Albany, NY - The men's basketball team traveled to South Portland, ME on Saturday to take on the Great Bay Herons in the YSCC Final Four following their victory last weekend against the UMA Moose. 

It was a playoff game after all and both teams played with playoff intensity that you see on tv.  The Panthers made their first 4 attempts to take an early lead, but the Herons then answered with a 14-3 run to give themselves an 8-point lead. After that it was more back and forth until the break when the Herons led 46-36 at the horn. Tristan Lisbony (Houston, TX) shot the ball well, drilling 3 threes in the first half while Brett Richards (Kinderhook, NY) had 13 points on 6/7 shooting. 

The Panthers came out of the break roaring, cutting the Herons lead all the way down to 4 points. But once again, the Herons answered with a run of their own, this time going 14-2 to give themselves a 16-point lead, their largest of the game. After that, every time the Panthers got some momentum, the Herons answered.  The back and forth went on until the end of the game, with the Herons winning 79-67. 

Richards finished as the team's top scorer with 21 points while Lisbony had 16. Alex Carrillo (Akron, OH) had 13 points and 7 boards while Clarence Claiborne Jr. (Petersburg, VA) and Michael Leak (Delanson, NY) combined for another 15 points and 5 assists. 

The loss marks the end of the Panthers' YSCC playoff run. However, their season may not be over as they could still travel to Buffalo to compete in the USCAA National Championship tournament, but nothing is set in stone yet. 

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.