OBSERVER Photo by Jason Bower
Panama’s Bryce Hinsdale shoots in front of Forestville’s Jake Anders during the Section VI Class D boys basketball final at Jamestown Community College’s Physical Education Complex on Friday.
JAMESTOWN — Carter Brink is Panama’s leading scorer.
Bryce Hinsdale is No. 2 in that category.
Jordan Mescall is tied for third on the list, but the Panthers senior picked the perfect time for his best night ever.
Mescall scored a career-high 21 points, including five 3-pointers, as No. 1 Panama beat No. 2 Forestville 83-38 in the Section VI Class D championship game Friday at Jamestown Community College.
“I couldn’t be more proud of him,” Panama head coach Ed Nelson said. ” … I wasn’t surprised one bit to see Jordan do that. I know he’s capable of doing that.”
OBSERVER Photo by Jason Bower
Forestville’s Jake Anders eyes the floor while being guarded by Panama’s Bryce Hinsdale during the Section VI Class D final at JCC on Friday.
Brink had 19 points, three assists and three steals; Hinsdale had 10 points, nine assists, five steals and six rebounds; and Andrew Spiesman turned in 8 points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shots off the bench for the Panthers, who won the 12th title in program history.
“This is my first time playing in a sectional championship and winning, so it’s huge for me, but also huge for the team,” said Brink, who was injured during the team’s 2023 championship run.
“We’re just super excited to move on and hopefully do bigger things,” Brink continued.
“We brought these kids up in eighth grade. It’s definitely been a journey,” Nelson added. “Every team I’ve ever coached started out with committed parents when they were younger.”
Panama led 17-6 after the first quarter and put the game away with a 25-3 second quarter during which the Hornets went 1 of 14 from the field and turned the ball over 13 times.
“Everyone has nerves. We just had to shake those nerves off and eventually settle in,” Brink said. “I felt like we did that in the second quarter.”
“The game getting a little chippy kind of woke us up on defense,” Nelson added. “Our hands got more active and led to some transition points for us.”
At the other end of the floor, Mescall scored 11 points, including three 3-pointers, and Brink added his first 8 points of the game.
“In practice, he’s a knockdown shooter,” Brink said of Mescall. “Whenever he gets to shoot the ball it’s amazing.”
Armed with a 42-9 halftime lead, the Panthers put up another 23 points in the third quarter as Brink hit a 3-pointer and most of the other 20 points came on layups.
“If we control the boards, we always want to get out and run. That’s our game, kill them with speed,” Brink said. “We were definitely able to do that more in the second half.”
With three starters in foul trouble, Spiesman and Michael Horton (10 points, four assists) were key contributors for Panama.
“We have eight guys we can bring in and it doesn’t feel like we have any dropoff,” Nelson said. “Andrew has played a ton of minutes. He’s a senior. There’s nothing like having an 18-year-old young man out there playing basketball.”
Nine players found the scoring column for Forestville, led by Jacob Anders’ 7 points.
“Every day we just try to come out and go 1-0,” Nelson said. “Forestville had a great season. We prepared for them like we needed to. We came out, played team basketball and got the job done today.”
Panama, which advanced to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association final four in both 2016 and 2019, will look to book a trip to Binghamton with a win over Section V’s champion at 1:45 p.m. next Saturday at Rush-Henrietta High School. Fillmore and Jasper-Troupsburg will play for the Rochester area’s title at 3 p.m. today at Blue Cross Arena.
“We’ve been keeping our eyes on them this season,” Nelson said of the possible Section V opponents. “We’re going to check them out (Saturday) and see where it lies.”
NOTES: Alex Barmore had 10 points, six rebounds and four steals for Panama, which shot 36 of 74 from the field, including 7 of 21 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over just eight times. … Forestvile was 16 of 57 from the field, including 1 of 14 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 26 times.
FORESTVILLE (38)
Tenamore 0 0 0, Spengler 1 1 3, DAnders 3 0 6, JAnders 3 1 7, Reilly 3 0 6, Sanchez 2 0 4, Waterman 1 1 3, Gruber 1 0 2, KMescall 0 0 0, Mills 1 0 3, Duliba 2 2 4, Hodkin 0 0 0. Totals 18 5 38.
PANAMA (83)
Barmore 5 0 10, Hinsdale 4 0 9, JMescall 8 0 21, Eggleston 0 0 0, Horton 5 0 10, Brink 8 2 19, Spiesman 4 0 8, Catanese 1 0 2, Abers 0 0 0, Burkholder 0 0 0, Hirsch 0 2 2, Rhoades 1 0 2. Totals 36 4 83.
3-point goals–Mills, Hinsdale, JMescall 5, Brink.
Forestville 6 3 12 17 — 38
Panama 17 25 23 18 — 83