CLAREMONT – The Cardinal’s Drew Grenier’s basket with 3.6 seconds remaining gave Stevens a lead then Tanner Durkee’s last second steal capped a hard fought Stevens win against a scrappy Wildcat team 38-37 in a varsity doubleheader on Monday. In the opener, it was the Wildcats Zoey Luopa’s game high 19 points that made the difference as her Fall Mountain team improved to 12-4 with a 54-41 win in a game that was much closer than the final score indicated.
Fall Mountain 54-41
Fall Mountain used their depth and speed to wear down the Cardinals but it was a battle to the end. Stevens took an early lead as Sydney Miller and Jenna Pond opened things up with back to back hoops for a 5-0 lead and the Cardinals held a 9-8 lead after the first quarter but trailed 20-14 at the half. “I thought we did a great job on the defensive end limiting FM chances until we got into foul trouble,” said Stevens head coach Ivy Condon after the game.
The Cardinals Tess Whitney ended the night with 14 offensive rebounds but when she was whistled for her 4th foul before halftime, the Wildcats made changes for the second half attack. “I think Hillary Berry gave us a big spark and we rode that momentum for the win tonight,” said FM head coach Brian Pickering after the game. Fall Mountain changed the tempo to a much quicker pace and added a press to stymie the Cardinals. Fall Mountain exploded for 17 third quarter points as Utton and Luopa led the way while increasing their lead to 37-26 entering the final quarter. “Stevens is always a battle and tonight was no different,” said Luopa after the game. Miller led the way for Stevens with 11 points while Luopa led all scorers with 19 points followed by Utton’s 10 points.
Stevens(5-8) will head to Hopkinton on Wednesday while FM(12-3) hosts Newport on Thursday.
Stevens 38 FM 37
A defensive battle broke out in the nightcap as a back and forth game was decided by a Drew Grenier hoop in the dying seconds. With the Cardinals trailing 37-36, Stevens head coach Matt Baird-Torney took a timeout and drew a play with three options. Option #1 was for Luke Come but he was double teamed and Tanner Durkee was not in a good spot for an open look for option #2. Grenier worked off a screen and cut a corner in the paint for a layup to give Stevens their 5th straight win. “I thought we played very well and had a chance to win but we’re still growing with a different group of players and we never quit,” said FM coach Justin Cassarino after the game.
The game was tied at the half as the Cardinals Grenier and the Wildcat’s Joey Murdoch were the highlights scoring 10 and 11 points each as the half ended 17-17. Fall Mountain took the lead 19-17 on Owen Marandion’s hoop but the Cardinals took the lead back on a Grennier layup at the end of the third quarter 26-25. Neither team held more than a three point lead over the final eight minutes. On the final play for Fall Mountain after the Grenier hoop with 3.6 seconds left, Durkee stole the inbounds pass at halfcourt as the final seconds ticked off the clock to improve Stevens record to 8-6. Fall Mountain now stands at 7-7 and travels to Newport on Thursday. “We’re growing into varsity players,” said Baird-Torney after the game as he has only 2 players returning from last years finals team and call this years squad, “the best defensive team I have ever coached.” Stevens next scheduled game is against Conval but the Thursday game has been rescheduled because of the school district deliberative session being moved to Thursday because of weather expected to be here on Wednesday.
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