The Panama Panthers pose with the Far West Regional plaque after beating Fillmore at Rush-Henrietta High School on Saturday. P-J photo by Matt Spielman

HENRIETTA – Two years ago, Panama got blown out by eventual state champion Avoca-Prattsburgh in the Class D Far West Regional at Rush-Henrietta High School.

So when the Panthers fell behind 12-3 early in Saturday’s state quarterfinal against Fillmore back in suburban Rochester, head coach Ed Nelson felt a sense of deja vu.

That feeling quickly went away.

Bryce Hinsdale scored 23 points, including six 3-pointers, in the first half and finished with a team-high 25 points to go along with nine assists as Panama beat the Eagles 86-69 to advance to the New York State Public High School Athletic Association final four next weekend in Binghamton.

“It was kind of bringing back some ghosts against Avoca-Prattsburgh. When we played them, it started off the exact same way,” Nelson said. “Bryce Hinsdale stepped up and played like a grown man tonight.”

The first half was played at a frenetic pace that saw the teams combine for 91 points, including 18 3-pointers.

“They weren’t missing, we weren’t missing,” Panthers senior Tate Catanese said. “It was fun, more than anything, just to see good basketball from both teams.”

Fillmore led 25-23 after the first quarter, during which there were five lead changes and four ties. In fact, the Eagles opened the game up 12-3 after Jameson Rhett, Campbell Mucher and Jonah Bialek hit 3-pointers on three of their first four possessions.

“We came in here as sophomores and got blown out by Avoca-Prattsburgh. We weren’t going to let that happen again,” Hinsdale said. ” … When we face adversity, we do our best to overcome it.”

But Hinsdale kept Panama in the game. The left-handed sharpshooter had three 3-pointers in the opening eight minutes, then added 14 more points in the second quarter, including an additional three 3-pointers.

“It was probably the best first half of basketball I’ve ever played. It couldn’t have come at a better time. They were making shots and we had to make shots,” Hinsdale said. “I just took open shots and they ended up falling.”

Hinsdale’s third triple of the second quarter gave the Panthers a 42-40 lead and after a Fillmore free throw, Panama senior Carter Brink knocked down a 3-pointer to make it 45-41 with 36 seconds remaining. Hinsdale finished the half with his 22nd and 23rd points to give the Section VI champions a 47-44 lead at the break.

“He works hard every day at practice. He’s mentally prepared and he’s physically prepared,” Catanese said of Hinsdale. “We knew some kind of game like this was going to happen today.”

“We call (Bryce) the pitbull because he’s always going on the other team’s best player. We stuck him on Jonah (Bialek) and he’s chasing him off screens,” Nelson added. “He expends so much energy on the defensive end, honestly it does take possessions away from him on the offense end. He balled out on both ends tonight.”

Brink, the Panthers’ leading scorer who struggled to finish inside in the first half, got going in the third quarter, scoring 10 of his 24 points.

“We kind of felt early on that we were pushing things a little bit and we weren’t setting up our offensive sets,” Nelson said. ” … Part of being a great point guard is knowing about spacing and timing. … If we were going to do it today, Carter had to step up.”

Senior Alex Barmore finished a three-point play to make it 60-53 with 3:07 to go in the period and Brink scored his team’s final 6 points of the quarter to keep that seven-point advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

“Our conditioning is second to none. We just keep grinding,” Nelson said. ” … I love it when referees keep running by me dripping sweat, saying ‘Oh my goodness, I earned my money on this one.'”

Catanese, who averaged just 5.1 points per game entering Saturday, helped Panama seal the deal with an 8-point fourth quarter to clinch the Panthers clinch the third final four appearance in program history.

“Tate’s unbelievable,” Catanese said. “He’s right where you need him to be.”

Fillmore, which made 9 of 14 3-point attempts in the first half, hit just 1 of 14 over the final 16 minutes.

“We knew that they didn’t sub often, so we were going to get out and run, and tire them out. In the first half, you saw them shoot and not miss,” Hinsdale said. “With us running, we were trying to wear them down.”

Panama will take on the winner of Sunday’s quarterfinal between Section III”s Sackets Harbor and Section IV’s Morris at 11:45 a.m. Friday at Visions Veterans Memorial Arena.

“We’re all locked in, focused and working together,” Catanese said. “This means a whole lot.”

The Panthers hope next weekend’s trip to Binghamton includes a 6 p.m. final Saturday in what will be the final career games for eight seniors and their head coach.

“I was super excited for today and I was also nervous. From a coaching standpoint, you just try to go 1-0 every day. Our goal was to get after Fillmore today,” Nelson said. ” … Honestly, I didn’t look past Fillmore.”

NOTES: Catanese had 18 points and nine rebounds; Barmore had 10 points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots; and Brink had five assists for Panama, which shot 33 of 61 from the field, including 9 of 21 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over just seven times. … Mucher finished with 26 points, Jonah Bialek had 17 and Rhett had 12 for Fillmore, which shot 25 of 54 from the field, including 10 of 28 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 13 times. … Isaiah Sisson, the son of former Cassadaga Valley Central School standout Karl and nephew of JCC athletic director George Sisson, had 7 points for Fillmore.

PANAMA (86)

Barmore 4 2 10, Hinsdale 8 3 25, Mescall 1 1 4, Eggleston 0 0 0, Horton 0 0 0, Brink 9 4 24, Spiesman 1 1 3, Catanese 9 0 18, Burkholder 1 0 2, Rhoades 0 0 0. Totals 33 11 86.

FILLMORE (69)

LMcCumiskey 0 0 0, CMcCumiskey 0 0 0, JorBialek 1 0 3, Sanasith 0 0 0, Sisson 3 1 7, JonBialek 5 5 17, Voss 1 0 2, Knapp 0 0 0, Nusbickel 0 0 0, Rhett 4 0 12, Mucher 10 3 26, JDBialek 1 0 2. Totals 25 6 69.

3-point goals-Hinsdale 6, Mescall, Brink 2, JorBialek, JonBialek 2, Rhett 4, Mucher 3.

Panama 23 24 19 20 – 86

Fillmore 25 19 15 10 – 69