Up against an older, bigger squad in the Panama Panthers that was just as quick, Bridgehampton High's boys basketball team, the Killer Bees, who weren't given much of a chance to win, staged an extraordinary second-half comeback amid a growing uproar in Saturday's state Class D final at Binghamton's Veterans Memorial Arena that thrilled the crowd and shook the favorites — four of whom had played on a state-championship football team — who had seen a seemingly comfy 63-36 third-quarter lead almost vanish entirely.
The Bees lost in the end, 78-69, but everyone was in awe of their heart, their will, and fighting spirit, every bit as compelling as that displayed by Bridgehampton's nine former state-championship teams. Chris Payne, one of Panama's assistant coaches, said afterward that "we haven't seen such aggressiveness all year."
Carl Johnson, Bridgehampton's Hall of Fame coach — alone among the state's coaches for having won three state championships as a player and four as a coach — told sportswriters clustered about him following his young charges' eye-popping performance that he'd been trying to get them to pressure the Panthers from the get-go. He was extremely proud of his players, he said. They had, as he had urged them, left everything on the court.
The first quarter was pretty even. A turnover by Carter Brink, arguably the tournament's most valuable player, began it. Soon after, a steal by Jaylen Harding broke the ice. Brink then put back his own miss for 2-2, after which Jordan Harding netted a shot and Tate Catanese, who'd been fouled by Alex Davis, made both free throws for 4-4, and so it went — in the first period that is, which ended with Panama, a smalltown school about a half-hour from Erie, leading 15-12.
The Panthers began to assert themselves in the second quarter, beginning with an 11-0 run during which Alex Barmore, the state-champion Clymer-Sherman-Panama football team's tight end, netted 6 points and Brink, from inside and outside, 5.
Panama was up by 20 with 1:46 to play in the second, though the Bees weren't giving up: Davis, who had had to sit for about four minutes after committing his third foul, was back, and Jai Feaster, his fellow junior guard, was beginning to draw fouls while slashing to the hoop. Still, the Panthers were up 41-22 at halftime.
It was during that respite that Coach Johnson implored his players to give it their all, win or lose, to play the way they had all season.
Things were to get worse before they got better, though. The Bees were trailing by 27 when, at the end of the third, Feaster — who was to make 17 of 21 free throws that night — capped a 3-point play at the foul line, and, just before the buzzer, Davis followed with an unimpeded dash to the hoop.
Xavier Johnson almost got a steal when the fourth began, after which Feaster drew a foul from Barmore and made both free throws, narrowing the lead to 20. The Bees were at it now, exerting extreme pressure everywhere, shaving point after point from the all-senior team's lead. Feaster, Davis, Jaylen Harding, Johnson, Jordan Harding — everyone got into the act as Bridgehampton's ardent fans, who had made the five-and-a-half-hour trip, applauded and sang out, "Let's go, Bridgies," while the cheerleaders chanted, "We are proud of you, yes, we are proud of you!"
With 6 minutes and 20 seconds to play it was 65-50; with 2:20 to go, and with Davis having fouled out, it was 71-66, and the place was going crazy. Unbeelievable.
On the brink, Panama, thanks to Brink, its dazzling point guard, whom Coach Johnson was later to speak very highly of, hung on for the 9-point win. The starters on both sides were pulled with two minutes remaining,
Feaster finished with 31 points, presumably a career high, Jaylen Harding had 15, Davis had 10, Johnson 7, Jordan Harding 4, and Eddie Dawson, 2. Feaster and Jaylen Harding made the all-tournament team.
Brink led Panama with a game-high 38, followed by Barmore with 15, Bryce Hinsdale with 14, Catanese with 5, Andrew Spiesman with 4, and Michael Horton with 2.
Reportedly, Panama will not be strong next year, and, presumably, the Bees, who defeated Loudonville Christian 63-53 in the semifinal round Friday morning, and who will lose only one starter, Jaylen Harding, to graduation, will be back.
