Skyway opener, which will be a road tilt against Oakton.

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