Mount Greylock Boys Hold Off Lenox to Secure League Win

LENOX, Mass. -- Mount Greylock’s Toby Foehl scored 30 points to lead the way in a 53-47 Berkshire County South Division win over Lenox on Friday night.

 

But the senior sharp-shooter was just part of the equation.

 

The Mounties (8-5, 2-1 South) got contributions from throughout their lineup as they held off a second-half comeback bid by the Millionaires and snapped a two-game losing skid.

 

Freshman Max McCallister made a big fourth-quarter rebound, and classmate Chase Doyle knocked down a clutch free throw with 21 seconds left to give Mount Greylock a five-point margin.

 

“He’s a freshman, and I want to start by saying he missed free throws in the fourth quarter,” Mount Greylock coach Bob Thistle said. “And the reason I mention that is because then he made free throws, and that’s hard to do in life and hard to do when you’re a freshman to step back up there.

 

“You tell them, ‘Smile, relax,’ and all that stuff. But the kid made ‘em. Big, big minutes from him. Max McCallister went in there. Dylen Harrison, right down the line. Those are three freshmen.”

 

Sophomore Derek Paris scored 12 points, and senior Mitchell Jezouit had six rebounds in the second half alone.

 

The Mounties built a big lead in the second quarter.

 

It was 17-11 when Foehl knocked down his second 3-pointer of the game. Paris stole the ball on Lenox’s ensuing possession to start a fast break that ended in a Foehl lay-up. After a timeout and another Lenox turnover, Foehl hit a triple with an assist from Liam Brady to make it 25-11.

 

It was a 17-point margin at half-time, and it the visitors led, 36-20, midway through the third after Foehl converted from the baseline.

 

But the Millionaires (9-4, 3-1) responded with a 7-0 run to get the deficit back to single digits. First, Andre Collins (team-high 14 points) hit from the elbow. Then, after a Luke Patella defensive rebound, Collins took a pass from Jett Steinman and converted from beyond the 3-point arc to make it 36-25.

 

A Patella steal and lay-up got Lenox within nine at 36-27, and the Millionaires closed the third on a 5-0 run that got them within six heading to the fourth.

 

Another 5-0 Lenox run, this time using a pair of Collins drives to the basket, made it a one-possession game at 40-37 with 6:02 left in regulation.

 

Foehl stemmed the momentum with a 3-pointer assisted by Jezouit, and Paris made a steal and went the distance for a lay-in to get the margin back to eight.

 

Collins hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game, and Nick Nicotra (13 points) got a steal and a lay-in to make it 45-42 with 2:10 left.

 

Foehl drilled his sixth 3 of the night moments later to push the lead back to six, and Jezouit converted a pair of free throws with 1:51 on the clock to put the Mounties up, 50-42.

 

But Lenox again answered with buckets from Patella and Nicotra.

 

That was as close as the Millionaires could get. Mount Greylock held the hosts scoreless for more than a minute down the stretch. The next Lenox point came with 4.2 seconds on the clock when Patella hit a free throw to make it a four-point game.

 

He missed his second from the stripe, and Foehl got the rebound, got fouled and salted the game away with a pair of foul shots with 2.9 seconds remaining.

 

“High school basketball is about runs,” Thistle said. “And Lenox is a great team. They’re 9-3 3 and playing in their building. And we withstood the runs. The kids showed some great heart.

 

“We’ve taken two hard losses -- losing by a lot. And just like when we lost the first two games of the year by close scores, that could buckle a team. When you get blown out by Monument and blown out by Taconic, that can buckle a team. And the kids just keep working hard.”

 

Mount Greylock goes to Lee on Tuesday.

 

Lenox gets another shot at its 10th win on Tuesday at Monument Mountain.