As The Perkiomen School headed towards last week's Tri-County Independent School League title game amid a grueling schedule, Nick Guadarrama said the team would rely on its mental acumen.

        "We will be physically tired, but we have to remain mentally sharp," Guadarrama said, referring to the two upcoming post-season games.

        However, the Panthers lost both. On Thursday, Feb. 16, they fell 63-55 to Phelps School in the league championship game at Neumann University. Two days later, their season ended in a 53-45 loss at Episcopal Academy in the Pennsylvania Independent School State Tournament.

        Head coach Thomas Baudinet called it a disappointing end to the season. "The lack of shooting really hurt us the last two games," he said. "In some key moments, we were not able to hit key shots."

        According to Baudinet, his team deserved no sympathy for having to play five games in six days.  "I'm sure it didn't help," he said. "But at the same time, it's not an excuse.  We had to deal with it and try to win because the opponent doesn't care."

        The Perkiomen School (22-7) captured its third victory in as many days on Wednesday, Feb. 15 with a convincing win over Friends' Central in the first round of the state tournament. The next day, the team sought its first league title since 2014. However, the Panthers – who swept two games against the Phelps School during the regular season – could not  defeat the team again.

        Phelps' Jailen Jamison score a game-high 32 points to help the Lions capture their second straight league title. Jamison delivered seven points to spark a decisive eight-point flurry in the fourth quarter to put the Lions ahead for good.

        Chandler Brooks scored a team-high 16 points, while Guadarrama added 12 points and Atakan Sahinkaya delivered 11 points for The Perkiomen School, which led 52-50 with approximately five minutes remaining.

        According to Baudinet, the Panthers responded well two days later for their second-round state playoff game on Feb. 18. They took an early 15-2 lead against Episcopal Academy, the No. 3 seed, and led 15-4 at the end of the first quarter.

        But the host Churchmen crawled back in the game. Baudinet said his team wasn't able to score in transition.

        Miles Longstreth, one of four seniors, scored a team-high 13 points for The Perkiomen School, which trailed by three points midway through the fourth quarter.

        But Episcopal Academy's offensive slowed down the game, and the Panthers could have reacted better, according to Baudinet. He said the team's offense went more than six minutes without a point when the Churchmen shifted from a man defense to 1-3-1 zone in the final eight minutes.

        "It was not one of our best defensive efforts," Baudinet said. "But it could have been good enough if we were able to make a few other plays."

        In the Panthers', 71-46 win over Friends' Central Feb. 15, Sahinkaya, a senior forward, scored 18 points and Guadarrama finished with 18 points and 20 rebounds.  Reggie James added eight points and five assists. Chandler Brooks scored 10 points.

        Brooks scored eight of his points in the first quarter, and Guadarrama delivered 10 points and six rebounds in the first quarter for The Perkiomen School, which hit eight of its initial 10 shots from the field. The team opened the game with 13 consecutive points and led 23-5 at the end of the first quarter.

        Sahinkaya's steal and layup less than two minutes into the second quarter staked the Panthers to a 30-7 lead. They led 40-19 at halftime.

        Late in the third quarter, the lead ballooned to 56-27 on consecutive layups by Sahinkaya. He posted eight points during the quarter, which featured a pair of 8-2 runs to help the team post an undefeated home record.

        "I loved the first 10 minutes," Baudinet said. "After that, we really lost our focus and concentration."