Field's 31, White's Free Throw Lift Hoosac Valley in OT
CHESHIRE, Mass. -- Frank Field scored a game-high 31 points, including four in overtime, to lead the Hoosac Valley boys basketball team to a 69-68 win over Monument Mountain on Friday night.
Mikey White hit the front end of a one-and-one with 3.6 seconds left in OT to put the Hurricanes ahead for good in a back-and-forth nail-biter.
Monument Mountain got the rebound off White's second free throw try of the night, but after a timeout with 2.9 seconds to go, the Spartans were not able to get a good look at the basket, and Hoosac Valley improved to 2-0.
"It's early in the season, neither team really has a lot to go to offensively," Hoosac Valley coach Bill Robinson said. "It's just the will. They had just as much will as we did. We just caught the break at the end of the game.
"I'm not sure why, but that's what we did."
The biggest break of the night came after Khalil Carlson (13 points) hit a free throw to tie the game at 68-68.
As Hoosac Valley took the ball up the court the other way, the Spartans were whistled for a foul to send White to the line, where the senior scored his first point of the night for the game-winner.
Hoosac Valley forced four Monument Mountain turnovers in the extra session.
The OT started when Field took a charge on the Spartans' first offensive possession.
He later had a steal, and Joey McGovern (13 points) also made a swipe with just more than a minute left in OT that led to Field's bucket to put Hoosac Valley up, 68-65.
Monument Mountain rallied, getting a jumper from the right wing from Carlson to get within a point.
After Kyle Wellenkamp (team-high 21 points) blocked a shot and grabbed the rebound for the Spartans, Carlson got to the line attempting to put back an offensive rebound in transition. He made the second of his free throws to set the stage for the heroics of Hoosac's White.
Hoosac Valley took a big early lead with a 14-2 run that spanned the frist and second quarters and ended with a basket in transition by Field to give the Hurricanes a 29-17 lead.
Monument Mountain got the margin down to nine points at half-time, and that is where it stayed until late in the third.
Wellenkamp ignited a 9-0 Monument Mountain run with a bucket in transition to make it 46-39 just more than a minute left in the third.
Caden Gidarakos (15 points) scored in the post on Monument Mountain's first possession of the fourth quarter to tie it.
"Monument's got a great team," Robinson said. "They've got some tough matchups for us. They've got some really great matchups. The Wellenkamp kid had a great night. They've got Gidarakos, who's a good player. Carlson's a nice player. They've got nice kids, good players.
"It was a nice win for our team."
Hoosac Valley led by seven with about a minute left in regulation after a Field basket to make it 62-55.
But Monument Mountain scored the last seven points of regulation, taking advantage of three missed foul shots by the Hurricanes, including the front end of a one-and-one. Wellenkamp and Carlson scored on back-to-back possessions, and Gidarakos hit a triple in the closing seconds to tie it, 62-62, after 32 minutes.
The first eight minutes of the game saw the teams combine for 38 points -- 21 from Hoosac Valley.
"The stuff we had early on worked well," Robinson said. "We've been getting a little better throwing in the sets we've got. But we went stale. We went tired.
"We're not very deep, as you can see, and we lost one kid to a technical foul, and my rule is you don't play if you get a technical foul. We lost him not even a minute into the game."
But Hoosac Valley did have the combination of Carson Meczywor (19 points) and Field, who heated up for 21 points in the second half and overtime.
Between Field, Meczywor and McGovern, the Hurricanes hit nine three points, which was a concern for Monument Mountain coach Randy Koldys. Another concern: finding an answer for Field.
"Field's tough," Koldys said. "He's tough to guard. Whoever we put on him, it was tough. He gets you up in the air, and he ducks underneath or he knocks the 3 down. He's an offensive scoring machine."
Monument Mountain (1-1) goes Wahconah on Monday.
Hoosac Valley (2-0) hosts Baystate Academy on Monday.