BYFIELD — Don’t think, just play.
That’s what coaches teach you in every sport, right?
Yes, it’s obviously important to remember the fundamentals and whatever play your team is running at that specific time. But the idea is that the more you get lost in just playing the game, going purely off instinct instead of a checklist of rules you’re constantly going through in your head, the better you’ll play.
In the most critical moment of Tuesday’s game, Harrison Huynh didn’t think.
He was open. He knew he should shoot the basketball. So he let it fly.
… Swish.
With 37 seconds left and his team trailing by a point, Huynh hit arguably the most clutch shot of Triton’s young season. His 3-pointer put the team ahead 47-45, and the Vikings survived missing a pair of free throws that would have iced it, and a potential game-tying layup through traffic from Pentucket’s Matt Pipan at the buzzer to hold on for the much-needed win.
“Honestly, I had no thought in my mind,” said Huynh, a 6-foot-1 junior wing. “It just felt natural to shoot it.”
Exactly what you want to hear from a young athlete.
And Triton (2-4) is definitely thankful the shot went in.
The Vikings were fresh off a pair of 20-plus-point losses, and needed anything positive to right the ship. Offense has been hard to come by for the Vikings at times this year, and Tuesday night was no different for long stretches. But when the moment came to make a play and hit a big shot, Huynh stepped up and answered the call.
“He’s probably our most skilled player,” said Triton coach Mike Trovato of Huynh. “Sometimes he holds back, and we have to tell him ‘Be fearless, fearless, fearless.’ And you saw the way he shot that one, he didn’t think twice.”
The beginning of the game was certainly not one of Triton’s cold stretches.
The Vikings came out on fire, with Mateus Pinto scoring six of his 13 points in the first quarter and Charlie Mollineaux hitting a pair of 3s. An advantage all night was in the post, where Liam Friis, Jason Holscher and Huynh — among others — consistently hit both the offensive and defensive glass hard. At one moment during the first half the Vikings grabbed three straight offensive boards, and in the second they had another possession with three chances before Pentucket was finally able to grab a rebound.
“We’ve been talking about it all year,” said Trovato. “It’s hard for us to score at times, but we just have to keep creating more transition looks with our defense and rebounding. Our guys got out and covered the best they could tonight.”
But Pentucket (1-5) overcame the slow start.
Pipan came into the game averaging 19.2 ppg, and both him and Dylan Scott helped the Panthers take a 23-20 lead at halftime. Scott himself is averaging 12.4 ppg and finished with a game-high 15 points on Tuesday, and Pipan was right behind him with 14.
Holscher responded with a big third quarter to give Triton a 39-35 lead heading into the fourth, but Gavin Jalbert, Michael Torrisi and Colby Eckholt each had buckets for the Panthers to open the final frame. Pipan converted a pretty spinning layup with just under a minute left to make it 45-44, and the Panthers were arguably just a stop away from salting the game at the free throw line.
But Huynh never wavered, and drained the eventual game-winning 3.
“We communicated as a team today more than we have all year,” said Huynh. “We talked more and trusted each other. We had full confidence today.”
Pentucket would miss its first game-tying attempt, then had to foul to try and extend the game. Holscher was at the line with nine seconds left and a chance to ice the game, but just rimmed out on both. Pipan grabbed the rebound and turned on the jets, zooming down the court and right to the rim.
But waiting for him there was the 6-foot-5 Friis, who did just enough to make it a difficult layup and alter the shot.
“It was a frustrating loss,” said Pentucket coach Ed Hickey. “We had a chance to tie there at the end, just like some other games we’ve had a chance to tie or win at the end. But I give Triton credit, they did a good job taking away our top scorers and hitting the rebounds hard. Their offensive rebounding killed us tonight.”
Triton 47, Pentucket 45
Pentucket (45): Matt Pipan 5-2-14, Greg Plisinski 1-0-3, Dylan Scott 5-2-15, Will Cacciapuoti 0-0-0, Michael Torrisi 2-1-5, Tedy Cloutier 0-0-0, Colby Eckholt 1-0-2, Chase Dowling 0-0-0, Gavin Jalbert 2-2-6, Nate Stys 0-0-0. Totals 16-7-45
Triton (47): Noah Bernier 0-0-0, Charlie Mollineaux 3-1-9, Mateus Pinto 5-2-13, Liam Friis 4-0-9, James Tanona 0-0-0, Caleb Murray 0-0-0, Jason Holscher 3-4-11, Brandon Somaiy 0-0-0, Harrison Huynh 2-0-5. Totals 17-7-47
3-pointers: T — Mollineux 2, Pinto, Friis, Holscher, Huynh; P — Scott 3, Pipan 2, Plisinski
Pentucket (1-5): 15 8 12 10 — 45
Triton (2-4): 16 4 19 8 — 47