MONTICELLO – With just three league matchups remaining, the Panthers needed to win two to qualify for Sectionals. On Friday night, the 14-5 (7-2) Beacon Bulldogs visited ‘The Pit’ to take on the red hot Monticello Panthers, who came into the game winning seven of their last nine games. 

The Bulldogs sped out to an early 19-9 lead, and built it up to 16 in the third quarter before the Panthers turned up the intensity to close the gap and take a late lead for a huge league win and upset.

“We got down early, things weren’t going our way,” Monticello Coach Chris Russo explained. “Credit to my guys, they never hung their heads or doubted that we could come back.”

Monticello’s offense took a few minutes to get going, and the delay allowed Beacon to rattle off eight consecutive points to start the show. Monticello tried to cut into that lead throughout the first quarter, but Beacon outscored the Montis 11-9 to close out the quarter with a 19-9 lead. At one point in the first it was 17-4, but the Panthers collected themselves to end on a 5-2 run and gain some ground.

The two teams locked down defensively in the second quarter, with both teams matching with nine points each to take a 28-18 Beacon lead into the break.

A 3-0 run, all via the charity stripe, got Monticello started in the third as they cut the lead to seven, but Beacon rattled off a 10-3 run to increase their lead to 16 with 4:25 left in the third quarter.

Trailing 40-24, the Panthers were in a tough spot, but they rose to the occasion, ending the third quarter on a 10-0 run to cut the Bulldogs lead to six entering the final period.

The two teams exchanged buckets to start the quarter, each netting six points to make it 46-40, but the Montis were primed for another run. They cashed in eight straight to take their first lead of the night at 48-46 with three minutes remaining, and the Monticello crowd erupted. What began brewing in the third was finally coming to a boiling point.

Beacon briefly tied it at 48, but Monticello ended on a 10-4 run, upsetting the second place Bulldogs and earning a much-needed win in front of their home crowd.

“The Pit is a special place,” Russo explained. “It’s an exciting place. Games like this are the reason I do this.”

Daevion Sandoval, a sophomore this year, led all scorers with 23 points, including 14 in the miraculous fourth quarter comeback. Judah Brown added nine for the Panthers.

The second half of this game has been indicative of the Panthers’ season. After getting out to a slow start, they have come back in force and now are just one win away from a playoff berth with two games remaining. They currently sit at 9-9 (4-4) and host Minisink in their senior game on Wednesday night before traveling to Port Jervis to close out the regular season.