A raucous, hostile environment welcomed the Paint Branch Panthers (9-2) to the Sherwood Warriors (10-2) gymnasium on Thursday as two of the best teams in the Montgomery County East conference clashed.
By halftime, the Panthers were down 11, brought on by a 12-point run from the Warriors that attacked the boards and transitioned into fast-break offense resulting in six points by Warriors’ senior Kobi Guyn with four made free throws and a slam dunk, and four more from senior Micah Webb. The final two points were sprinkled on by junior Alex Welch just before the end of the half.
As the Panthers walked off the court, the Warriors student section gave them a hearty chirping, as they’d done throughout the contest.
“It was a crazy experience,” Panthers senior Dennis Tamnou said. “I’ve felt that before at Blake and I feel like that’s coming from a lot of different teams as we go deeper into the season. Everybody wants to go at some team for rivalries and everybody wants to win. Yeah, it was crazy.”
Rather than chip away at the lead over the next two quarters, the Panthers pounced in the third, surging with an 11-point run of their own. With contributions from junior Ryan Tientcheu, senior Jordan Horn and junior Isaiah Lee, who missed Monday’s game against the Richard Montgomery Rockets, they took the lead with 1:09 remaining in the third quarter.
Lee swished a three-point shot from the wing and added a two-pointer in the lane that resembled an overstuffed phone booth to take their first lead since the first quarter, 40-39.
“What we try to do as a coaching staff is when we get down, we don’t get too down. When we get up, we don’t get too up,” Panthers head coach Darrian Lee said. “That way, there’s not far to fall. So when we start making our run to come back—what I’m trying to build with our program is we’re going to come back. That’s what our identity is going to be now. And now we’re starting to solidify who we are.”
But as the Panthers clawed their way back, the Warriors responded, scoring five-points and finishing the quarter 44-41 Warriors.
The final quarter started with a burst from the Panthers on both sides of the court, with Horn and Tamnou locking down defensively to keep Warriors’ senior Chris Hall-Taylor and sophomore Gensley Simeon from working down low and forcing shots to be taken from mid-range and beyond. The defensive adjustments in the second half proved fruitful.
For more than three minutes, the Warriors couldn’t sink a shot, with Warriors’ senior Micah Webb unable to split defenders in the paint for any left-handed layups and the Warriors’ bigs gaining an advantage on the boards.
Offensively, the Panthers found multiple putbacks and free throw opportunities, with contributions from sophomore Alim Whyte-Sesay, Tamnou and Horn.
The Warriors went back to senior Thomas Fenner and his three-point ability, who sank his fourth three-point shot of the night to keep them within stop the run and put them within three. Guyn added another two, which ended his scoring of the night with 16.
Once again, the Panthers were fundamental in their disciplines and clamped down, scoring six-straight. The drama of the 57-50 lead gained ground as Webb hit from deep to bring the lead within four, but free throws Panthers’ Jamarcus Webb with 18.4 seconds ceased the comeback bid and sealing the win for the Panthers, 58-53.
Horn and team left the court triumphant and jubilated with the victory over Sherwood.
“[This win was] really big,” Horn said. “Coming in from football season taking a loss to them, I really wanted this win since they were No. 1 and us being No. 4. We had to show we really are the No. 1. We’re better than what you all thought.”
Upcoming Games:
Paint Branch @ Walter Johnson (7:15 p.m. Jan 16), @ Bethesda-Chevy Chase (7:15 p.m. Jan. 19), @ Blair (7:15 p.m. Jan. 19)
Sherwood vs. Wootton (7:15 p.m. Jan 18), vs. Poolesville (TBA, Jan. 20), vs. Wheaton (TBA, Jan. 23)