Panthers Put Championship Out of Falcons' Reach

Briar Woods entered Thursday night's regional semifinal game with momentum and confidence after soundly defeating Fauquier in the opening round of the tournament. Then they ran into the Potomac Falls Panthers.

The Panthers outscored the Falcons by 15 points in a decisive third quarter and ran away with the 86-61 win. Luke Mihailovich led the Panthers with 19 points while Zach Curran added 13 points including two 3-pointers.

The Falcons trailed by only 3 points at the end of the first quarter and were still in the game despite trailing by 11 points at half-time. But the Panthers –who entered the game riding a 15-game winning streak, including a 30-point drubbing of Broad Run in the quarterfinals – pulled away for good in the third quarter with consistently sharp shooting.

“They do not miss shots,” Briar Woods head coach Michael Benson said. “They don't make a lot of mistakes.”

The Falcons' Myles Tate led all scorers with 25 points. Corey Faciane finished the game with a total of 12 points, all of which were 3-pointers. Yves Kouame chipped in two 3-pointers and finished with 12 points.

“Potomac Falls is just a very, very good team right now," Benson said. "They’re playing at the top of their game. We ran into a train tonight. They are a very smart, experienced team. Teams get better during the season and individuals get better in the offseason.”

The loss knocks the Falcons out of the playoffs and into the offseason, where the focus will be building on this year's 17-10 season.