Corinth gets tough in victory over Salem

CORINTH — Corinth’s boys basketball team could have panicked when Salem began the fourth quarter on a 10-0 run.

Instead, the Tomahawks took the opportunity to prove how tough they could be.

Corinth went 5- for- 6 from the free throw line in the final minute of the game to gut- out a 52- 49 Adirondack League victory Friday night.

The hosts entered the final period up 38-25, but a 17-point quarter from the P.H. Laporte got the Generals right back in the game.

“I just wanted to win,” the 6-foot-2 senior said. “I just decided to put the team on my back. I was just in the mode to play I guess.”

Salem coach Bob Sullivan put the ball in Laporte’s hands with : 36 left on the clock down 4844, but good defense by the Tomahawks forced a turnover. Laporte made his third 3- pointer of the game with :12 left to bring Salem to within 50-47, but Zac Lucia was perfect from the line on the other end to seal the contest.

“Knees- toes- net same as practice,” Lucia said of making 6-of-6 free throws in the fourth quarter. “We

got it done in the end. We just had to play defense after that.”

The visitors made a shot at the buzzer to make the final score 52-49.

Both teams began the game shooting well. Zack Shippee and Greg Kelley hit 3-pointers for the hosts and Justin Capuano and Jacob Galusha made shots from downtown for the Generals.

Blake Basmajian ended the quarter with a 3-pointer, a block on the defensive end and a fast break layup to give Corinth an 18-12 lead.

The Tomahawks stepped up their man- toman defense in the second quarter outscoring the Generals 12-4 to take a 3016 lead at the half.

“It was a good defensive quarter and offensively we got good looks,” Corinth coach Craig Falkenbury said. “We got shots in good places.”

But Salem refused to go quietly.

Galusha opened the second half with a 3-pointer before Laporte converted a 3- point play and a layup to keep it close. A switch to a 2- 3 zone defense with Issac Isom at the heart helped stymie Corinth’s shooters for a spell, but the hosts ended the third quarter on a 8-1 run to take a 38-25 lead.

That set up the wild fourth quarter. Capuano was injured midway through the fourth and after Galusha committed his fifth foul, Salem was left with just five players for the final minute of the game.

Laporte continued to hit shots, but Corinth managed to seal the contest at the line.

Zac Lucia scored a team- high 15 points and Blake Basmajian added 10 for the hosts. Laporte had a game- high 27 while Galusha added eight.

“It’s going to be somebody different every night,” Falkenbury said. "We don’t have a guy who has to score 50 points. We’d rather have eight or nine guys score five points and us win than one superstar. They’re a good group of kids. Tonight is a testament to them and how hard they work.”