Perkiomen School's boys basketball team, led by new head coach Thomas Baudinet, opened its season with a 67-55 victory over Friends Central on Friday, Dec. 2.

                Nick Guadarrama, a junior from Connecticut, scored a team-high 20 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for the Panthers. Atakan Sahinkaya, a native of Turkey, chipped in with 12 points and six rebounds in the road victory.

                Reggie James delivered nine points and six assists, while Chandler Brooks, a Virginia native, scored 10 points and played excellent defense for Perkiomen School, which led 31-16 at halftime.

                On Sunday, Dec. 5, the Panthers lost 71-48 at Blair Academy, the two-time defending champions of the Mid-Atlantic Prep League.

                The following day, they dropped a 67-58 road loss to Germantown Academy despite jumping to an 11-0 lead. James scored a team-high 16 points, while Sahinkaya had 12 points and five rebounds.

                Brooks delivered 11 points, while Guadarrama and Miles Longstreth each contributed eight points for Perkiomen School (1-2), which could not match the Patriots' effort and toughness.

                "I didn't think we competed the same way we have in practice and in some of our other games," Baudinet said.

                The Panthers will travel to Academy of the New Church on Wednesday for their fourth consecutive road game. They will host Christopher Dock at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

                "None of these opponents have been cupcakes," said Baudinet, whose team opened the season with three games in four days. "It will be good for our guys to get some early tests."

                With five new players, The Perkiomen School has shown a propensity to play tenacious defense and convert offensively in transition, according to Baudinet, a former assistant coach at the University of New Haven.

                "We have very good athletes who can finish at the rim," he said. "This feels like a totally new program. All the players have worked very hard to make the adjustment. One thing we have is a great bunch of kids."