The Panthers won their fifth straight game this evening by defeating Community College of Baltimore County Catonsville. The contest was highly anticipated for a couple of reasons. The Cardinals of CCBC have been one of the hottest teams in the Maryland Junior College Conference this year. Their record of 8-2 included victories over Harcum College, a team that has consistently been ranked one of the best in the nation and perennial favorite Cecil Community College. The other reason worth mentioning is that last year's Panther Head Coach, is now the Head Coach of CCBC. Also leaving BCCC for CCBC are a number of former Panther student athletes who transferred to CCBC from BCCC.

The Panthers started the game in their usual fashion. They pressed hard on defense, attempting to slow the offense of the Cardinals while at the same time looking for opportunities in the passing lane for steals. The Panthers on the offensive end however, were not making baskets. They were misfiring on the jumpers and over compensating on the layups, partly due to the presence of the 6-10 center from Ireland Albright Obode. Also a former Panther. And then, 12 minutes into the game the defense of the Panthers led to offense. The game plan devised by first year college coach Montoyo Wooten paid dividends. The Panthers came back from a 10-point deficit in the first half to end it with a 4-point lead.

The second half saw tactical adjustments from The Cardinals Coach, TJ Prioleau and Coach Montoyo. The Cardinals tried to press the Panthers into making errors and the Panthers alternated their defense from a full press to a zone. The teams went back and forth for most of the second half. The Panthers maintained their lead until the Cardinals caught up with 6 minutes left on the clock. At that point, free throws became all the more important as well as ball control. The team that made the least number of errors would have the advantage.

That's when the composure of the Panthers paid off. They spread the court and gave themselves safer passing lanes. There were a few hiccups but, they scrambled enough to prevent the Cardinals from taking advantage and the lead. With 2 minutes left, the Panthers went back up by four thanks to some quick and sticky hands from Freshmen Ifanieye Lewis and Kut Deng. Both were able to extract the ball from the hands of the Cardinal guards and create opportunities at the free throw line. One particular flurry came after a missed free throw (on the end of a one and one) by Lewis that was rebounded by Deng and put back in for a deuce and one at the free throw line. That four-point swing made the difference. The Panthers went up by 7 with a minute left. The Cardinals fought hard and with one minute left tried to make three-pointers to cut into the lead, but the defense of the Panthers crowded out their air space and sealed the victory 82-73.

Coach Wooten said after the game "the team kept hustling the entire game and did exactly what we asked them to do". He believes the team is getting better with each game. He says "this is a new team that is getting use to playing with each other more and more as the season progresses". So far, the Panthers are moving in the right direction with a positive number 5 in a row as proof.

The team will next face The College of Southern Maryland Wednesday December 6, on the campus of BCCC in the PE Center. Tipoff is at 7:00 pm.