PAXTON — The Paxton-Buckley-Loda varsity boys’ basketball team was short-handed to open postseason play.

After getting eight staples in his head after suffering a laceration last Friday, Panthers starting center Gauge Snider was scheduled to be held out of Tuesday night’s Tuscola Regional quarterfinal game between PBL and Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley (it ended after the Record’s deadline). Per doctor’s orders, he also wasn’t going to be allowed to play in Wednesday night’s semifinal against the winner of St. Thomas More and Tuscola, should PBL have advanced that far, coach Scot Vogel said.

Should the second-seeded Panthers make Friday’s championship game, Snider would “probably” be healthy enough to play, Vogel said, though that’s not a certainty either.

“It is what it is. He’s got a laceration on his head. They just want to be precautionary with it,” Vogel said. “In this day and age, you understand stuff so much better from a medical standpoint, it’s not worth the risk. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

With 7:24 remaining in the third quarter of Friday’s 47-29 home win against Momence, Snider grabbed an offensive rebound on the left block. He then quickly went back up for a putback but was fouled. On his way down, the elbow of a Redskins defender unintentionally drilled him on his head.

Snider, who already had 13 points and eight rebounds in the game, quickly fell to the floor, and blood pooled around where he was lying. After being tended to be the team trainer, Snider walked off the floor under his own power. He was then soon taken by his family to the hospital.

The concern with Snider, Vogel said, isn’t the laceration itself. It’s making sure he doesn’t have a concussion.

“They got to make sure he’s 100 percent,” said Vogel, explaining the reasoning for Snider sitting out.

“It’s something that sucks, but got to deal with it. It’s like anything else — you got to have someone step up.”

The Panthers, who have a seven-man rotation when at full strength, are also missing starting wing Jordan Glad, who is serving a suspension following a violation of school rules. Through Tuesday night, Glad had served five of the six games he was scheduled to be out, meaning he would have to sit out Wednesday night as well before being eligible to play Friday, should the Panthers make it that far.

Those absences make it all the more important that PBL stays out of foul trouble and gets big performances from everyone else, most notably Tanner Harris. The senior guard leads the team with around 13 points per game and has stepped up big of late, scoring 20 or more points in four of the five final regular-season games.
“We got to keep riding him and having other guys step up,” Vogel said.

“That’s why it’s important to have guys on the same page and know their stuff. You’re really going to have to call on guys to make contributions.”

Seniors go out on top

Five PBL seniors — Snider, Harris, Dakota Zenner, Dylan Kingren and Ahlden Harms — closed their careers at home on a high note with a win Friday on senior night.
And as is typically the case, Vogel said it was a hard night knowing the end is near.

“Senior night is very difficult,” Vogel said. “You have kids, you want to keep them forever, just to see them grow.”

“It’s awesome. I love basketball so much. I’m going to miss everything about it, mostly just being able to compete,” Harris added.

In Vogel’s eyes, the best part was watching his squad grow in their four years of high school.

“If anyone would have said four years ago your team is going to be 23-4 and win the Leader (Classic) and win a conference regular-season title, you probably would’ve said they’re crazy,” said Vogel, reflecting on how much his senior class has grown.