GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass - It’s tough to feel much like celebrating following a tough loss, but even so, what Toby Foehl accomplished for the Mount Greylock Mounties on Friday night was absolutely historical. The senior guard eclipsed 1,000 career points to become only the second boy in school history ever to do so, in a lopsided, 82-55 road loss to the Monument Mountain Spartans.
Even with the Spartans sinking shots like they were the Harlem Globetrotters, all eyes were on Foehl on Friday night as he inched towards the record books. He entered the game 19 points shy of the mark, and with 5:14 left in the third quarter he went off glass for the basket that brought him there.
“It means a lot to me. I never could have done it without all the help and support that I’ve gotten from so many people over the years, all the great people I’ve played with,” Foehl said. “It’s always been something that has been in the back of my mind that I would like to accomplish, but it’s kind of anti-climatic tonight in how the game went. It’s bittersweet.”
At the time that history was reached Monument Mountain held a massive lead, and the Spartans (6-3) never trailed the entire way. The hosts opened the game on fire and they kept momentum in their favor most of the way.
“Honestly, we tried our best not to let him get to 1,000 points,” said Monument Mountain junior Dion Brown. “Who wants to have somebody score their 1,000th point at their home gym? But we knew he was going to and they would get the momentum, so we just had to stay focused in on defense. Our guys are always ready, and defense was the difference. We are always getting back on offense and defense, and we just had our intensity up as well.”
Brown epitomized that intensity all night long, as he delivered 24 points, eight rebounds and six assists. He hit five 3-pointers, including a deep trey that found nothing but net to open the game with a resounding hello.
“We shot great so we were comfortable with shooting and we kept putting up more shots and more shots. We were pretty confident and we were hitting them,” Brown said.
Monument Mountain rose to the occasion and built a 17-0 lead to open the game and leave no question as to how it would finish. Brown delivered a three-point play on the Spartans’ second possession, then Kieran Santos found Zach Goffin alone under the hoop for an easy basket, followed by a free throw from Connor Hanavan and another 3-pointer from Brown.
“That was a really good job of our guys to find the open man, and that is one of the nicest things to see is that they are really unselfish,” Monument Mountain head coach Randy Koldys said. “They love to play with each other and that is why it is so much fun to coach these guys. When we play that way, we’re pretty tough to beat.”
The Mounties (7-4) struggled out of the gate and were held scoreless for the first four-and-a-half minutes of play.
Meanwhile, Monument kept rolling. Goffin executed great inside-out-passing with Santos, who drained another three off a quick pass out of the paint from Goffin. Hanavan then made an inside move to the hoop to push the lead to 17-0 with 5:05 left in the first.
“We really wanted to get off to a good start,” Koldys said. “Greylock is tough and we just felt like we had to come out and shoot well from the very beginning. We had a tough shooting night against Lenox last Thursday, and our guys worked hard this week in practice to get better on both the offensive end of the floor and the defensive end of the floor. It showed on the floor tonight and I was pretty happy about that.”
Foehl ended the scoring streak and got on the stat sheet with a pair of free throws with 3:28 remaining in the opening quarter. Nearly all of his points in the first half came at the line, as he hit 10-of-11 from the charity stripe and then added a three-pointer just before halftime to go into the break six points away from the century mark.
The Spartans only got hotter in the second quarter, as they built a 51-24 lead at the break. Hanavan was also a strong presence on the court, as he hit three three-pointers and had 10 points in the second, while finishing with 22 points, five rebounds and four assists. Patrick Yeung and Caden Gidarakos each chipped in four points off the bench in the second quarter, as the second unit did an excellent job of maintaining the tempo.
The backups also delivered some quality minutes for Monument Mountain in the fourth quarter, led by four points and three rebounds from freshman Kyle Wellenkamp.
“We only have four guys coming back from last year’s team,” Koldys said. “Having them get more experience is going to help us towards the end of the year when and if we hopefully qualify for the tournament this year.”
Greylock needed a huge spark to get going in the second half, and Foehl answered the call. As soon as the action got underway in the third quarter, Foehl drained a three-pointer that resounded much like Brown’s shot that opened the game. Both sides picked up the tempo offensively, trading baskets back-and-forth, as Greylock reminded the Spartans that there was still a lot of time left to go in the contest.
“I thought we played really well in the second half,” Foehl said. “We came out with the goal to try and win the second half and forget what the score said. We scored on six of our first seven possessions of the half, so it was great. It was a good time in the game to get the record.”
Foehl scored 12 of his team-high 25 points in the third quarter.
But nothing could stop the Spartans from scoring. Nine different players scored for Monument, which benefited from crisp passing and excellent ball movement all the way. Brown and Hanavan were in the middle of that all night long, and Brown excelled at firing cross-court passes and no-look passes that perfectly set up teammates for great scoring chances.
“I owe it all to my team in how we were setting each other up. It was a nice job for me and a nice job for my team,” Brown said. “I’ve always been one who sees the whole court and I take advantage of that, with my long arms and my court vision. I know if I can’t take an open shot then I always have a teammate open that I can pass to.”
Nicholas Robbins and Zach Goffin each chipped in eight points each for Monument.
The momentum of reaching the 1,000-point record was short-lived for Greylock on Friday, as Monument continued to maintain control all the way to the conclusion.
But what Toby Foehl accomplished in his Mounties career is simply unforgettable, as he joins elite company. Prior to Friday night, Mark Bubriski was the only Mount Greylock boys basketball player to ever score 1,000 career points, when he reached that mark way back in 1969. Lucy Barrett (2015) and Jenna Benzinger (2017) have also reached the mark for the girls, and Fred Lefave also eclipsed 1,000 points for Williamstown High, prior to regionalization in the area.
“I don’t think it’s really hit me yet how rare it is,” Foehl admitted. “I just have to let it sink in. I’m very, very grateful. I’m only 17 years old and I honestly do not know how to put something this big into perspective. It’s a huge accomplishment.”
Foehl recalled what it was like back in the beginning of his high school career, and how this record was something that he always hoped he would achieve. He’s come from being one of the youngest guys on the team then to beng one of the few veterans on the club now, but the goal was always the same.
“This was always a goal from the start,” Foehl admitted. “My brother, Brady, was on the team for my freshman and sophomore year, and he was telling me it was going to happen. Being one of the young guys on the team then and getting substantial minutes my freshmen year, at the end of that year the seniors told me to keep going and that I would get it at some point. It feels good to have come that far.”
