LANGDON – Fall Mountain recognized six seniors Tuesday before the game as Jared Walker, Brandon Pratt, Noah Lantz, Michael Murdoch, Stuart Latham and Ranger Wilson were all greeted by the crowd after being introduced by head coach Justin Cassarino. After hugs from family members, flowers and more than a few pictures it was game time as emotions kicked in.
Fall Mountain ran off to a 10-0 lead as Murdoch, Latham, Wilson, Pratt and Lanz were hot and closed the first quarter leading 19-10. The winless Hilltoppers never gave up and scratched their way back into the game as Zach Rowell poured in 11 points in the quarter as Hillsboro-Deering trailed 27-34 at the break.
“I got a little nervous but we picked up our intensity and began to attack the basket,” said Cassarino after the game. Rowell’s deep three ball cut the Fall Mountain lead to 34-32 but after trading baskets, the Wildcats just ripped the net and went on a 20-0 run as Owen Marandion and Wilson each dropped in six points in the quarter to key the spark.
Along with a quicker offensive tempo, Walker was shutting down the Hillsboro-Deering’s leading scorer as Rowell was held scoreless for the rest of the game and Fall Mountain led 56-34 entering the final quarter. With the Fall Mountain seniors leaving the floor with substitutions one at a time, it was Lantz who brought the loudest cheer from the fans and his teammates as he found himself in the corner all alone and hit nothing but net for his first and only three pointer of the year.
“It felt good to get a win,” said the soft spoken Lanz after the game and added, “We’ve had some serious practices and our execution stepped up tonight when it had to tonight.”
Fall Mountain improves to 9-8 with the win and will head to 12 and 4 Campbell on Friday to close out the regular season. The Wildcats currently sit in 14th place in division three.
More worried about his hair than the final margin of victory, Jared Walker looked back and will never forget the memories of playing basketball at FM. “All the great times, bus rides and friendships will never be forgotten andwill last forever,” said Walker after the game and added, “This team is like a family to me.”
By the end of the game, 12 Wildcats had scored and were led by Murdoch and Lantz who netted 11 points each. They were followed by Wilson’s 10, Marandino with 8, Pratt added 7 points, Jacob Bardis chipped in with 6 points, Latham had 5, Walker netted 4, Joey Murdoch and Lucien Hagland hit for 3, James Ronning had a bucket and Josh Rumrill hit a free throw.
Game note: A spectacular national anthem was sung by FM player Lucien Hagland before the tipoff at the encouragement of his teamates.
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