Coach Ed Nelson’s crew followed that suggestion to a T in the second half of Thursday night’s Section VI Class C prequarterfinal basketball game on its way to an 83-69 victory over Gowanda.

Carter Brink poured in 35 points, including 23 after the break, and dished out 12 assists; Bryce Hinsdale added 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists; Alex Barmore scored 11 points and grabbed 12 rebounds; and Tate Catanese chipped in 11 points and hauled down eight boards.

“That’s when we’re at our best when we’re playing complementary basketball,” Nelson said.

The win advances fifth-seeded Panama into the quarterfinals at noon Saturday at No. 4 Franklinville.

Panama’s Alex Barmore (34) shoots over Gowanda’s Bear Jimerson during Thursday’s Section VI Class C prequarterfinal boys basketball game at Panama Central School. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

“I know it’s cliche, but we’re going to try and go 1-0 in practice (today) and look at some tape,” Nelson said.

“It’s playoff basketball. There’s no more fun than that.”

Speaking of fun, the first half was an entertaining one.

Panama jumped out to an 18-8 lead, but Gowanda closed the gap to 20-14 by the end of the first quarter. Thanks to Trelin Warrior’s hot hand — he scored 8 points in the first 90 seconds of the second period — Gowanda tied the game at 22 and settled for a 34-31 deficit at intermission.

“We knew they were going to be good,” Nelson said of Gowanda. “They have some athletes. It was a true test for us. … They can shoot the perimeter ball. They never went away. They just kept clawing.”

In the second half, Brink and Hinsdale combined for 36 of Panama’s 49 points — many of those buckets set up by excellent passing — to gain some separation from Gowanda, which trailed 54-45 heading into the final period. Panama’s lead grew to 19 points midway through the fourth quarter.

“We knew they were playing aggressively at the top of that zone,” Nelson said. “We just tried to dribble-penetrate. We said (after the game), there was a lot of unselfish basketball. Carter had 12 assists — I think that was a career high. He put the ball in a lot of people’s hands and we scored a lot of points. … He’s a lot of fun to coach and he’s one of the best players in Western New York, without a doubt. I’m glad he’s on my team.”

Leading the way for Gowanda was Warrior with 22 points. Quentin Centner had 19 and Seth Geiger chipped in 15.

Gowanda coach Lucas Brawdy declined comment after the game.

GOWANDA (69)

Centner 7 4 19, Herman 1 3 5, Geiger 6 0 15, VanNote 0 0 0, Warrior 8 2 22, Montour 0 0 0, Johns 0 1 1, Stevens 0 0 0, Jimerson 2 3 7. Totals 24 13 69.

PANAMA (83)

Mescall 3 0 8, Hinsdale 7 0 18, Keefe 0 0 0, 14 5 35, Catanese 5 0 11, Graves 0 0 0, Horton 0 0 0, Spiesman 0 0 0, Barmore 5 1 11, Rhoades 0 0 0, Vicente 0 0 0. Totals 35 6 83.

3-point goals–Centner, Geiger 3, Warrior 4, Mescall 2, Hinsdale 4, Brink 2, Catanese.

Gowanda 14 17 14 24 — 69

Panama 20 14 20 29 — 83