MONTICELLO — The winter season is well past the halfway point, and the schedule is beginning to ramp up for Sullivan County sports. Delays and cancellations have frustrtated coaches and teams, especially those on the cusp of the postseason like the Monticello Panthers 7-5 (4-2).

After two weeks of waiting, Monticello was finally able to get a game in as they hosted Washingtonville 8-6 (6-2) on Monday night after not having a game since January 12. The Panthers took control early and continued to build up their lead, staving off a late attempt by the Wizards to hold on for a 66-57 league victory.

The momentum that the Panthers had been building, specifically in their last game against Cornwall, was not disrupted by the winter weather, despite concerns about shaking the rust off with a big league matchup.

The game was an extremely high intensity game with physicality from both sides. The two teams racked up points and fouls in the must-win contest. Both Washingtonville and Monticello are eyeing a playoff berth and are currently competing for a higher division standing.

Monticello jumped out to an early 16-13 lead after the first quarter before going up 31-26 by halftime. By the end of the third, carried by their high-powered offense, Monticello was able to extend to a 49-33 lead. The Panthers were able to hold on for the win despite a 24-point fourth quarter effort by the Wizards. 

The Panthers were led by the Brown twins, Christian and Judah, who punched in half of the Panthers’ 66 points. Judah netted a team-high 19 points, 14 of which were scored in the second half, while Christian added 14 points. Daevion Sandoval added 18 for the Panthers, 12 of which came in the second half thanks to some impressive downhill attacks late in the game.

Washingtonville was led by Zion Lynch and Aiden Sullivan who scored a combined 33 points for the Wizards in the loss.

“I’m truly proud of the guys,” Monticello Coach Christopher Russo said. “We were 17 days since our last game and inconsistent with practice because of the school closings, so there was a fear that we would be flat or rusty. 

Thankfully that wasn’t the case. We were tied up at 21 and hit back-to-back threes, never gave up that lead and that’s a credit to our defense,” Russo said. “The guys made multiple efforts to get stops, rebounded the ball well and stayed connected. Great win for us.”

He continued on to say, “The boys are ready to go and locked in for the rest of the games to finish out this regular season push.”

The Panthers need just one more league win or two more overall wins to qualify for sectionals. They traveled to Warwick on Thursday night for a rematch against the Wildcats after defeating them 61-46 at home earlier in the year.