Alex Barmore’s foul shot with 3.4 seconds remaining broke a 59-59 tie and Westfield missed a desperation alley-oop attempt as time expired as Panama beat the Wolverines 60-59 in Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 2 action at Westfield Academy & Central School.

“I couldn’t be more proud of this group. Westfield has had our number the last few times we’ve played them,” Panama head coach Ed Nelson said postgame. “The boys executed the game plan.”

The Panthers’ lead grew to as many as 12 midway through the fourth quarter when Bryce Hinsdale converted a free throw after Westfield head coach Nolan Swanson was assessed a technical foul and Tate Catanese followed with a bucket.

But when Carson Swanson is on the other bench, no team is out of a game.

OBSERVER Photo by Jason Bower Westfield’s Zach Maguire shoots over Panama’s Alex Barmore during Thursday’s CCAA Division 2 boys basketball game in Westfield.

After a free throw, Zach Maguire hit a 3-pointer to make it 54-46 with 4:02 remaining. That started a 12-0 run that included a Braylon Swanson 3-pointer and was capped by a three-point play from Carson Swanson that tied the game at 54 with 2:10 remaining.

“Our boys play hard, their boys play hard. They are crazy-good athletes,” Westfield head coach Nolan Swanson said of the Panthers. ” … It’s just a battle. … We’ve gotten them a couple of times, but they got us today.”

Two possessions later, Carter Brink answered Swanson’s three-point play with one of his own to give Panama (11-2, 8-1, NYSSWA Class D No. 2) a 57-54 lead with 1:24 left.

Carson Swanson then pulled his team within a point with a pair of free throws, but Brink’s bucket

at the other end made it 59-56 with a little more than 30 seconds remaining.

“We had two great scorers out there playing against each other. They kind of went shot for shot with each other,” Nelson said of Brink and Swanson. ” … When Carson would go down and get a bucket, Carter came down and matched it.”

Eventually, the Wolverines (13-2, 7-1, NYSSWA Class C No. 2) inbounded with 22.9 seconds remaining and Carson Swanson passed to Maguire, who gave the ball back to Swanson for a tying 3-pointer with 11 seconds to go in the game.

“I knew he was capable of doing that. Last year in the sectional final against Randolph, they did a heck of a job defending him, but late in the game he went in the corner and popped a couple,” Nelson said of Swanson. “You knew it was coming at some point.”

At the other end, Panama’s set broke down and Barmore drove toward the paint, where he was fouled by Westfield’s help defender. Barmore made the first free throw before the Wolverines called a timeout.

“Alex Barmore is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever had. When he was on the foul line, the place was going nuts. He had to have some guts,” Nelson said. “I couldn’t be more proud of him to knock that down. He showed some poise, an 18-year-old high school kid in an environment like that.”

After the break, Barmore missed his second attempt and the loose-ball rebound rolled out of bounds off Panama near midcourt. With .1 second remaining, the Wolverines’ inbounds pass from midcourt toward the Westfield basket missed its mark and the Panthers ran off the court as winners.

“Nothing went our way at the end,” Nolan Swanson said.

Carson Swanson led all scorers with 34 points while Brink scored 23 and is now just 4 points shy of breaking Panama’s all-time record held by Cameron Barmore.

“Carter Brink didn’t say a word about Cameron’s scoring record. We had balanced scoring with Alex, Bryce and (Andrew) Spiesman,” Nelson said. “If we were going to beat Westfield in their place, it was going to take a total effort to do it.”

The Wolverines will have little time to dwell on Thursday’s result as they will take on state No. 1 Randolph on Saturday evening at St. Joe’s Collegiate Institute as part of the Centercourt Classic.

“I can’t think about that right now. I just have to let this simmer down,” Nolan Swanson said. “It’s a pleasure to be invited to that game and play a good team up there in front of people who seem to care about it.”

NOTES: Brink had four assists, three rebounds and two steals; Hinsdale had 13 points, five assists, three rebounds and three steals; and Barmore had 10 points, nine rebounds, two steals and two assists for Panama, which shot 23 of 67 from the field, including 4 of 15 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 11 times. … Carson Swanson grabbed six rebounds; and Maguire had 15 points and 10 rebounds for Westfield, which shot 20 of 50 from the field, including 5 of 20 from 3-point range, and turned the ball over 15 times.

PANAMA (60)

Barmore 3 2 10, Hinsdale 5 2 13, Mescall 0 0 0, Horton 0 2 2, Brink 10 2 23, Spiesman 3 2 8, Catanese 2 0 4. Totals 23 10 60.

WESTFIELD (59)

Paddock 0 0 0, BSwanson 1 0 3, Whitesell 0 0 0, Stein 0 0 0, Maguire 5 3 15, CSwanson 11 11 34, Thomas 0 0 0, Anderson 1 0 3, Beadle 2 0 4. Totals 20 14 59.

3-point goals–Barmore 2, Hinsdale, Brink, BSwanson, Maguire 2, CSwanson, Anderson.

Panama 16 15 15 14 — 60

Westfield 19 9 12 19 — 59