HAWLEY, PA — In their season opener on Saturday, December 2, the Monticello Boy’s basketball team was defeated by host Wallenpaupack, 56-41, in the Lake Region Tip-off Tournament at Wallenpaupack Area High School. 

After a back-and-forth first quarter, Wallenpaupack led the contest, 11-9, before starting to pull away a bit in the second quarter. At halftime, the Buckhorns led 29-17. 

The Panthers stayed within striking distance in the second half, but weren’t able to close the gap all the way. They played full court press on Wallenpaupack, leading to a couple steals that turned into points. 

Despite that, the Buckhorns led the game, 47-30 at the end of the third quarter. In the fourth quarter, frustation boiled over for Monticello and two technical fouls were called as well as a warning being assesed to Head Coach Chris Russo. 

Senior Christian Brown and junior Daevion Sandoval both fouled out in the fourth quarter, who were the leading scorers for Monticello. 

Sandoval led the scoring for the Panthers with 19 points, and he was named to the All-Tournament Team alongside Wallenpaupack senior Landon Calabrese who led all scorers with 24 points. Brown totaled 12 points in the contest.