Albany, NY - The men's basketball team opened their season with a home game against SUNY Ulster on Saturday afternoon in a thriller. 

The Panthers had a slow start in the first five minutes, letting the Senators jump to a 9-2 lead. They slowly crawled their way back, eventually cutting the lead to one point before going on a 14-0 run in the final minutes of the first half to secure a 40-29 halftime lead. Freshman Chase Tamashiro (Kane'ohe, HI) scored 7 of those 14 points while Alex Carrillo (Akron, OH) and Logan Yohe (Delmar, NY) both had 11 points at the break. 

Early in the second half, the Panthers rode their momentum to push their lead to 16 points. Then it was the Senators' turn to crawl back, cutting the Panthers lead down to only 6 points with about 10 minutes left.  Insert the freshman.  Over the next five minutes, Tamashiro and Landon Reilly (Schaghticoke, NY) hit three threes and two layups to push the Panthers lead back up to 16.  After that, the Panthers sealed the deal at the free throw line, eventually winning 75-68. 

Carrillo finished with 24 points and 8 rebounds while Tamashiro and Reilly combined for 20 off the bench.  Clarence Claiborne, Jr. (Petersburg, VA) led the team with 6 assists while DJ Bridges dropped 7 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists off the bench. 

The team will be back in action tomorrow afternoon as the Panthers host Washington County Community College in their first doubleheader of the year!

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 X @ACPHSAthletics. 

Written by Angelo Oddo.