The Paint Branch  boys’ basketball team lost their season opener to the Churchill Bulldogs 67-62 on Friday, December 6th.

“We should have won the game,” said senior Drew Jacobs.  “We feel like we gave them the win through our mistakes.”

Last year’s team lost in the regional finals against the Poly Engineers, coming up only one game short of playing in the Comcast Center in College Park, Maryland.  Since last season, however, Paint Branch lost most of their offense, as their top scorers all either graduated or, in the case of junior Donovan Walker, transferred.  Ten seniors graduated from last year’s team and Walker moved on to St. Maria Goretti.  This year, the Panthers were looking for some of their returning varsity players to step up big and continue the team’s tradition of excellence.

The Bulldogs got off to a fast start and jumped out to a quick lead in the first quarter.  At the end of the first eight minutes the score was 15-7. The Panthers were able to cut Churchill’s lead to only six at halftime at 30-24.

The Panthers came out with their guns blazing in the third quarter and went out on an 11-4 run to take their first lead of the game. The Panthers couldn’t hold on to the lead for long, unfortunately, as turnovers cost them in the 3rd quarter – and the whole game – and the Bulldogs moved back on top at 43-39 to end the quarter.

The 4th quarter was a shoot-out, and the lead changed hands four times.  The Panthers were never able to get a solid lead and go on a run to separate themselves from the Bulldogs. With a little less than two minutes left in the game, the Bulldogs led 57-56 and began to pull away for the win. Despite the loss, the Panthers got a preview of what was to come from their rebuilt team.  Senior Ruben Edwards scored 23 points, senior Armando Nwizu chipped in with 20, and senior Doug Gardner added 14 points of his own.

Looking ahead to the rest of the season, Jacobs feels “We have the talent to compete with any team in the county as long as we play our game.”