Panama’s Alex Barmore posted a shot in the lane in the Section VI Class D Final with Forestville at the Jamestown Community College athletic complex last Friday. PJ file photos by Jason Bower
Since the school classification numbers for 2024-25 were released, Panama was expected to become the Section VI Class D Boys Basketball Champion.
Now that the Panthers have made it a reality, the real work begins for the New York State Public High School Athletics Association Championship.
Hopefully, the three-game stretch to the title begins Saturday at 1:45pm when Panama won Section V champion Fillmore at Rush Henrietta High School’s Far West Regional.
“Before our goals started, one of our goals was to schedule some of the toughest people we could find. Falconer, two Cheektowagas, we scribbled Fredonia and scrimmed Jamestown before the playoffs began,” Panama head coach Ed Nelson said. “We definitely wanted to test our Mettle all season. … These kids have been playing this high-level basketball for a long time. Hopefully, we can rely on that experience to keep rolling the train.”
Fillmore, the third-place Class D team of the New York State Sportswriters Association, reached the state quarterfinals 74-38 in the Rochester area title game last weekend.
The Wildcats ousted 12-11 in the first quarter and then finished the period with an 8-2 run. Another 11-2 run ending the second quarter gave Fillmore a 44-26 halftime advantage, and the Wildcats easily won.
“It’s certainly going to be a challenge,” Nelson said. “We have to go to fight. When we get here, that’s what you expect.”
Sophomore Jonah Bialek led Fillmore (20-3) with 22 points in the section finals, finishing second in the team this season with 18.0 points per game.
Sophomore Cam Mucher leads the Wildcats with points at 19.2 points per game, earning 6.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.9 steals. Senior JD Bialek averages 11.4 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. Junior Isai Yassysson averages 8.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steel per game. Junior Jamesonlett averages 6.9 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
“(Mulcher) is about 6-4 and he’s a really smooth player,” Nelson said. “Biales’ dad is Horton’s men’s basketball coach. They’re really fundamentally healthy.”
The top-seeded Wildcats defeated No. 8 Elba 71-47 in the Sectional Quarter Finals and defeated No. 5 Avoca Plattsburgh 88-40 in the semi-finals.
“They’re like us. They put full court pressure on you. I think they’ll get the pace up, but the teams that try to do it with us aren’t ready for our collective team’s speed,” Nelson said. “We’re waiting for our team to play us one-on-one. That’s what Fillmore looks like they’re trying to do. They like to push the pace and shoot boundary balls. They like to leave the second chance shot, they’re really good on the offensive board. That’s another thing that makes us good. If we control the board we can get and run in transitions, it makes us better. If we can do that, things will work for us. Giving up a second chance shot might be a long night.”
Panama, the state’s top-ranked team, has relatively easily run the coast to the 12th division crown in the history of the program.
During the regular season, the Panthers’ two losses came in Randolph (the state’s No. 10 Class C team) and Sectional Class C Champion Westfield, who play Saturday’s 5:45pm game at Rush Henrietta High School.
Panama (20-2) said goodbye to the section semi-finals, which took care of fourth climbers 68-41. Last Friday, against No. 2 Forestville, the Panthers led 42-9 at halftime on their way to a 83-38 victory.
The first five of Panama, and basically those who see the actions other than junior Michael Horton, are made up of seniors. Carter Brink leads Panama with 24.6 points per game, earning 4.8 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game. Blythe Hinsdale averages 11.7 points, 4.4 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game. Alex Barmore averages 8.4 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Jordan Mescole averages 8.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
“We’re going to rely on senior leaders knowing we’ve been on that floor before. Our last time at Rush Henrietta was against Avoca Plattsburgh (two years ago), but that didn’t work for us,” Nelson said. “They were all seniors and we were a bunch of sophomores. I hope we can make some modifications when we go there this time.”
Neither team has won a state title, but Panama lost in the semi-finals in both 2016 and 2019, advancing to the Final Four twice. Fillmore has his previous four section championships, but has never won the Far West Region crown to advance to the state’s Final Four.
“We kept our mantra to keep getting better every day. We spoke today, and that’s what a great team does,” Nelson said. “Old teacher Mark Conroy told me that. Good teams get tired of practice, but great teams are locked in, disciplined and take the next step.
“This is a trick to wait a week with one game at the end of the season,” Nelson added. “You can play two months a week and then go back (in the state).
