BELCHERTOWN - It took the Belchertown boys basketball team three minutes to undo 10 years of postseason futility.

The Orioles finally broke Palmer's box-and-one defense and turned a one-point deficit into a 12-point lead in three minutes to close the third quarter.

Belchertown then held the Panthers to two fourth-quarter field goals in its 58-38 victory in the Western Massachusetts Division 2 Tournament first round.

"We picked it up in the second half," lone Belchertown senior Dylan Bachand said. "We weren't playing for ourselves but as a team and a unit. When we play as a unit it's hard to beat us."

The victory snapped a nine-game postseason losing streak which started with a Division 3 quarterfinal loss to Smith Academy in 1999. Belchertown's last win came against Pathfinder in the first round that year.

"We're very happy and we look forward to playing Sabis on Friday," Belchertown junior Nate Conner said. "It's going to be tough."

The eighth-seeded Orioles (16-5) will take their 11-game winning streak to Springfield to play No. 1 Sabis (19½½-2) at 7 p.m. Friday.

Palmer finished 13-8, but for 2½ quarters it appeared the Panthers were on their way to beating Belchertown in the tournament for the second straight year.

Palmer led 29-28 as its defense was stifling the Orioles. The Panthers' box-and-one did a good job on Pat Gooden, Belchertown's leading scorer, and held the Orioles to 3-for-16 shooting from 3-point range.

"We've played against (the box-and-one) every single game this year and that's why I was baffled," Belchertown's first-year coach Claude Humphrey said. "It's hard. They know where they have to be but they all look for Pat. If we take our time, we're fine."

Following a time-out, Bachand hit a 3 in the corner as Belchertown took a 31-29 lead with three minutes left in the third quarter. Moments later Bachand (eight points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals) hit another 3, and then on Palmer's next possession Conner stole the ball from behind.

The junior broke for a layup, but was fouled intentionally. Due to a cut on his arm Conner had to leave the game. James Law replaced him and made both free throws. On the Orioles next possession, Dan Johnson (13 points, seven rebounds, five steals) hit a 3 to give the Orioles a 39-29 lead with 2:06 left.

In the closing minutes, Conner (14 points, six rebounds, four assists, four steals) scored twice and then with seconds left he kicked the ball out to Gooden (13 points, six rebounds, six steals, five assists) who drilled a 3. That was Belchertown's fourth straight, and gave the Orioles a 46-34 lead at the end of the third.

"We get our offense off our defense," Humphrey said. "In the first half we got good shots, we just didn't hit them. We got a couple tips in the second half and that started our offense."

Belchertown's defense took over in the fourth. The Orioles limited the Panthers to one shot on most possessions and did a great job at defending the perimeter.

Palmer was 0-for-7 from 3-point range in the fourth and finished 2-for-18. Belchertown shot 7-for-21 on 3s.

"We weren't hitting our shots in the first half and we are a 3-point shooting team," Conner said. "When we started to hit them we broke away then we had to go on defense and defend."

Mike Moran can be reached at mmoran@gazettenet.com.