LOCH SHELDRAKE —The winter sports season is finally underway, and both Monticello and Port Jervis were looking to get the ball rolling with their fast tempo play style and smothering defense. The two teams played in front of a packed crowd at the Paul Gerry Fieldhouse, as fans showed up in bunches to watch what they knew would be a battle between the Panthers and the Raiders.

The JV game set the stage with a buzzer beating 3-pointer to propel the Raiders to victory, and the varsity had hoped to follow suit in the next game with the momentum of the crowd fully in their favor at the tip-off.

It would be Monticello, though, that managed to win the varsity game with an impressive 81-point outburst on offense.

Port drew first blood, scoring right after the opening jump, with Isaiah Boucher scoring on a coast-to-coast drive. Boucher tallied 24 points in the game and did everything he could to follow up the win by the JV.

Daevion Sandoval and the Panthers answered right back after the opening points for the Raiders, however, and Sandoval’s 30-point performance would end up leading the charge in the Monticello win.

With the Panthers and Raiders both playing a fast-paced get-out-and-go game, this matchup was expected to be a close contest throughout. Monticello jumped to an early 19-10 lead after the first quarter and expanded to 35-21 by halftime. Monticello added on a press halfway through the second quarter, leading to Port Jervis turnovers that the Panthers turned into points.

Monticello’s defense continued to cause issues for Port Jervis in the second half, deploying great defensive rotations to keep the Raiders from getting too much going.

Sandoval was all over the place, whether it was attacking downhill or shooting 3s off a screen. The Raiders simply had no answer for number 13.

“Sandoval showed great leadership and determination, and I’m proud of what our guys went out and did tonight,” Monticello Coach Christopher Russo said.

The Panthers followed up the win over the Raiders with a close win against Goshen, and will be back in action tonight as they host a tournament featuring Valley Central, Chester and Wallkill.