Albany, NY - The Panthers took on conference rival SMCC in a home doubleheader Saturday afternoon on a day where both teams needed a win.
The women tipped off first at 2pm and struggled to score the rock. Shooting a mere 2-19 from the field in the first quarter, the Panthers managed to hold the Seawolves to only 11 points. They cut the lead to 4 in the second quarter, but then the wolves went on a 20-5 run to push their lead up to 19 points.
Samantha Howland (Whitehall, NY) opened the half with three straight layups, but that was the extent of good things for the Panthers. They shot only 25% from the field in the second half as the Seawolves outscored them 34-21 to make a final score of 66-36. Howland finished with 16 points while Adriana Yuret (Mayfield, NY) recorded 6 points and 3 steals.
After the women's game finished, the men then tipped off in a very physical game. The first half was a constant back and forth between the teams. Led by freshman DJ Bridges (Hamsburg, PA), who scored 7 points while Tristan Lisbony (Houston, TX) had 6 off the bench who helped the Panthers see only a 4-point deficit at the break.
The second half was more of the same, only this time the physicality increased exponentially. There were a total of 24 fouls between the two teams in the second half alone. The Panthers got the Seawolves lead down to 3 points with 6 minutes left, but the Seawolves then went on a decisive 11-0 run to ice the game by a score of 71-60. Panthers superstar Brett Richards (Kinderhook, NY) finished with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds while Clarence Claiborne, Jr. (Petersburg, VA), Alex Carrillo (Akron, OH) and Bridges all finished with 9 points.
Both teams will play their next game tomorrow against the #2 ranked USCAA team Great Bay.
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Written by Angelo Oddo.
