The Wallkill Panthers boys’ basketball team picked up their first divisional matchup victory of the season on Thursday night in Saugerties, by a score of 56 – 37. Starting the game for the Panthers were Justin Noelizaire, Matthew Shea, Kyle Krebs, Brian Cross and Jaylon Perrin.

“Defensively we really brought some energy, in both halves,” said Panther’s head coach Hunter Andrews. “We really challenged guys.”

The defensive effort for Wallkill resulted in only allowing 7 points in the first quarter, 4 points in the third quarter and 10 in the fourth quarter. “We really locked in, we started to pick guys up right across half court line. We were focused on denying their pass, making it tough to get into their offense and we were successful with that,” said Andrews.

The second quarter is where the Sawyers made the game interesting. After the Panthers took a 16 – 7 lead in the first, Saugerties brought it within 6 points 29-23, to close out the half. “We came out in the second half, to really win the first four minutes and we were able to do that, so I’m really proud of our team’s defensive effort,” said Andrews.

Matthew Shea led the scoring for the Panthers with 16 points and was followed by Brian Cross, who had 12 points and 8 rebounds. Jaylan Perrin had 10 points and Kyle Krebs had 9.

“We were able to get our offense going, slowly. Our point guard got hurt in the first quarter, so that was an adjustment,” said Andrews. Noelizaire, the point guard, had 7 points in the first quarter, before being removed with an injury.

One thing Andrews hopes they can improve on going forward is being more consistent offensively. “We’re making shots, but I think we can get easier shots,” he says. One of the highlights offensively was their free throw shooting, as they went 16-23 from the line, a mark just below 70%.

With the victory, Wallkill improves to 2-3 overall. After a tough loss early in the season to FDR in overtime, they evened up their MAHL record at 1-1. They are off for the holidays until December 27th, when they will go to Cornwall for a tournament.