Before the

Gold City Tournament, the Starr's Mill boys basketball

team had a record of 2-4.

The record

was not necessarily indicative of how the team was

playing - several losses were by a few points -

but it did point out some of the mistakes that led to

that record.

Last week,

the Panthers traveled to Dahlonega to play in a holiday

basketball tournament and it looks as if the team has

struck some gold. Despite losing in the first game to

Jefferson, 66-65, the Panthers played some outstanding

basketball and look poised for region play.

The

Jefferson game was very reflective of how the Panthers

season had gone so far. They played them close enough to

win it at the end, but they didn't. One huge factor for

Jefferson was free throws. Jefferson was 32 of 43 from

the line.

Matt Houck

led Starr's Mill in scoring with 20 points and Brandon

Alexander fouled out in the third quarter.

Starr's

Mill faced Lumpkin County next and destroyed them 86-42.

The game was fairly close at the half, with Starr's Mill

leading by only 10 points. The Panthers then went on to

outscore Lumpkin County 26-10 in the third quarter and

19-1 in the fourth quarter. Houck continued to play

exceptionally, netting 15 points, while Alexander led the

team with 23 points.

The

Panthers' final game was against Oconee County. Starr's

Mill led 19-9 at the end of the first quarter and 31-20

at the half. The defense on both sides picked up and

Starr's Mill, producing 12 steals in the game, outlasted

Oconee County, 51-48. Houck led the team in scoring with

25 points.

Starr's

Mill now has a 4-5 record and a glimpse of what they

could do. An interesting footnote to the team's

performance was that Donny Lampen missed the tournament.

Lampen is a big post player for the Panthers, and adding

him