Roman Pettway’s 18 first half points sparked an Old Westbury run and gave the Panthers a 10-point halftime lead that they would not relinquish. The Panthers have now won three-straight season openers and improve to 1-0 on the season. Hunter falls to 0-4.
With the game tied at 14-all in the first half, Pettway’s three kicked off 10-straight points by the junior guard and a 12-2 Old Westbury run which left the Panthers ahead 26-16.
Darnell Mayers’ back-to-back baskets two minutes later put Old Westbury up 13, its largest lead of the half. Hunter closed out the first period with two-straight baskets, cutting the halftime score to 37-27.
The two teams traded baskets in the early minutes of the second half, before Old Westbury increased its lead to 17 after Mayers scored five-straight, including a three-point play after a steal in the Hawks’ backcourt.
Old Westbury led by as many as 23 in the second half, and hung on for the 22-point win.
Pettway finished with a game-high 22 points, Mayers added 20, while Ian Johnson rounded out the Panthers in double-digit scoring with 13 points. Naeem Mahmood shot 8-of-14 for 20 points for Hunter.
The Panthers shot 44.4% from the field (28-for-63), while the Hawks connected on 51.1% of their attempts (24-for-47).
Old Westbury returns to action on Thursday when it hosts York at the Clark Athletic Center. Tip-off is at 7:30 pm.