Saturday December 14, 2024 may be one of those days that Panther fans will remember for a long time. The Men's basketball team laced it up with the Eastern Arizona Gila Monsters. The Monsters are currently ranked 20^th in the nation by the NJCAA. The night before playing the Panthers, the Monsters soundly defeated the reigning NJCAA 2024 Region 20 Champions, Allegany College. They defeated Allegany by 52 points. The game was hosted by BCCC.

On paper the match up didn't look good for the Panthers, but the paper Coach Wooten and his staff were writing x's and o's on said something entirely different. That paper Had a game plan that ended with upset victory. The Panthers came out ready and more than able. The two teams played hard on both ends and were even for the first 6 minutes of the game. The Monsters opened up a lead midway through the first half with inside play from their pair of seven footers, Ryan Hunt and Alex Horton. The Panthers fought hard though. They did not give up on any point and made some tough shots of their own. Sophomores Marquise Delahaye and Ifanieye Lewis hit some shots from way out and drove into the paint for some timely and one's to keep the Panthers within distance of the Monsters as they pulled away to a 41-30 lead at the half.

The second half saw a Panther team that knew defense was the key to their offense. They forced the Monsters into some turnovers and were able to capitalize on them with great shooting by Delahaye, Lewis and Freshmen Bryson Spruell who came off the bench and hit the two biggest threes of the night. Slowly the Panthers clawed their way back into the game and by the 6:54 mark had the chance to take the lead for the first time. Unfortunately, a missed layup and a few free throws saw the opportunity go away. But the battle was not over. The Panthers kept coming back and fighting through the last five minutes of the game until the 3 pointer by Spruell with less than 9 second on the clock finally gave the Panthers their first lead since leading 2-0 in the first minute of the game. A two-point lead with 8.9 second on the clock and It seemed as though the Panthers would pull off the upset. And then the Monsters number 13 Tarrance Warren hit a 3 with 3 seconds on the clock to give the Monsters a one-point lead. Marquise Delahaye took the inbound pass and attempted to win it all with a 3 pointer, but it was not to be.

The Panthers lost by one to a team that looked good enough to win another game by 50 against a Maryland Junior College Conference member. They however ran into a determined squad that was ready for the challenge and more importantly looked ready to take a step forward in their progress. They are now 4-5 but for some reason the loss seems to say something different. Coach Wooten said "I'm so proud of this team, they fought from the start to finish". The Panthers turned a corner this afternoon. They may have lost but found something in the loss. The Panthers now know they can compete with the best teams in the country. The coaches gave them a plan, they stuck to it and came withing seconds of the biggest win in more than 30 years of BCCC basketball. The coach is looking forward to the rest of the season and yes, he is looking back at this game as well. A one-point loss in a hard-fought battle may lead to victories down the road. The Panthers next face Frederick CC at the PE Center. Game time is 5:00 pm.