Albany, NY - The men's basketball team honored their three seniors on Friday night before they hosted the Vaughn Phoenix. 

Clarence Claiborne, Jr. (Petersburg, VA), Nathan Lynes (Miami, FL), and Jalin Williams (Winter Haven, FL) were all honored and presented gifts pre-game as all three are on pace to graduate in May with a degree in Public Health.

Once the celebration was complete, the game tipped off at 6pm and had a very slow start.  With about 8 minutes left in the half, the score was 14-9 in Vaughn's favor before the Panthers went on a 13-4 run to take a 4-point lead. The Phoenix answered with a small run of their own and went into halftime with a 2-point lead, 28-26.  At the break, Lynes had 9 points to lead the Panthers while Logan Yohe (Delmar, NY) had 6 off the bench. 

In the second half, the Panthers finally found a groove. Led by Williams, who drilled 3 threes in the half, they built a lead as big as 17 points which would be too much for the Phoenix to overcome.  The Panthers would go on to win the game 61-49. 

Lynes and Williams both finished with 11 points to lead the team while Claiborne had 7 points and 5 assists in a game that saw four other players score at least 5 points off the bench. The Panthers will try to ride their victory momentum into tomorrow when they head up to Paul Smith's to take on the Bobcats in their penultimate game of the season. 

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.