FOUNTAIN – Joey Stone hung in the air for a long time as the clock expired in the first quarter Wednesday night.

He drained the 3-pointer he was hanging around for – one of two Palmer buzzer-beaters on the night – to help the Terrors (3-8, 1-0) to a 68-60 victory over Fountain-Fort Carson (2-5, 0-1) in the opening game of 5A Colorado Springs Metro League action for both teams.

“My first thought was to find someone open,” Stone said. “But once (forward Owen Lorentz) set a screen for me, I figured I might as well just pull the trigger.”

The buzzer-beater accounted for three of Stone’s team-high 15 points as he led a balanced scoring attack for the Terrors. But Fountain-Fort Carson, paced by senior captain TJ Lucero (18 points) and senior Djimon O’Neil (15) would not go down easily.

After a 3-pointer from senior Juwan Wynn with 25 seconds left, Fountain-Fort Carson took a 36-35 lead into halftime. The Trojans got to within three points, down 57-54, with 5:30 to go in the game, but then Palmer was able to slow the game down and put the contest to bed.

Palmer coach Jim Grantz thinks his team’s tough early season schedule, when his team went 2-8, laid the foundation for Palmer’s toughness down the stretch against Fountain-Fort Carson.

The Terrors’ eight defeats have come against teams that are a combined 47-19 on the season, including 8-3 Denver East, 7-0 Pueblo West, and 9-1 Sand Creek.

“We’d already seen the type of pressure that (Fountain-Fort Carson) put on,” Grantz said. “We made the right plays to the right people, and without those early games, that doesn’t happen.”

O’Neil tallied nine of his 15 points in the fourth quarter – at one point outscoring Palmer 7-4 by himself in the frame – as Fountain-Fort Carson tried to mount a comeback. But that deliberate decision-making Grantz highlighted, in addition to several offensive miscues from the Trojans, sealed the Palmer victory.

Stone will be critical for the Terrors as they continue the season, Grantz said.

“He’s our most even-keeled player. I’ve only ever seen him get mad like three times in his life, and once was against my son (sophomore Brayden Grantz) tonight. And he probably deserved it.”

Despite the rough start to the season, getting the first league win in the first opportunity was good for Palmer.

“It’s a good measure of how we stack up,” Stone said. “Other teams will start to prepare for us, which is good for our toughness and awareness.”

Grantz was pleased with how his team put concepts discussed in practice into Wednesday’s contest, bouncing back from an 87-53 loss to Sand Creek only two nights before.

“Sometimes league games mean more than one game.”