Preview: Chautauqua Lake Thunderbirds vs. Panama Panthers
Chautauqua Lake has enjoyed the comforts of home their last three games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will face off against the Panama Panthers at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Chautauqua Lake will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps New York Rankings (they are ranked 680th, while Panama is ranked 167th).
Chautauqua Lake lost a heartbreaker when they last took the court, but unfortunately for them the defeat they were handed on last Saturday was a bit more commanding. They had to suffer through a rough 74-32 loss at the hands of General McLane. The result shouldn't come as a shock considering that's the fewest points Chautauqua Lake has scored all season.
Meanwhile, Panama waltzed into their matchup on Friday with six straight wins but they left with seven. They really took it to Brocton for the full four quarters, racking up a 81-39 win at home. Panama has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won eight games by 20 points or more this season.
Carter Brink was his usual excellent self, scoring 30 points along with six steals and five assists. That makes it three consecutive games in which he has scored at least a third of Panama's points. Another player making a difference was Alex Barmore, who scored 14 points along with seven rebounds and two blocks.
Chautauqua Lake's loss was their third straight at home, which dropped their record down to 1-7. As for Panama, their victory bumped their record up to 16-2.
Chautauqua Lake was taken down by Panama 67-33 in their previous matchup back in January. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Brink, who scored 19 points along with seven assists and five steals. Now that Chautauqua Lake knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
