Albany, NY – VS. CMCC The man's basketball team took on #5 Central Maine Community College at home on Saturday afternoon, yet again with only five active players. Rookie sensation Brett Richards (Kinderhook, NY) led the way nearly recording a triple double with 28 points, 17 rebounds, and 7 assists. Unfortunately, Richards' monster game was not enough for the Panthers as they fell short to the Mustangs by a score of 84-76.
The first half saw once again Myles Washington (Alexandria, VA), Edgard Matias (Kissimmee, FL) and Brett Ricahrds leading the scoring for the Panthers. Washington dropped 8 points, with 4 rebounds with 2 of those coming on the offensive end. Matias dropped 7 points, with 3 rebounds himself to help keep the Panthers within striking distance. Richards once again hit double digits in the first half scoring 15 to lead the Panthers in the first half. Although the Panthers were behind by double digits going in half, they were keeping up with the Mustangs hot shooting. Through the first half however, the Panthers were playing one of their best games of the season against a strong team, with an overall great team performance. The shootings, rebounds and assist were all very similar with the Mustangs having a slight edge in two of the three categories. By the half, the Mustangs had a 12 point lead.
In the second half, the Panthers were starting to put everything from the first half together, with a little extra push in the second half. The Panthers were outshooting, out rebounding, and out assisting the Mustangs. Abe Pogue (Oradell, NJ) hit multiple clutch threes near the end of the game to bring the Panthers closer to Central Maine. He finished with 11 points and 6 assists to help the Panthers get into a good position. The short-handed Panthers never gave up, and in the final minutes of the game cut the lead down to four, but ultimately could not regain the lead. Edgard Matias finished with his fifth double-double of the year with 17 points and 12 rebounds while Myles Washington added 16 points on four made 3-pointers.
The Panthers played well on offense, shooting 41.6% from the field and dishing out 23 assists, but the difference was free throw shooting. The Panthers only shot 3 free throws from the charity stripe, compared to 17 attempts by the Mustangs.
Albany, NY - VS MCLA The Panthers celebrated head coach Robert Coleman's birthday with a victory against the MCLA Trail Blazers by a score of 71-67. It was a tight game from start to finish, but the Panthers were able to prevail in a nail-biter.
In the first half, the Panthers continued to show their massive leap in defensive awareness and attack as they racked up 9 first half steals. The Panthers found themselves down by only one point going into the half behind Abe Pogue's 4 first half steals. Edgard Matias and Brett Richards combined for 18 points by halftime as the Panthers battled the Trail Blazers back and forth, holding their opponent to only 18.8% shooting from deep. Myles Washington added to the Panthers strong half with 5 points, 2 assists and 2 rebounds himself.
The second half saw much better shooting numbers from the Panthers as they drilled more than half of their 3-point attempts and shot 9/11 from the charity stripe. The Panthers like Saturday out shot, out assisted, and totaled 7 steals once again to show their defense toughness. Starting guard Jalin Williams (Fort Haven, FL) finished the night with two very clutch threes late in the game to cap off a career high 13 points while Richards recorded his 14th double-double (a new Panthers single season record!) with 28 points and 13 rebounds.
The Panthers trailed by as many as six in the second half but would not let the Blazers run away with it. They stormed back on a 17-5 run to build a six-point lead themselves and secure the victory. The Panthers finished a weekend-slew of games with a victory as they will travel to Paul Smith's College to take on the Bobcats on Friday night.
How to follow the Panthers: For the latest information on ACPHS athletics, visit acphspanthers.com or check out the ACPHS athletics social media platforms on Instagram @ACPHSPanthers or Twitter @ACPHSAthletics.
