Panama’s Bryce Hinsdale shoots a layup during the first half of Thursday’s CCAA Division 2 West boys basketball game against the Chautauqua Lake Eagles in Mayville. P-J photo by Braden Carmen

MAYVILLE — Thursday night, the reigning Class D Sectional champion Panama Panthers looked every bit as good as they were a year ago.

With a pivotal matchup in the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association West 2 Division coming next week against the first-place Westfield Wolverines, the Panthers were not caught looking ahead in what could have been a trap game on Thursday. The Panama Panthers defeated the Chautauqua Lake Eagles 67-33 in Thursday’s boys basketball game at Chautauqua Lake High School.

“Honestly, I know it sounds cliche for a coach to say, but we just try to go 1-0 every single day,” Panama head coach Ed Nelson said. “I’ve watched hours of film on Chautauqua Lake just to make sure we were prepared. That’s all I’ve been thinking about. We’re just going to enjoy this one tonight.”

Within the first two minutes of play, Chautauqua Lake (4-8, 2-4) pulled back even after allowing the first four points of the game. Panama (9-1, 4-1) then jumped back ahead, 7-4, on a corner 3-pointer by Bryce Hinsdale with 5:46 left in the first quarter.

From that point on, the Panthers held the lead for nearly 30 minutes to earn a comfortable victory. Hinsdale hit a second corner 3-pointer of the quarter from the same spot to double the lead to six points, 12-6. That shot was the beginning of a 9-0 run to close the opening quarter, in which the Panthers had a 14-2 scoring advantage after the first two minutes of play.

“They are going to come in and play great every night, it’s just who they are,” Chautauqua Lake head coach Devin Pope said. ” … Being a more experienced team, they know how to play together. You can tell when they swing the ball around, it looks like they have been playing together for years.”

Panama extended its lead to 20 points, 31-11, with 1:38 left in the first half on a pull-up 3-pointer from Carter Brink in transition. The Panthers led 34-13 at halftime, then held a 30-point advantage after three quarters, 55-25.

“I told the guys at the beginning of the game, when we’re passing the ball well, good things happen,” Nelson said. “I think it was pretty evident that we were finding the open guy. We were playing team basketball.”

The highlight of the fourth quarter came with a minute remaining, as Panama’s Bennet Vicente stepped to the free-throw line. The junior, who did not have a point to his name yet this season, left the first free-throw short. However, in his chance for redemption, the second attempt rattled around the rim and fell through for his first tally of the season.

The visiting Panthers student section erupted in celebration, along with the usual starters who stood up from their spots on the bench in the game’s final moments. Panama closed out the final minute to seal the 34-point victory.

Carter Brink led the Panthers with 19 points, the most of any scorer in the game. He made seven shots from the field, including the aforementioned pull-up 3-pointer in transition, along with four free-throws.

“The nice thing about having Carter is he’s a kid who can score at every level. He can shoot the perimeter ball, he really worked on that in the offseason. He can get to the rack, he can get to the free-throw line, he can shoot the mid-range. He’s a really fun basketball player to coach,” Nelson said.

Hinsdale added 13 points for the Panthers, paced by his two early 3-pointers. Tate Catanese had 10 points; Alex Barmore had 8 points; and Jordan Mescall had 7 points.

Brendan Klossner and Nate Henry tied for the team lead in points for Chautauqua Lake, each with eight points. Nick Jacobson added 6 points for the Eagles.

Up next, Panama looks to avenge its only loss of the season when the Panthers travel to Westfield on Monday to take on the first-place Wolverines at Westfield Academy. Westfield, currently on an 11-game winning streak, defeated Panama 57-48 on Dec. 14 at Panama High School. Westfield head coach Nolan Swanson and his son, Carson, stopped by to check out part of Thursday’s game.

“We’ll get back in the lab and prepare for Westfield,” Nelson said.

Up next for the Eagles, weather permitting, is a matchup with General McLane High School of Edinboro, Pa., Saturday afternoon at Chautauqua Lake High School. The next division game for the Eagles is at Sherman next Thursday.

“We’re going to try to turn it around. We had a lot more effort in the second half with rebounding. Hopefully we find an offensive groove,” Pope said.

Panama and Chautauqua Lake meet again Feb. 13 at Panama High School.

PANAMA (67)

Mescall 3 0 7, Hinsdale 5 0 13, Keefe 0 0 0, Brink 7 4 19, Catanese 5 0 10, Graves 0 1 1, Horton 2 0 4, Spiesman 2 0 4, Barmore 4 0 8, Rhoades 0 0 0, Vicente 0 1 1. Totals 28 6 67.

CHAUTAUQUA LAKE (33)

Jacobson 2 2 6, Henry 2 3 8, Fairbank 0 0 0, Gibbs 1 0 2, Freay 0 0 0, Olson 0 4 4, Ambuhmedian 0 0 0, Houser 2 0 4, Klossner 3 0 8, Reyda 0 0 0, Brushaber 0 1 1. Totals 10 10 33.

3-point goals–Mescall, Hinsdale 3, Brink, Henry, Klossner 2.

Panama 18 16 21 12 — 67

Chautauqua Lake 6 7 12 8 — 33