PANAMA - For the first few minutes, it seemed Panama was in control in their season-opening battle with Frewsburg, but the Bears' stiff defense made things tough for the Panthers, who held on for a hard-fought 52-51 victory on Tuesday night in non-league boys basketball.
Panama charged out of the gate quickly and rolled to a 22-13 lead in the first period, but Frewsburg put a stop to the Panthers' attack, limiting them to just 12 points over the next two quarters.
"We just couldn't put the ball in the bucket for almost 20 minutes," said Panama coach Ed Nelson.
By the final period, Frewsburg (1-2) held a four-point lead, but the Panthers rallied, outscoring their opponent 18-13 while hitting on 8-of-11 free throws, including one by Ricky Eddy that put Panama (1-0) up 52-48 near the end of the game. The Bears hit a final 3-pointer to trim the lead to a point as time expired.
Dan O'Dell led Panama with 15 points while Alex Blose added 10 points with eight rebounds.
For Frewsburg, Alex Elderkin topped all scorers with 19 points.
FREWSBURG (51)
Smith 3 1 8, Munella 1 1 4, Nelson 4 0 8, Stearns 0 0 0, BJohnson 3 2 9, Elderkin 8 0 19, Adelgren 1 0 2, DJohnson 0 1 1, Caldwell 0 0 0, Zabrowski 0 0 0. Totals: 25 5 51.
PANAMA (52)
Eddy 3 2 9, O'Dell 5 3 15, Blose 2 5 10, Kirby 2 0 5, Rensel 4 0 9, Franzen 1 0 2, Lewis 1 0 2. Totals: 18 10 52.
3-point goals: Smith 1, Munella 1, Brett Johnson 1, Elderkin 3; Eddy 1, O'Dell 2, Blose 1, Kirby 1, Renzel 1.
Frewsburg 13 10 15 13 - 51
Panama 22 8 4 18 - 52
BROCTON PREVAILS
BROCTON - The Brocton Bulldogs used a 12-4 first-quarter run to hold off the Chautauqua Lake Thunderbirds, 55-43.
Facing a 31-19 deficit at halftime, the Thunderbirds went on a 16-8 run in the third quarter to cut the lead to 38-35. However, the Bulldogs outscored the visitors, 16-8 in the final eight minutes to hold on for the win.
Dan Ferguson and Jordan Patterson led the offensive attack as they combined for 35 points.Anthony Riforgiato pulled down eight rebounds in the win.
Ian Clute led the way for the Thunderbirds with 18 points and 11 rebounds while Carter Davidson had 12 points.
CHAUTAUQUA LAKE (43)
Davidson 4 1 12, Clute 5 7 18, Mayer 3 0 8, Briggs 1 0 3, Hulton 1 0 2, Totals 14 8 43
BROCTON (55)
Patterson 7 1 16, Ferguson 6 6 19, Buchanan 1 0 3, Graves 0 0 0, AaRiforgiato 2 4 8, AnthRiforgiatio 1 0 2, Dolce 1 0 3, Delcamp 1 0 2, Totals 18 13 55
3-point goals: Davidson 3, Clute, Mayer 2, Briggs, Patterson, Ferguson, buchanan, Dolce.
Chautauqua Lake 4 15 16 8 - 43
Brocton 12 19 8 16 - 55
Jayvees: Brocton won
AGNEWS LEAD WAY
ELLICOTTVILLE - Led by the Agnew brothers, Cattaraugus-Little Valley (2-0) spoiled the season-opening boys basketball opener for Ellicottville.
Sam Agnew sank 23 points and Colt Agnew added 17 as Cattaraugus-Little Valley defeated Ellicottville, 69-58.
Ellicottville led by a 34-31 margin at halftime, but Colt Agnew scored eight points and Sam Agnew added five during the 19-6 run in the third stanza to break it open.
Luke McCaranja contributed 13 points for the winners, who outscored Ellicottville, 38-24, during the second half.
Alex Steinbroner and Cam Wilson tallied 18 points and Phalla Musall 11 in the loss.
CATTARAUGUS-LITTLE VALLEY (69)
Hadley 1 0 2, Forster 3 0 6, Reynolds 1 0 2, Rupp 3 0 6, C. Agnew 6 2 17, S. Agnew 7 7 23, McCaranja 5 3 13. Totals 26 12 69.
ELLICOTTVILLE (58)
Musall 5 1 11, C. Wilson 7 4 18, S. Wilson 1 0 2, Morton 3 0 7, Steinbroner 8 2 18, Schena 1 0 2. Totals 25 7 58.
3Point Shots - C. Agnew 3, S. Agnew 2, Morton.
C-LV19 12 19 19 -69
Ellicottville17 17 6 18 - 58
Jayvees: Ellicottville won.