Panama's Carter Brink drives to the basket during Friday's NYSPHSAA Class D semifinal against Sackets Harbor at Visions Veterans Memorial Arena in Binghamton. Brink led all scorers with 31 points as the Panthers won 74-53. Photo courtesy of Brynne Hinsdale

BINGHAMTON – At the start of the basketball season, Panama head coach Ed Nelson wrote the No. 25 on a board in his classroom, knowing his Panthers would need to play that many games to get to the state final.

When they left school Thursday, that number stood at two.

Now it’s down to one.

Senior Carter Brink had 31 points, eight assists, four rebounds and three steals to lead Panama to the first New York State Public High School Athletic Association championship game in program history with a 74-53 win over Section III’s Sackets Harbor at midday Friday at Visions Veterans Memorial Arena.

Panama will take on Section XI’s Bridgehampton in Saturday’s 6 p.m. championship game. The Killer Bees beat Section II’s Loudonville Christian 63-53 in Friday’s first semifinal.

The Panthers took control from the outset of their game, leading 1-0 before the game technically began as Brink sank a free throw after the Patriots were assessed a technical foul for dunking during warmups.

Panama led 19-10 after the first quarter as senior Alex Barmore gave them that nine-point lead on a bucket with 1:30 remaining in the period.

Sackets Harbor hung around during the second quarter as seniors Marcus Castine and Dylan Aubert each had a pair of 3-pointers during the frame.

The Patriots cut their deficit to as few as six with 1:48 left in the first half, but free throws from Brink and senior Bryce Hinsdale pushed the Panthers’ lead back to eight at halftime.

Brink then hit a 3-pointer on Panama’s first possession of the third quarter and Hinsdale followed with a bucket to make it a 44-31 game. Brink finished the quarter with a three-point play as the Panthers took a 56-40 lead, but Aubert hit another 3-pointer at the buzzer to keep hope alive for Sackets Harbor.

Nelson’s Panama teams lost fourth-quarter leads in each of their semifinal appearances in 2016 and 2019. In fact, six years ago, the Panthers led by four in the closing seconds in the same Binghamton arena they were in Friday before a four-point play sent that game into overtime where they later lost.

But Barmore converted a three-point play with 4:57 left Friday and Brink later hit a 3-pointer to make it a 21-point game before both coaches began to empty their benches.

Now Nelson, who has announced that this season will be his last of 18 on the Panama varsity bench, will hope their final game of 25 ends in the school’s first championship.

NOTES: Barmore had 13 points, nine rebounds and two steals; Hinsdale had 12 points, six rebounds and six assists; and senior Tate Catanese had 8 points and seven rebounds for Panama, which shot 30 of 58 from the field, including 4 of 12 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 10 times. … The Panthers scored 11 points off 10 Sackets Harbor turnovers and allowed just 2 second-chance points. … Castine had 26 points, eight rebounds and three assists; Aubert had 21 points and four rebounds; and Ethan Tracy had nine rebounds and two steals for Sackets Harbor, which shot 18 of 55 from the field, including 7 of 26 from 3-point range. … Bridehampton took a 21-19 with 3:54 remaining in the second quarter and led the rest of the way in Friday’s first semifinal against Loudonville Christian. The game was close throughout, but Killer Bees led or were tied for all but 1:11 of the contest.

PANAMA (74)

Barmore 6 1 13, Spiesman 3 0 6, Hinsdale 5 1 12, Brink 10 8 31, Burkholder 0 0 0, Abers 0 0 0, Mescall 1 0 2, Horton 1 0 2, Catanese 4 0 8. Totals 30 10 74.

SACKETS HARBOR (53)

Brown 0 0 0, Aubert 7 2 21, Tracy 1 0 2, EOliva 0 0 0, JPeters 0 1 1, LPeters 0 0 0, Castine 9 6 21, Cocco 0 0 0, SOliva 1 1 3, Ricca 0 0 0. Totals 18 10 53.

3-point goals-Hinsdale, Brink 3, Aubert 5, Castine 2.

Panama 19 20 17 18 – 74

Sackets Harbor 10 21 12 10 – 53