After winning its first two games of the season at the Mike Rettger Tournament, the Franklin Regional boys basketball team dropped two straight at the 20th Hempfield tipoff tournament.
Coach Jesse Reed was looking for better starts from his team, which has fallen behind early in games and had to claw back methodically to have a chance to win.
The Panthers dropped a 53-50 decision to WPIAL Class 2A No. 1 Greensburg Central Catholic, then fell to Hempfield, 51-44.
Reed watched his team rally for wins against Seneca Valley and Quaker Valley earlier in the week, but this comeback couldn't be seen to a finish.
"The beginning of games, we're starting slow," Reed said. "You can't expect to luck out and win games. We let them bully us a little bit.
"We only scored 14 points in a half (against GCC), and we went through the motions early. We have to figure out what is going on, whether it's changing up the lineup, doing something different in warmups, I don't know."
A 2-0 start was pleasing to Connor Crossey, but the Panthers' lone returning starter from a magical season wanted more.
Crossey found his scoring touch just when the Panthers needed him in a 43-37 win over Seneca Valley to open the tournament. Crossey scored 15 of his team-high 18 points in the fourth quarter.
The next night, he helped lead the Panthers to an impressive comeback.
Crossey hit a layup with 10 seconds left in overtime as the Panthers edged Quaker Valley, 49-48.
The Panthers trailed 40-24 with five minutes left in regulation but clawed back one step at a time. They sped up the pace and went to a full-court press, which proved to be beneficial.
Crossey said the Panthers need to show a more complete effort, 32 minutes of full-tilt action as opposed to a quarter's worth.
"It felt great coming out to a 2-0 start, but it was very sloppy overall and I know we can play much harder to start the game," Crossey said. "We need to play like we do in the fourth quarter throughout the whole game. Then we will be tough."
Crossey had 20 points in the loss to GCC and 18 against Hempfield.
Reed likes to talk about his teams gradually improving to be playing their best basketball by the postseason.
With that comes with learning what his team's identity is. Many coaches think they know -- until they know.
"The guys really showed their toughness and competitive drive," Reed said. "We always talk about how effort can make up for mistakes we make on the floor. We definitely didn't play our best ball (during the opening weekend), but it's way better learning from wins than it is from losses."
Girls win pair
Franklin Regional's girls basketball team won two games in a row after an 0-2 start.
At the Moon tournament, the Panthers took care of Lincoln Park, 55-28, before dispatching Canon-McMillan, 46-42.
In the second win, Madison DeRiggi scored 13 points and Toryn Fulton added 11.
A slow start -- one point in the first quarter -- doomed Franklin Regional in a 53-27 loss to Penn-Trafford.
Rettger winners
Each year, the Mike Rettger Foundation awards two Franklin Regional seniors with a $2,000 scholarship in the late Panther athlete's name.
This year's winners were recognized during recent basketball games. Angelina Brush and Fin Hutchinson were the latest recipients.
Both graduated last June and took their basketball talents to the college level, Brush at Westminster and Hutchinson at Seton Hill.
Hockey update
The Franklin Regional hockey team moved to 4-4 for the season, dropping a 6-3 decision to Mt. Lebanon.
Nick Matus, Brendan Yohe and Carter Yohe had goals for the Panthers.
In the previous game, the Panthers edged past Peters Township, 2-1, as Tyler Spears and Max Williams found the back of the net.
More offers for Kerns
Austin Kerns, a senior football player at Franklin Regional, received scholarship offer from Robert Morris, his second opportunity at the Division I level.
Before that, Division II Edinboro and Wheeling extended offers to Kerns, who plays linebacker for the Panthers.
Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.