Meczywor's Offense, Late Defense Secures Narrow Win for Hurricanes

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. – Carson Meczywor scored 28 points, and Joey McGovern blocked a last-second 3-point try to secure Hoosac Valley’s 53-50 win over Monument Mountain on Monday night.

 

The Spartans trailed by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter but rallied to make it a one-possession game when Khalil Carlson (16 points) scored in the post with just more than a minute remaining.

 

After Kyle Wellenkamp (12 points) grabbed a defensive rebound with 11 seconds left, Monument Mountain had a chance to do what it did back on Dec. 17 in Cheshire: hit a triple in the final moments to send the game to overtime.

 

But this time around, the Hurricanes (7-3) had the answer defensively.

 

Carson Meczywor got out to the top of the key to put a hand in the face of Wellenkamp on his try from behind the arc. And after Carlson (10 rebounds) got the carom and fed Caden Gidarakos in 3-point range on the left wing, McGovern got just enough of the ball to knock it offline as time expired.

 

“We hung in there, we just hung in there,” Hoosac Valley coach Bill Robinson said.

 

“I saw Carlson hustle and get the ball to Gidarakos, and I said, ‘Are you kidding me?’ But Joey got him this time, he just tipped it enough. It was just scrambling, that’s all it was. There was no special defense. I was yelling to foul them. With six seconds left, I was yelling, ‘Foul him! Foul him!’ … They don’t foul ‘em. But that’s on me. We’ve got to practice that more.”

 

Hoosac Valley also will want to work on its press break after Monument Mountain went full court in the final four minutes and went on a 10-0 run to erase nearly all of the Hurricanes’ lead.

 

After Meczywor scored in the post with just less than four minutes left to make it 53-40, Wellenkamp hit a pair of 3s, and Carlson scored twice to make it a one-possession game.

 

“They responded nicely,” Monument Mountain coach Randy Koldys said of the closing minutes. “That was about as much energy as we showed the entire game.

 

“We just cannot afford to not play with that energy for 32 minutes. We pick our spots sometimes, and that’s what kills us a lot of times.”

 

After hearing Koldys give an emotional pregame talk and offer a moment of silence honoring deceased longtime Monument Mountain coach and guidance counselor Thomas Kinne, the Spartans played with plenty of energy.

 

Monument Mountain grabbed a 9-0 lead early and led 17-10 early in the second quarter on a basket in the post by Carlson.

 

But Hoosac Valley got 11 points from Meczywor in the second quarter to tie the game, 24-24, at half-time.

 

What the Hurricanes did not get in the second quarter was any production from Frank Field, who was saddled with two early fouls after scoring six in the first quarter.

 

The loss of a player who came in averaging 19 points per game would be tough for any team. It was particularly hard for Hoosac Valley, which had only two subs on the bench on Monday night.

 

Helping to pick up the slack was Michael Szabo, who had six first-half points.

 

“That was the key,” Robinson said of the Hurricanes’ performance in Field’s absence. “Mike Szabo went in and got us six points, which was really special. He just got back from an injury. So for him to go out and give us that six … We were down early 9-0, and I just said, ‘Compose, guys. You’re going to be OK. We just need a couple of shots to fall.’ And they did.

 

“And then Szabo got a couple in that second quarter off drives. That’s all we need. Just step up and play a role for us.”

 

Field returned in the third and ended the night with 14 points to go with seven rebounds.

 

Meczywor, who had no points in the first quarter, was unstoppable afterward.

 

He scored the last four for Hoosac Valley in the third to send it to the fourth quarter with a 39-34 lead.

 

Then, in the first three minutes of the fourth, the Hurricanes stretched their lead to 15 points with a conventional three-point play from Field and three straight dagger 3s – twice from Meczywor, once from Field and all three in the last second of the shot clock.

 

“We got lucky, let’s face it, but it’s about time because Carson can shoot it,” Robinson said. “He hasn’t been shooting it well, but maybe tonight’s his breakout game.

 

“I liked our pace tonight. I thought we were really patient and ran our stuff, and our stuff led to some good opportunities.”

 

After Meczywor’s fourth 3-pointer of the game made it 51-36, Carlson scored on two straight trips for Monument Mountain to get within 11. Meczwyor’s bucket in the post pushed the lead back to 13 at 53-40, and the Hurricanes were able to hold on from there.

 

“I’m just happy we won,” Robinson said. “This is a tough place to win down here. Wahconah just came down here and lost by 15. South Hadley lost by 15. These guys have been playing really well, and for us to come down here and win when we haven’t been playing well … 

 

“We’ve played well, but not for a whole game. We played well for a half the other night at Wahconah. But we talked about the third quarter not being our quarter. But tonight we did a nice job in the third quarter, we opened it up a little in the fourth. And then we had to hang on at the end.”

 

Hoosac Valley hosts South Hadley on Wednesday.

 

Monument Mountain (7-4) hosts Mount Greylock on Tuesday.