Reserve Sparks Spartans in Win for 2-0 Start
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GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. – Sam Yeung scored just six points for the Monument Mountain boys basketball team on Saturday.
But he made a big impact on the Spartans’ 73-67 win over Cape Cod Academy.
Yeung came off the bench in the third quarter and drove the baseline for a bucket to snap a four-point Cape Cod run and erase a two-point Spartan deficit.
Moments later, he set up Khalil Carlson in the post to put Monument Mountain up, 49-47, and the Spartans led the rest of the way in improving to 2-0.
“We just talked about it in the locker room,” Monument Mountain coach Randy Koldys said. “[Yeung] didn’t play one second in the first half. And we called on him in the second half, and he was ready to play.
“We talk about our guys being ready to play, and he stepped up and was a huge difference for us right there. He gave us a spark defensively and offensively.
Yeung went on to score in transition in a 13-0 Spartan run that spanned the third and fourth quarters. He capped that run with a transition basket to give Monument Mountain a 58-47 lead to start the fourth.
The Seahawks battled back with a 7-0 run to draw within four points at 67-63 with 1 minute, 1 second left on the clock.
Isaiah Keefner snapped that run with a basket in transition, and Carlson scored the last four points for Monument Mountain to close out the game.
Carlson, who grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked four shots to go with his 25 points, put his stamp on the game in the second quarter, when he scored 12 points.
Cape Cod Academy started the game strong, taking a 19-10 lead when Mike Berry scored two of his game-high 27 late in the first quarter.
Moments later, Griffin McElroy (eight points) grabbed a defensive rebound and went the other way for a lay-up to start a 20-1 Spartan run that carried through the first half of the second quarter.
Carlson scored eight points and set up Sebastian Guete-Ramirez in transition during the run, which gave Monument Mountain the game’s first double-digit margin at 30-20.
“I think we just started having intensity on defense,” Carlson said. “We started running the floor better in transition. We try to get our offense from our defense, and that’s what we did in that stretch.”
The visitors quickly trimmed the deficit to two points, but Wellenkamp closed the first half with triple to send the Spartans to the locker room up, 39-34.
Cape Cod Academy then opened the second half on an 11-4 run to take a 45-43 lead on a 3-pointer by Kyle Robke, setting the stage for Yeung’s first bucket to tie the game, 45-45.
Monument Mountain (2-0) got offensive contributions from nine different players, but for the second game in a row, Carlson led the way, giving him a 27.5 points per game average going into Monday’s showdown against Wahconah, which hosts Cape Cod Academy on Sunday afternoon.
“Great start for Khalil,” Koldys said. “I think that he could be even more efficient offensively. When he does that, he’s going to score even more points, and he knows that.
“But one of the things I love about Khalil is if he misses a shot or two on the offensive end, it doesn’t affect him at the other end on defense. And he’s a huge presence in there, that’s for sure.”