Panther Boys Varsity Basketball Takes First Win Of Season

by Ben Gaines
The HFCS Varsity boys hoopsters traveled to Greenwich looking for their first win.  Levi Brewster was all business walking into the Witches’ circle, and he won the tip for the Panthers.  Andrew Hoag, Taylor Baker, Randy Tutunjian and Austin Pitt were in the brew with him the first quarter.  The boys soon found that this was to be no stroll in the woods; they would have to fight for every bucket. The first quarter was physical and ended 10-4 in the Panthers’ favor, with Jonny Whitman, Evan Phillips and Cody Gaines jumping into the brew for the Panthers.
The second quarter was more of the same with Wiley Bradley and Josh Brogue joining in for Falls, with the scoring advancing to 23-10.  The fire was definitely stoked by both coaches, Lilac of the Panthers and Coach Duke Beck of the Witches, as both teams were thinking of nothing but winning.  Falls’ Andrew Hoag started to take advantage of every outside opportunity, and Greenwich was looking for more rebounds from Greg Scott and John Barnes and more buckets on the other end.  Colin Oswald and Justin Carruthers, listed at 6’7”, were successful for the Witches on the scoring side. While Scott and Barnes pulled down rebounds, the Panthers racked up more points shooting threes and working the floor for good shots. The score was 40-24 by the end of the third.
Fouls were troublesome for the Panthers. By the end of the game Baker had 4, Hoag 3, Bradley 2, Phillips 2, Pitt 2 and Gaines 1, for the Panthers. Scott fouled out for the Witches, Barnes had 3, Oswald 3, and Winch had 2.
This game saw Andrew Hoag step in as leading scorer for Falls with 16 points, Baker had 12, Tutunjian, 8, Phillips and Pitt,  7 each, and Brewster had 4 points.
The Witches were a less vertical and speedy team, giving the Panthers better looks at the boards, which led to the Panthers’ first season and league win. The 54 -37 victory gives Falls a much needed win coming in to Friday’s home game with Granville on the 14th.