The reward for Clymer’s seven-point win? A third meeting this season with No. 2 Sherman at 6 p.m. Saturday back at the Physical Education Complex with a sectional title on the line. The rivals separated by just under 11 miles split the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association championship this season with the Pirates winning 43-35 on Dec. 15 in Sherman and the Wildcats winning 44-43 on Jan. 27 in Clymer.

“We’ve played Sherman twice and they’ve both been dogfights,” Clymer head coach Irv King said. “They were really tight games.”

Kam Einink is a big reason Clymer was able to advance past Monday’s semifinal, scoring 10 of his 12 points in the second half.

“This layoff was probably the best thing for his confidence shooting. Daily, I’ve seen him at practice look better and better,” King said of the Pirates’ 16-day break since playing Maple Grove on Feb. 13. “He really showed that tonight. That was a great night for him to step up for us offensively.”

OBSERVER Photo by Steve Garvey Panama’s Wyatt Eggleston shoots over Clymer’s Roman Wassink during Friday’s Section VI Class D semifinal basketball game.

Carson White added 9 of his team-high 13 points after the break while Blake Beckerink added 8 of his 11 in the final two quarters for Clymer.

The Pirates led 21-13 at halftime, thanks in large part to Panama shooting just 5 of 18 from the field and turning the ball over 13 times in the first half.

“We definitely struggled offensively. The turnovers in the first half didn’t help,” Panama head coach Josh Nelson said. “I thought our spacing wasn’t quite there.”

“Our defense was great,” King said. “It felt like we left some good opportunities out there on offense.”

The Panthers got going in the third quarter, as Mason Weber, Wyatt Eggleston and Michael Horton all hit 3-pointers to keep it at 38-29 entering the fourth quarter.

OBSERVER Photo by Steve Garvey The Pirates’ Carson White drives past the Panthers’ Johnny Abers.

“We wanted to know where Mike was all the time,” King said of the Pirates’ coverage on Horton, the 11th-leading scorer in Section VI. “We knew with him we needed to extend 5 or 6 feet past the 3-point line, but we didn’t want to give up any uncontested 3-point look.”

Twice Clymer’s lead grew to 12 in the final eight minutes, but Panama was able to answer. Eggleston hit a 3-pointer to cut it to 45-40 and Weber made it 50-45 with a pair of free throws late, but foul shots from White and Eli Mitchell allowed the Pirates to put the game away.

“I know that these kids really wanted that game. We’d been looking forward to this matchup,” Nelson said. “We cut it down to as close as we could, but ultimately we couldn’t quite pull out the win.”

NOTES: Roman Wassink had 9 points and 13 rebounds; Mitchell had 8 points and seven rebounds; and White and Einink had three steals apiece for Clymer, which shot 20 of 52 from the field, including 5 of 20 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 20 times. … Horton had 17 points, nine rebounds and three steals while Eggleston had 8 points and four steals for Panama, which shot 16 of 44 from the field, including 7 of 28 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 17 times. … Clymer will be seeking its 11th sectional title Saturday.

PANAMA (46)

Weber 2 0 5, Abers 1 4 6, Graves 3 0 7, Eggleston 3 0 8, Horton 6 2 17, Morgan 1 0 2, Hirsch 0 1 1. Totals 16 7 46.

CLYMER (53)

White 4 4 13, Gomez 0 0 0, Beckerink 4 1 11, KWassink 0 0 0, Einink 5 0 12, Mitchell 3 2 8, RWassink 4 1 9. Totals 20 8 53.

3-point goals–Weber, Graves, Eggleston, Horton 3, White, Beckerink 2, Einink 2.

Panama 7 6 16 17 — 46

Clymer 11 10 17 15 — 53