Babylon's Kevin Smith scoring two of his 13 points in game against Mattituck. Babylon won handily, 71 - 45. Photo by Garrett Meade The Babylon Panthers won their fifth straight game, the latest against Mattituck Tuckers Jan 12, and the word is out: this is the team to watch.

In the first quarter, the two teams battled it out, but Babylon's players quickly changed the tone of the game with their speed and talent, with the help of James Pate who scored 18 points during the game. The Panthers steamrolled on to a sure victory, 71- 45.

The Panthers game on Jan. 12 is confirmation of their strong comeback. Earlier in the season, they lost games against their neighboring teams, the West Babylon Eagles and North Babylon Bul ldogs , and gave away a big lead to fall to Wyandanch.

Panthers coach Steve Edmonds told the Suffolk Times that the team recognized it was not getting the job done, but is now on track practicing harder and playing with intensity. The Panthers record now is 6-4, 4-1 in League VII.