For 31 minutes and 57 seconds that looked like it would be good enough for Westfield to pick up its sixth win of the season.

But the Wolverines sophomore’s go-ahead bucket with 2.5 seconds remaining to give him 39 points on the night didn’t end up being the winning basket.

Panama senior Gabe Roth inbounded from the baseline with less than 3 seconds left, found an open Bryce Hinsdale just past half-court, and after a couple of dribbles, the Panthers sophomore knocked down a 3-pointer as the final buzzer sounded giving Panama a 62-61 victory in Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 2 West action.

“Sometimes when you draw things up, it doesn’t work out exactly as you plan it. That time, it did,” Panthers head coach Ed Nelson said. “We got lucky. We knew there wasn’t a ton of time left. One of our main goals was to catch the ball going toward the rim. … Gabe Roth made an amazing pass down the rail for us. We knew Bryce had two dribbles … and got a great look at it.”

Hinsdale follows through on his game-winning shot. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

Sophomore Tate Catanese was supposed to make the decisive pass on the winning play, but when he was covered on the inbounds play, Roth was forced into that decision. Sophomore Carter Brink, who led Panama with 26 points, broke free near the right sideline, while the left-handed Hinsdale sprinted toward the opposite sideline. Hinsdale caught Roth’s pass, took a pair of dribbles, and rose up over Westfield’s Aiden Larson before draining the shot.

“Orginally, we had Tate in the middle. They did a great job of defending that,” Nelson said. “Gabe Roth is our only senior. He’s played a lot of basketball. He made the read. They took the middle away and those guys were flashing down the sidelines. A great pass fixes everything.”

“We were actually in a zone,” Westfield head coach Nolan Swanson said of the final play. “A couple of guys fell asleep, that’s all.”

Hinsdale ran to the opposite end of the floor as his entire team and several members of the crowd chased him. By the time the celebration was over, Hinsdale was having his jersey nearly pulled off by fellow sophomore Alex Barmore in front of the Panthers bench.

“I knew I caught it around half-court. I knew I had some time,” Hinsdale said. “I took a dribble to get a little closer and it was just a routine shot.”

Westfield’s Carson Swanson scores the go-ahead basket with 2.5 seconds remaining against Panama during CCAA Division 2 West action in Panama on Wednesday night. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

Panama, the 10th best team in Class D according to this week’s New York State Sportswriters Association rankings, led 44-41 entering the fourth quarter and saw that lead grow to seven after Barmore hit a 3-pointer and Hinsdale scored in the lane midway through the period.

The Wolverines answered with a 7-0 run as senior Chris Rotunda scored through contact, junior Carter Russo scored in transition and Swanson hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 52.

Westfield, the 17th-ranked team in the state, eventually led 57-54 when Swanson scored off a turnover, but Brink nailed a 3-pointer with 1:05 left to tie the game at 57.

A free throw from Hinsdale gave Panama a one-point lead, a bucket from Swanson gave the Wolverines a one-point lead and sophomore Jordan Mescall tied the game for the Panthers with a free throw in the final minute.

“I think every guy that we have stepped up tonight. We don’t have a deep bench. We needed big minutes from Brandon Keefe in that first half,” Nelson said. “When you look in Jordan’s eyes, he has eyes like a wolf. You know good things are happening when he goes in there.”

Swanson then drove the lane and scored what looked like it would be the winning basket with less than 3 seconds left.

“We’ve been playing against Carson for multiple years. Anytime you have the last name Swanson, you can ball out,” Nelson said. ” … When you have really good basketball players, they are going to find a way to get their points. … He’s a heck of a ball player.”

Catanese alertly called timeout as the ball went through the hoop and the referees deemed 2.5 seconds should be put on the clock before Panama’s winning full-court play.

“We were kind of frozen walking over to the bench, but Coach Nelson got us fired up,” Hinsdale said. “We drew up a play and it worked to perfection.”

“The kid hit a big shot at the end running down the court,” Coach Swanson said. “More power to him. It was a good shot.”

“We’ve been on some pretty big stages before … and had some pretty crushing losses. We’ve been in some regular season games and had some great wins,” Nelson added. “When you coach long enough, you’re going to be on both ends of it.”

NOTES: Hinsdale finished with 15 points, five steals and four assists; Brink had eight rebounds and four assists; and Catanese had 10 rebounds for Panama, which shot 22 of 57 from the field, including 8 of 26 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 15 times. … Rotunda had 11 points, eight rebounds and four blocks; Swanson had four steals and three assists; and Logan Tuah had six assists, five rebounds and four steals for Westfield, which also shot 22 of 57 from the field, including 6 of 17 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 11 times. … Westfield won the jayvee game 52-44. Brayden Paddock and Trent Houser each scored 10 for the Wolverines while Mike Horton scored 24 for the Panthers.

WESTFIELD (61)

Strong 3 0 7, Russo 1 0 2, Lawrence 0 0 0, Tuah 0 0 0, Swanson 14 6 39, Ormsby 0 0 0, Larson 0 2 2, Rotunda 4 3 11. Totals 22 11 61.

PANAMA (62)

Roth 0 0 0, Hinsdale 5 3 15, Keefe 1 0 3, Brink 9 6 26, Catanese 2 0 4, Mescall 3 1 9, Barmore 2 0 5. Totals 22 10 62.

3-point goals–Strong, Swanson 5, Hinsdale 2, Keefe, Brink 2, Mescall 2.

Westfield 16 16 9 20 — 61

Panama 6 19 19 18 — 62

Jayvees: Panama won 52-44.