The Cornwall Dragons made the mistake of giving Kyle Krebs the left wing during the first 2 minutes.

Krebs made them by knocking down four 3-point baskets, giving the Wallkill boys’ basketball team an early lead as the Panthers took the consolation game of the Glen McGinnis Holiday tournament, 70-58 over the Dragons on Saturday.

“I was pumped up,” Krebs said. I was really feeling it right there. I was like, ‘give me the ball.’”

It was a welcome sign for the Panthers, who struggled mightily on Friday in the tournament opener, a 53-33 loss to the Monroe-Woodbury Crusaders.

“It means a lot coming off losing against Monroe,” Krebs said. “It was tough, but we came back and stayed together and played as a team and got the W.”

After Krebs’ first bucket, the Dragons answered with a free throw by Michael Noto, but Krebs followed by hitting three more 3-pointers over the next 1:25 to give the Panthers a 12-1 lead.

“We got off to a hot start,” Wallkill coach Hunter Andrews said. “We struggled yesterday offensively against Monroe and it was a point of emphasis to really push the ball in transition and we were able to do that with Kyle early on.”

Krebs was named to the all-tournament team after finishing with a game-high 30 points. Matthew Shea added 19 points for the Panthers. Both are sophomores.

“Those guys can really score the ball,” Andrews said. “They were with us as freshman last year, so we went through some bumps last year and we have a freshman point guard (Justin Noelzaire). We’re young, but we want to win now.”

Krebs hit eight of the Panthers’ 3-point baskets and Shea added three. Noelzaire knocked down a 3 in the first quarter as part of the Panthers’ 28-point outburst.

“Matt Shea caught fire and hit a few himself and is able to go to the basket,” Andrews said. “We were pretty well-balanced tonight as opposed to some other nights.”

The Panthers’ win came on the strength of that first quarter, as the Dragons outscored them, 48-42, the rest of the way.

Liam Vinett scored a team-high 13 points and Andrew Fredericks, who was named to the all-tournament team added 11.

But the Panthers will take the win as they head into the new year ready to face their Mid-Hudson Athletic League schedule. The Panthers will return league play on Friday when they host the Rondout Valley Ganders.

“It’s definitely a confidence booster for the team,” Krebs said. “It can definitely help us get it together and hopefully we keep going with a streak.”