AUGUSTA- Sammy Calder had a team-high 15 points, including a go ahead basket with 2:00 left in the fourth quarter on Saturday night in leading the Monmouth Academy Mustangs to a 52-50 win over Mt. View in the Class C Boys Basketball State Championship game at the Augusta Civic Center. It is the first goldball for Monmouth, in their first ever appearance in a boys basketball state game.
Monmouth got the first hoop of the game by Calder, but then Mt. View went on a 12-0 run to take a lead they didn’t relinquish until the third quarter. Noah Hurd hit 3 three-pointers in the opening eight minutes (nine points), as Mt. View led 15-10. Seven straight points from Wyatt Evensen to start the second extended the advantage to 22-10, and Mt. View led by 12 twice in the period which was the largest lead by either team in the contest. Trailing 26-14, Monmouth Academy ended the first half on an 11-0 spurt helped by six points by Lucas Harmon to slice the deficit to 26-25 at the break.
Monmouth had their first lead since it was 2-1 when Calder scored the first points of the third quarter. Mt. View took back the lead on a three-pointer by Hurd and a hoop from Wyatt Bennett at 31-27. Back to back baskets from Kyle Palleschi and Calder tied it up at 31-31, before Mt. View pushed back in front for the final time on the night with a 1-2 effort from the free throw line by Ben Osborne. Monmouth ended the quarter on a run of 8-2, that included a three-pointer by Palleschi and a three-point play by Calder to take a 39-34 lead to the fourth. Mt. View fought back to tie it twice in the final eight minutes. A three-pointer and 2-2 from the line from Evensen made it 45-45, and after Bingham Abbott gave Monmouth a two point edge seconds later, Hurd tied it 47-47 by hitting 2-2 from the charity stripe. Calder pushed his team in front for good with his big hoop with 2:00 left, followed by another two points from Abbott to make it 51-47. A three-pointer by Stuart Knowlton, his only points of the game, got Mt. View back within one point with 1:14 to go. After Jacob Harmon got fouled and hit 1-2 at the line, Mt. View had a chance to tie it or take the lead with 25.6 seconds remaining. Looking for perhaps the final shot, a baseline jumper by Evensen was no good as the clock wound down and Mt. View was forced to foul with just seven tenths of a second showing on the clock. Monmouth missed both free throws, but Mt. View only had time to launch a desperation three-quarters-court heave that was well short as the buzzer sounded.
Evensen had a game-high 18 points and four rebounds in the loss for Mt. View. Hurd finished with 16 points (4 three-pointers). Bennett contributed 12 points and seven rebounds. Knowlton chipped in three points, and Osborne had one free throw for one point. Mt. View ends a great season with a record of 16-7 finishing as the runner-up in their first state final game in 37 years, where they dominated the North Regional Tournament as the #7 seed beating the top three seeds in the field by an average of 31.3 points. They were seeking their second state title win and first since that 1986-87 season (Class B). Calder added five rebounds, three assists, and two steals to his team-high point total in the victory for Monmouth Academy. Pelleschi recorded 13 points, Abbott had eight points and four rebounds, and Jacob Harmon chipped in seven points and four rebounds. Also scoring in the win was Lucas Harmon with four points, Aiden Oliveria with three, and Levi Laverdiere had two points. Monmouth ends up with a record of 19-3, winning the state title in their first appearance, as this was also their first ever season advancing past the regional semifinals.
Recap by Chris Lessner/Stats by Gabe Nason/Photos by Anthony DelMonaco
