The Panthers faced Stewartsville in the opening round of the Osborn Invitational Tournament.
Polo would trail 10-9 after one quarter, but came back to take the lead at half time, 26-24. The Panthers would extend the lead to 43-35 in the third, and went on to a 60-52 first round win. Parker Smith led Polo with 28 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 assists. Brandon Hubbard also scored in double figures with 10 to go with 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Greg Aubrey scored 9 points and rebounded the ball 7 times. James Fleener was next with 7 points and a team leading 8 rebounds. Cole Bartlett handed out 3 assists and stole the ball twice. Coach Pickrell remarked, "This game forced us to work on game management and focus on finishing the game at the free throw line, and we did just that."
In the semi-finals, Polo faced one of the top teams in the state; Winston. The Panthers fell behind 12-4 after one, and 24-10 at the half. Polo had their best quarter of the night in the third, scoring 16 points to Winston's 17, but got out scored 4 to 16 in the 4th to go down 57-30. Parker Smith recorded a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while handing out 2 assists and stealing the ball twice. James Fleener scored 6 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, and stole the ball 2 times. Jason Thompson hit the boards for 7 rebounds, Brandon Hubbard delivered 3 assists, and Cole Bartlett assisted on 3 buckets and stole the ball 3 times. Coach Pickrell said, "When we had our eyes up and got the ball inside, good things happened, but we didn't do it enough."
South Holt was the team to beat in the 3rd Place game. The Panthers trailed 10-15 after one and 19-25 at the half. Polo limited South Holt to a single point in the 3rd while scoring 11 to take a 30-26 advantage into the final 8 minutes of play, but South Holt came back with 23 points in the 4th to the Panthers 16 to get the win, 49-46. James Fleener led Polo with 18, followed by Parker Smith's 12, 6 by Brandon Hubbard, 3 for Cole Bartlett and Jason Thompson, and 4 for Jesse Vaughan. The Panthers made 8 of 14 free throws to South Holt's 16 of 25.
