2,000 points! Mullin hits milestone
Star leads St. Sebastian's to NEPSAC title game
NEEDHAM >> While growing up, Trevor Mullin always had aspired to be the greatest athlete he could possibly be. Whenever the guard took the court, he always had visions of controlling the pace, dominating the game in every facet imaginable.
On Saturday, he officially etched his name in the annals of basketball history at St. Sebastian’s. The senior and Yale commit finished with 12 points, eclipsing 2,000 for his career, as the second-seeded Arrows punched their ticket to the NEPSAC Class A championship with a 63-48 victory over No. 3 Williston Northampton.
“I’m pretty relieved,” Mullin chuckled afterward. “I was thinking about it a lot. Kind of forced a few shots to get there, but I finally got it. Now, everything’s eased off, so I’m good.”
Entering the game, 11 points separated Mullin from the milestone. Despite the mark being tantalizingly close, the senior opted to focus on the main task at hand first — winning the game.
The Arrows (26-1) coasted through the first few minutes of regulation by opening things on an 11-0 run. Freshman standout AJ Dybantsa paced things offensively with 13 first-half points (18 overall), as St. Sebastian’s seized a 32-23 lead by intermission.
However, despite some early lapses, Williston Northampton (19-6) found an answer in the second half behind Paul Ippolito. The senior guard (18 points) helped to key a 14-7 run for the Wildcats, as they trimmed their deficit to 39-37 with 10:52 left in regulation.
Then the Arrows caught fire.
“We knew Williston was going to give us a game,” said St. Sebastian’s coach
Dave Hinman. “I thought we started the game really well defending again. First 13 minutes of the first half, we couldn’t play much better ‘D.’ Then when Williston made their run, they have too many people who can score to keep them down, I was pleased with how we responded.”
By the time the dust finally settled, St. Sebastian’s had responded with a 12-0 run of its own, and the Arrows were well on their way to an appearance in the title game. Sophomore Jaylen Harrell (18 points) buried a triple to make it a 5541 contest with just about five minutes to play.
After that, the only chore left on the list was for Mullin to make history.
“My coach said, ‘Two more,’ ” Mullin recounted. “I just was like: ‘Let’s get a layup real quick.’ ”
After coming up short on a series of free throws in the closing minutes, Mullin glanced up at the clock and began jogging down the court during the final seconds, still needing a bucket to shatter the mark. Despite some resistance from Wildcats senior Beau O’Beirne, the senior managed to lay
a graceful shot off the glass at the buzzer, and became the 80th member in state history to join an exclusive club in doing so. He also joined his sister and former Beaver Country Day star and Brown standout Maddie Mullin in becoming the first sibling-duo to accomplish the feat in the Commonwealth.
“I watched my sister’s entire career with her getting
to 2,000 and stuff like that,” Mullin said. “Once I saw that she could do it, I was like, I’ve got to get to that point, too.. She was talking me through it. She texted me this morning, and was like, ‘Go kill it. You’re going to do it today. I know you are, just believe in yourself.’ It feels good to be in the club with her.”
St. Sebastian’s will be vying for its first NEPSAC
Class A basketball title Sunday when it faces topseeded Milton Academy for the crown. The lone team to knock off the Arrows this season? Oddly enough, that would be the Mustangs (an 86-80 win Feb. 22).
“Our goal at the beginning of the year was to be playing on March 5,” said Hinman. “Now we’ve got a chance to play for a New England championship.”