PLATTSBURGH — The Schroon Lake/Newcomb boys basketball team got hit hard by Crown Point early on, but withstood the barrage, fought their way back, and went to double overtime to win the Section VII Class D title Saturday night at Clinton Community College 63-55 over the Panthers.
“Before the game we talked about weathering whatever storms came our way, and obviously we didn’t have a really great start,” Wild Huskies Coach Lee Silvernail said.
“But we talked about just chipping away through the rest of the game. The first quarter we were down 12 points and we realized we needed to just chip away each quarter and give ourselves a chance in the fourth quarter to take a lead. It took a couple of periods after that, but they got it done and we have a sectional championship under our belt.”
Crown Point came out strong behind Trevor Harris in the opening stanza taking a 20-8 lead. Harris had 10 points including a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Panthers momentum.
Crown Point continued their strong play in the second period with Matt Beeman hitting from inside for three layups and Harris scoring a bucket.
But Schroon Lake/Newcomb hung tough with Logan Bush hitting a layup and Austin Hartwell nailing a three-pointer. Bush then hit another basket to make it 30-23 Crown Point at the half.
The third quarter was back and forth with both teams struggling to hit shots at times. Crown Point led 37-31 as they entered the fourth quarter.
In the final stanza, the Wild Huskies did as Silvernail said; they chipped away bit by bit. Hartwell hit a three with 6:20 left to pull within one at 37-36, and the Wild Huskie faithful that made the long journey from southern Essex County, erupted.
The joy was interrupted by a Harris basket, but Nate Melville hit a three to tie it at 39-39 sending the crowd into a frenzy again.
The final five minutes of regulation was a defensive struggle and it ended 41-41.
Bush and Reese Pertak, a key player for Crown Point, both picked up their fourth fouls in the fourth quarter.
In the first overtime, Hartwell scored some key buckets, but Harris answered back for Crown Point and then Alex Stone hit a three-pointer with 3.7 seconds left to send it to a second overtime session with the score knotted 49-49.
With the score tied 55-55 in the second overtime, Hartwell, who took over point guard duties after Bush fouled out with 53 seconds left in the first overtime period, drained a three from the right side to give the wild Huskies a lead they would not relinquish.
Hartwell said he was glad to have the opportunity to help his team down the stretch.
“We fought so hard to get back to the point we were at,” he said.
Bush said it was frustrating having to sit with five fouls, but he was confident in his teammates.
“It’s a terrible feeling for me sitting on the bench and watching, but I trusted the boys,” he said.
Hartwell said the strong support from the Schroon Lake/Newcomb crowd was a big boost.
“Our crowd is always the best. They show up and we have more than the other crowd, even at away games, and it is just great to have that kind of energy,” he said.
Hartwell finished with 22 points, Bush had 14 and Nate Melville had 15 points for the Wild Huskies.
Harris scored 18 for the Panthers, Stone had 15, and Pertak finished with 8 points.
Schroon Lake/Newcomb will play at CCC again on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in the first round of state playoffs.
Hartwell is looking forward to the next challenge.
“We always keep fighting even when we are down and even when other people might think that we don’t have a chance, we keep fighting,” he said.