MONTICELLO — With the holiday spirit in the air, and the crowd loud and ready, Monticello and Valley Central kicked off the Dick O’Neill Jingle Ball tournament, an annual event hosted by Monticello.

The contest between the Panthers and Vikings started after the conclusion of the other opening round matchup between Wallkill and Chester, in which the Hambletonians won 65-44.

Monticello and Valley Central took the second opening round game down to the wire, with the Vikings taking home the 59-57 victory and punching their ticket to the championship game.

Monticello’s Christian Brown opened the game with a hesitation 3-pointer that sent the home crowd into an uproar. Valley Central answered immediately with a lob, giving the Vikings fans a chance to remind everyone that they filled the stands as well.

The back and forth scoring lasted throughout the game, with neither team being able to take a significant lead.

Brown continued to score for Monticello, finishing the first quarter with 13 points on his way to a career high 35 points as the Panthers took a 21-13 lead to end the first.

The Vikings started the second quarter on a 7-3 run to close the gap to just four points. By halftime, Monticello clung to just a two-point lead, with Valley Central trailing closely behind at 32-30.

Valley Central managed to take the lead by the end of the 3rd quarter, leading 45-44 with just one quarter remaining in the early game of the year contender.

Throughout the fourth quarter, the teams continued exchanging blows until the end of the game.

Trailing by two points as time was expiring, Monticello sent up a shot to force overtime that rolled in and out at the buzzer.

Brown was able to secure 35 of Monticello’s 57 points, while Valley Central was led by senior forward Donovan Davis with 14 points.

The Panthers finished third in the Jingle Bell Classic, defeating Wallkill 74-33 in the consolation game on Saturday, while Valley Central went on to win the championship with a 55-49 victory over Chester.