Albany, NY- The Panthers were back in action on Saturday as the Men's team took on the Vermont Tech Knights.
In a rematch against a team played just two weeks ago, the Panthers wanted to make a statement in this one making sure they were protecting home court! The Panthers were coming on a tough overtime loss the night prior, but they got Levi Thomas back in their lineup to add someone to come off the bench!
in the first half, the Panthers wanted to come out and make a statement that their defense is still a full force of their identity as it has been since the start of the semester. The Panthers saw some nice blocks on the defensive end protecting their basket. The team saw three blocks and four steals to help themselves go into halftime only down by 2.
The first half saw an overall team effort to keep them in the game, with Brett Richards (Kinderhook, NY) leading with 8 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Edgard Matias (Kissimmee, FL) and Abe Pogue had 6 points and 5 rebounds each. Myles Washington (Alexandria, VA) adding 3 points to the teams 23 going into halftime.
The Panthers seemed to come out of the break on a mission, and that was to step up the defensive intensity. The Panthers got a total of 6 blocks this half, while also grabbing another 3 steals. Although the Knights tried to match their defense energy, talling 7 total steals in the half, the Panthers hot shooting, and defensive efforts is what ultimately let them pull ahead.
Matias dropped 14 points and 9 rebounds in the half, while Washington hit a pair of clutch time threes, and dropped 13 points himself in the half. Richards tallied 4 more blocks, and Pogue grabbed 11 rebounds all in the second half.
After the buzzer, Matias led the team with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Myles Washington added 16 points, Brett Richards tallied 15 points and 14 boards, while Abe Pogue had a near triple double with 11 points, 16 rebounds, and 9 assists. His nine assists marks the third most in a single game since the 2012/13 season! Levi Thomas (Fort Plain, NY) dropped 8 points in just his second game back!
It was a defensive battle between the two teams, with a lot of back and forth. Richards finished with 6 blocks (the second most in a game) while Pogue added 4 steals. The Panthers found themselves down by two points at half, but shot 53.3% from the field in the second half to emerge victorious by an 8-point margin.
The Panthers will have the whole week to work in preparation of their matchup against NHTI Saturday, 2/18 at home.
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