BETHEL — It had been 11 days since Washington’s last game and the Pam Pack was tasked with traveling to a top team in North Pitt. The boys had only squeezed in a few practices in that layoff, but managed to hang with the Panthers throughout. In the end, they came up short in a 77-71 loss.

The difference came down to a 17-0 North Pitt run in the second quarter. Sharwan Staton had just nailed a 3-pointer to pull Washington within two points, 16-14. Daishon Harris answered for the Panthers with a layup and Reggie Carney knocked down consecutive 3’s. Before long, North Pitt owned a 31-14 lead.

“We got a good spurt in the second quarter. It was probably the difference in the ball game,” North Pitt coach Mark Carson said. “We were well aware that Washington comes back on people. … They’re good athletes and well coached. You know what they’re going to run, but it’s hard to stop it. Credit Washington’s kids and coaching staff for not giving in.”

Washington coach Steven Flowers added, “When they got in that half-press, maybe three quarter, we couldn’t handle it. That killed us. It went from a two-point game to a 20-point game.”

Nyquarius Best capped off a 33-point second period by hitting a trey right at the buzzer. It gave the hosting Panthers a 41-21 lead going into the halftime break. It was familiar territory for the Pam Pack, which has oftentimes found itself facing a steep deficit.

“I don’t know how many games in a row we’ve done it. We dig ourselves in a hole,” Flowers said. “Then we have to fight to get back in it. You can’t question the heart. They fight hard, but if we don’t get in that big hole, we can beat them.”

The two teams went tit for tat to open the game. They wrapped up the first quarter tied at 8-8. The Panthers outscored Washington by 30 points between the second and third quarters.

“It was more defense: getting steals, which helped our offense, and then open looks on 3’s,” Carson said. “It was like a chess game. We knocked down 3’s and then the post people can do something. … We were good offensively and defensively and we knocked down shots. Sometimes we don’t, so we caught lightning in a bottle.”

Tykkarius Floyd converted on a pair of free throws early in the fourth that cut North Pitt’s lead to single digits, 60-51. Washington got 14 points at the free-throw line. Getting to the charity stripe was an important part to the team’s comeback effort.

“Once we saw they were in foul trouble, we kind of went after it,” Flowers said. “But that wasn’t the plan to start with.”

Shaiquan Moore and Suae Poe also hit 3’s late to make things interesting. However, the Panthers had an answer for every Pam Pack basket. They got nine points at the free-throw line themselves.

Things didn’t get easier for Washington. The boys turned around and hosted North Johnston. The game was postponed from Friday. Playing on back-to-back days didn’t give them a chance to practice. It was apparent they needed it at times during Tuesday’s game.

“We had a lot of raggedness in our play. It looked like we hadn’t practiced and I expected that,” Flowers said.