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JAMESTOWN -- Gabe Roth has been part of the Panama boys basketball program for five years, so as the lone senior on the 2022-23 squad, he wasn't about let his high school career end Monday night.
Not by a long shot.
Roth ignited an 11-0 to start the fourth quarter, and the fourth-seeded Panthers pulled away from No. 1 Ellicottville to post a 47-36 victory in the Section VI Class D semifinals at the Physical Education Complex at Jamestown Community College.
The win vaults Panama (15-6) into the championship game at 6 p.m. Friday against No. 2 Clymer (19-3), which knocked off No. 3 North Collins 61-35 in the other semifinal.
"Not a lot of people had us on the radar at the beginning of playoff time," said Panthers coach Ed Nelson, "but that's kind of where we like it right now."
The Panthers might not have had that opportunity to play for a title were it not for Roth's heads-up play in the early going of the final period.
Although it led 15-0 to start the game and 27-11 at halftime, Panama saw its lead trimmed to 30-29 with less than a minute remaining in the third quarter following a putback by the Eagles' Giancarlo Nuzzo. Alex Barmore finally countered Ellicottville's 18-3 surge with a jumper on the Panthers' ensuing possession, but a game that appeared headed toward a convincing Panama win was hardly a sure thing.
Enter Roth.
"That whole third quarter we were a little down on ourselves," he said. "We kind of got complacent and it wasn't good for us."
Roth found the perfect remedy.
First, he made a steal and drove to the basket for a layup. On the Eagles' next possession, Roth made another steal that ultimately led to a 3-pointer by Barmore, pushing the Panthers' lead to 37-29. And when Barmore connected on a pair of free throws and Tate Catanese scored on a putback and layup off a nifty feed from Bryce Hinsdale, Panama's lead had ballooned to 43-29 with just over two minutes remaining.
Game over.
"That's where a lot of (Roth's) game comes from," Nelson said, "getting a lot of deflections. That was one of the things we said before we went out there in the fourth quarter. … That helps us get into transition a little bit and messes (an opponent's) offensive rhythm.
"Gabe went out and did his thing."
Hinsdale led a balanced offensive attack for the Panthers, scoring 14 points -- all in the first half --followed by Barmore with 13, Roth with 10 and Catanese with 8. Roth also collected six assists, six steals, four rebounds and a block; Hinsdale dished out four assists; and Barmore and Catanese had nine and six rebounds respectively.
Nuzzo paced the Eagles (14-8) with 8 points and Braylon Wyatt added 7.
Panama, which last won a sectional title in 2019, will now meet Clymer on Friday for the championship. The Pirates won the two regular-season meetings 59-45 and 48-36.
"We haven't played for a sectional title (for a while)," Hinsdale said. "For this program, it's really nice to get back to the championship."
PANAMA (47)
Roth 4 0 10, Hinsdale 5 1 14, Keefe 0 0 0, Catanese 4 0 8, Graves 0 0 0, Horton 0 0 0, Mescall 1 0 2, Spiesman 0 0 0, Barmore 4 4 13, Vicente 0 0 0, Totals 18 5 47.
ELLICOTTVILLE (36)
Chudy 3 0 6, Velazquez 1 0 3, Smith 1 0 2, John 1 2 4, Nuzzo 2 3 8, BWyatt 2 2 7, Benatovich 0 0 0, Clark 0 0 0, CWyatt 2 1 6, Calarco 0 0 0, Jimerson 0 0 0, Totals 12 8 36.
3-point goals -- Roth 2, Hinsdale 3, Barmore, Velazquez, Nuzzo, BWyatt, CWyatt.
Panama 17 10 5 15 -- 47
Ellicottville 5 6 18 7 -- 36