Carpenter, Eagles Come Back for OT Win
SHEFFIELD, Mass. -- Jack Carpenter went 6-for-7 at the free throw line and scored eight points in overtime Saturday to help the Mount Everett boys basketball team to a 78-73, come-from-behind win over Mount Greylock.
Carpenter scored a game-high 30 points and grabbed 18 rebounds as the Eagles erased a 14-point fourth quarter deficit en route to the win.
"He's been in the middle of everything for us this year," Mount Everett coach Jowe Warren said. "I think he's left the court for about 28 seconds all year."
All the Eagles had to play some extra seconds on Saturday thanks to a huge fourth quarter that saw Mount Everett score 31 points.
Ben Monteleone was a major factor, scoring 13 of his 17 points in the final frame.
"That was nice to see out of Ben," Warren said. "He's been hitting a lot of free throws this season -- a couple of points here and there in games. But it was nice to see him get comfortable, being balanced and hitting some big shots for us."
Mount Greylock, which led throughout after breaking a 2-2 tie, took a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter.
About a minute into the fourth, Seamus Barnes (11 points) scored in the post off a feed from Judge Martin to give the Mounties a 53-39 lead.
On Mount Greylock's next possession, Monteleone made a steal and got to the line in transition to start a 9-0 Mount Everett run.
Michael Ullrich (25 points) scored in transition, Monteleone drove the right wing, and Cooper Rothvoss scored in the post for an and-one that got the lead down to five at 53-48 with 4 minutes, 25 seconds on the clock.
The teams then traded baskets until Mount Everett went on a 9-1 spurt to take its first lead.
Carpenter got things going with a conventional three-point play.
Then, after Mount Greylock's Pablo Santos hit a free throw to make it 61-56, Monteleone scored the next six: a triple, a free throw and a basket in transition to give Mount Everett a 62-61 lead.
Mount Greylock retook the lead thanks to drives by Jackson Powell and Max McAlister to make it 65-62. But Ullrich tied it with another three-point play in transition.
With 13.9 on the clock, Powell converted a pass from Martin to give the Mounties a 67-65 lead. But the Eagles got a putback from Carpenter at the other end to send the game to overtime, 67-67.
"We kept ourselves in it, and at the end there we were able to start pressing a little bit," Warren said of the fourth quarter comeback. "We chipped away at that lead of theirs. Our boys did a good job of keeping their composure and playing as a team.
"Some of those turnovers turned into transition baskets. And we hit some free throws, too, which really helped. That's how you close out games. We talk about that every year going into the season: Shoot 1,000 free throws through the season.
"So it was big we hit those late in the game."
Carpenter scored the first points of OT, converting a Rothvoss assist in the post and getting to the line to make it 70-67, Eagles.
Mount Greylock fired back to take a 73-70 lead when Powell scored in transition midway through the period.
But Mount Everett scored the game'slast eight points: an Ullrich triple and five Carpenter free throws to put the game away.
As a team, the Eagles shot 23-for-30 at the foul line.
Mount Greylock got to the line 12 times and converted five. McAlister led five Mounties in double figures with 16 points. Chase Doyle scored 13 and grabbed 20 rebounds. Powell scored 12, and Santos and Barnes each added 11.