The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Northwestern rallies late to take down Shepaug
WINSTED — Northwestern and Shepaug Valley presented a three-act boys basketball thriller at the top of the Berkshire League Friday night featuring a different star for each act at Northwestern High School.
Northwestern’s Freddie Camp owned the first half with 18 of his 31 points leading the Highlanders to a 35-30 halftime lead.
Shepaug sophomore guard Reed Woerner took over the third quarter and much of the fourth with 26 of his 35 points, carrying the Spartans back to a one-point deficit after three (5251) and a 70-68 lead with 55 seconds left in the game.
Then, in a plot twist for the ages, Highlander Tristan DiMartino stole the show. His three-pointer with 26 seconds left followed by two foul shots and another from Camp brought the curtain down on a 76-70 Northwestern win.
The win kept Northwestern (11-2; 9-1 BL) locked in a tie for first place with Wamogo, with one league loss apiece, dropping the Highlanders to a tie with Nonnewaug at three BL losses each.
So, was it the biggest shot of DiMartino’s career?
“Close enough,” grinned the junior guard, who ended the night with 11 points.
Despite the star shifts, supporting casts on each side played key roles to keep it a drama from start to finish.
Camp’s nine points apiece in the first and second quarters, plus the first of multiple steal/ dunk combinations earned the spotlight in an 18-14 Highlander first quarter and 35-30 at the half.
But Tyler Schumacher, bringing all eight of his points for the game in the first half, and Ty Divita, with six of his eight, were literally in the wings supporting the leads.
Woerner had nine first-half points, but Phil Ostrosky, Cade Sivick, Liam Pacific Andrew Konik and Matthew Ruffler brought the rest of Shepaug’s first-half points keeping the Spartans in the game until Woerner’s second-half explosion.
When it came, Shepaug’s James Kersten took a turn of his own with all 12 of his points for the game backing it up.
When Woerner and Kersten threatened to take the game away, Northwestern’s DiMartino, Leighton Stiland and Devin Divita stood behind 13 more points from Camp putting DiMartino in position for his lastminute heroics.
Along with all 11 of DiMartino’s points in the second half, Stiland had all 10 of his in the third quarter. Devin Divita went 5-for-6 from the foul line.
“You have to do it with effort and desire,” said Northwestern coach Doug Sebach. “We were fortunate tonight to have our kids step up and make the plays.”
“We have nine legitimate contributors this year, including two freshmen and five seniors,” said Shepaug coach Matt Lefevre. “We have different contributors step up every night.
“(Woerner) works extremely hard. His confidence has been building.
“He’s a player,” Lefevre said. Friday night, Northwestern’s gym was full of them.