Albany, NY - The men's basketball team hosted the UMA Moose on Saturday night in the YSCC Play-In game. The winner of the game has a guaranteed spot in the YSCC Final Four to be played next weekend at Southern Maine.
Right from the tip, the game had that playoff intensity that you see on tv. Both teams played tough defense in the beginning, with the first basket of the entire game coming several minutes after the tip. Shots for both teams started falling after the slow start as the Moose had a 4-point lead. A few minutes later, the Panthers had a 4-point lead. A few minutes after that, the score was tied. It wasn't until the last minute and a half of the first half that either team had more than a 4-point lead. Thanks to back-to-back threes from Logan Yohe (Delmar, NY) and Tristan Lisbony (Houston, TX), the Panthers went into the break up by 8 points.
In the second half, the Panthers pushed their lead to double digits thanks to Brett Richards (Kinderhook, NY) who shot 7/8 from the field in the half. However, the Moose started to get hot and cut deep into the Panthers lead, getting it down to one possession. With less than a minute left, the Panthers were up 69-67. After a huge offense rebound with about 20 seconds left from Clarence Claiborne Jr. (Petersburg, VA), the Moose had no choice but to foul. Claiborne then proceeded to ice the game at the free throw line to give the Panthers a 71-67 victory.
The win tonight eliminated the Moose from playoff contention while it sends the Panthers to the YSCC Final Four. Richards would finish as the team's leading scorer with 19 points and 3 blocks while Claiborne dished out 9 assists. The other 4 Panthers that saw the court tonight all had at least 10 points.
Something else worth noting is that Logan Yohe's 3 made three pointers tonight gave him 56 made threes on the season - a new single season record since records became official in 2013 when ACPHS joined the USCAA.
The Panthers will have a week's rest before they play the top-seeded Great Bay Herons. The Panthers and Herons have faced off twice this season - the Panthers lost on 11/17 but then beat them on 1/19.
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 Instgram @ACPHSPanthers or X @ACPHSAthletics.
Written by Angelo Oddo.
