THIRD TIME STILL A CHARM FOR STILLWATER
Seeding forces third battle between Witches and Warriors
GREENWICH, N.Y. » Some people see a blockbuster movie and then they want to see it again, and then if it’s really good they go and see it once more.
It played out in real life as two Wasaren League boys basketball rivals Greenwich and Stillwater met for the third time in 45 days as the Section II Class C committee put the two combatants in the No. 8 and No. 9 spot leading to another explosive match-up.
“What a great high school basketball game, you had two teams in a packed gym, absolutely laying it all on the line to move on,” Stillwater coach Dave Cook said. “It’s a shame somebody had to lose this game because both teams played so hard it wasn’t even funny.
“It wasn’t pretty at times, but I think that was a result of how hard Duke’s kids played and then
how hard my kids played.”
Cook was more upbeat as his Warriors held on in the closing seconds to beat the Witches on the road, 50-47 and advance to face No. 1 Lake George Friday night at Hudson Valley Community College.
“We said yesterday that we thought it was going to come down to one possession,” Cook said. “We put in a couple things in throughout the course of the week that may make that one possession difference and I’m sure Duke (Beck) did too. But our kids made plays at the end.
“We called a bunch of time outs, set plays up and our kids ran them to perfection. It’s a credit to them, they played so hard, I couldn’t be prouder.”
There was little room for error throughout the second contest in the Witches hosted doubleheader Tuesday and the biggest lead was owned by Greenwich late in the fourth quarter when Carson Mosher hit his fifth three-pointer of the night for a five-point lead with 3:35 left.
Then Stillwater big man, and still just a sophomore, Brian McNeil took over.
Two consecutive put backs under the basket gut the Witches lead, 4544 before he put the Warriors ahead, 46-45 with 1:44 to go.
A pair of free throws by Stilwater’s Scott Travis extended the lead, 48-45 before Witches Luke Pemrick drove and was fouled going to the basket with 52 seconds left.
With the contest hanging in the balance, McNeil hit another put back at the Warriors end with 25 second left and the 50-47 lead.
Greenwich was set for the final possession, but couldn’t find a clear look at the rim and Mosher’s threepointer from the right side bounced off the rim in the closing seconds and Cooper Monsat’s out-of-season incomplete pass sealed the deal for Stillwater.
“What a play by Cooper (Monast) at the end, what a headsy play,” Cook said. “He gets the rebound; he knows exactly how much time is on the clock and throws it the length of the court.
“It’s bouncing and it was one of those ‘No, no, no’ and we hear the horn go off. What a great play.”
Down the stretch, it was the sophomore McNeil who had the touch under the basket and the stamina to carry the Warriors on his back.
“In practice every single day in practice, our whole week we rep the throwback play and I couldn’t be more proud of our team for executing that, Scott (Travis) giving to me every time, it’s one on one every single time and I like my odds in that match-up,” McNeil said. “We work super hard in practice, I have to thank our white team, we go maroon and white team, and they make us work at our top every single practice, I couldn’t be more proud of them every practice.”
The contest looked more like a Division III men’s basketball game with the ball pounded on the floor more than it was dribbled, bodies colliding on almost every possession and players hitting the floor for every loose ball and delivered screen.
“It was a physical game, we had opportunities and at key times we seemed to lose shooters for them and they would knock down a big shot,” Greenwich coach Duke Beck said. “The Monast kid, we know he can shoot and we seem to keep losing him.
“He had a stretch there where he scored seven points in about a minute with two 3’s and a driving lay-up where we fouled him. We expect McNeil to get his inside because we’re trying to help, but we need to do a better job there I think.”
Both coaches lamented the seeding formula that put the two Wasaren League opponents facing off in the first round.
“I know the committee works hard, but we have two divisions on the Wasaren League, our division has five teams in it and three of them are (Class) C,” Beck said. “I think we could figure out a way for us not to play each other in the first round. Figure it out. It’s a shame that one of us is going home tonight.”