by Gary Danforth
Well, it was an act I’d seen before. Despite a superlative effort by Coach Mike Lilac Jr.’s Hoosick Falls Central School boys basketball team December 15, the Mount Anthony Union High School Patriots stormed back from a 13 point first half deficit and forced an overtime session before subduing the home standing Panthers, 46-41. It was a game not for the meek, played before a mostly packed River Road gymnasium. Both teams went after each other in a physical basketball game. Dan Sleeman’s Mount Anthony team from Bennington, VT, a school three times the size of Hoosick Falls, got all they wanted from a Panther squad which matched the Patriots intensity on every offensive and
defensive possession and on every rebound, body blow and hand check. Let’s just say both teams knew there was an opposing team on the court with them.
Mt. Anthony, now 3-0, broke out to a quick 10-3 lead with 2:01 left in the opening quarter. It was 4-0 and 6-1 before 6’3” Panther sophomore John Hayden scored inside with 3:49 remaining in period one. Mt. Anthony, with 6’8” junior center Clayton Palmer starting in the middle, then broke out to their biggest lead of the night at 10-3. The Panthers 6’6” center, Kevin McMahon, had hit an earlier free throw.
But Lilac’s squad did what few teams have done against the aggressive, defensive minded Patriots. HFCS proceeded to go on a 16-0 run to take what looked to be a tentative lead. Playing tough at both ends of the court and holding Mt. Anthony scoreless for eight minutes, the Panthers took a 19-10 lead with just over two minutes left in the opening half. Mt. Anthony had held a 10-3 advantage with 2:01 remaining in period one.
McMahon started the HFCS run with a conventional three-point play. Then sophomore Tanner Williams, whose dad, Jay, played at Mt. Anthony, hit a pair from the line to get HFCS to 10-8 after eight minutes. Quinn Rasmus put Hoosick Falls ahead with a trey from the left side. Then McMahon scored three times in close to give the Panthers a 17-10 lead. Junior Mike Brewster scored in the paint to give HFCS a 19-10 advantage. The Patriots broke their point drought with an inside bucket with 2:09 left in the opening half. A Brewster free throw made the Panthers lead 20-12. Two Hayden foul shots gave HFCS a 24-13 halftime lead.
A Hutton Rasmus drive along the right baseline gave the Panthers a 26-13 lead at the start of the second half. But Mt. Anthony, a big strong team who pressures opponents the whole game and beats you to death on the backboards, would come back. They started causing Panther turnovers and went on an 8-0 run to close their gap to 26-21. Three inside buckets and a jumper from the right baseline fueled the Patriot rally. Alex Lilac, a sophomore guard, hit a right side trey for HFCS, good for a 29-21 Panther lead. But Mt. Anthony closed the third quarter on a 7-0 run, scoring on a three pointer, two free throws and a drive to get within 29-28 entering period four.
Mt. Anthony took a 31-29 advantage when Hunter Stratton canned a trey. A McMahon free throw and another Lilac three pointer gave HFCS a 33-31 lead with 6:02 left in period four. Mt. Anthony tied the see-saw game with a drive. Hayden put HFCS ahead with a two hand tip in along the right baseline. Then, McMahon scored inside for HFCS, good for a 37-33 Panther lead with 3:12 remaining in period four.
Mt. Anthony would not quit. They tied the score on a drive and inside bucket with 1:29 left. McMahon hit a pair from the line for HFCS with 1:08 to play. Finally, the Patriots Stratton sent the game into overtime with an inside score with under a minute to play in regulation. It was 39-39.
The overtime session saw Mt. Anthony’s 6’8” Palmer hit a jumper in the lane. It was answered by a Hayden offensive putback for HFCS to tie the score at 41-41 with 1:38 left in the four minute overtime. Mt. Anthony scored inside, forced a Panther turnover, hit a free throw, forced another Panther turnover and hit both ends of a one and one free throw situation with :20 left, to get off the Panther hardwood with their hard earned 46-41 overtime victory.
McMahon scored 15 points for HFCS, Hayden, 8, Lilac, 6, Hutton Rasmus, 4, Quinn Rasmus, 3, Brewster, 3 and Williams scored 2 points.
Rebounding from Afar: Turnovers in the second half hurt HFCS. McMahon had a half dozen blocks for HFCS as he controlled the paint. Mt. Anthony is a team which keeps coming at you. No lead seems safe against them. Next up for HFCS is an away contest versus Schuylerville Friday night, December 18. Both schools are 2-0 in league play and the winner of this home and away WASAREN League rivalry could go a long way toward determining the 2009-10 league champion.