By Tom Haley
RUTLAND HERALD
PROCTOR, Vt. — Branden Rose is getting a reputation as a big-play guy for the Green Mountain boys basketball team. Last March he made a critical play down the stretch in the Division III state championship game to help the program to its first state crown in basketball.
Saturday, he was at it again, draining a 3-point field with 13 seconds remaining to beat Proctor, 56-55.
Rose said there was no play designed for him to take that shot.
“It just kind of happened and I was open enough,” Rose said.
Not that he thought the ball was going to find the mark when it left his hand.
“I thought it was going to hit the front of the rim,” Rose said.
“The ball just finds him at crunch time,” Green Mountain coach Brian Rapanotti said. “He has made some other big shots for us like that this year.”
It was a pressure-packed game in the Phantoms’ little gym.
“I don’t think Proctor’s zone defense was quite as effective as it has been in other years but it is still hard to play in this small gym,” Rapanotti said.
Proctor took a 26-25 lead into halftime and then won the third quarter to take a 44-38 lead into the final stanza.
Things were looking good for the Phantoms when Carter Crossmon buried a 3-point field goal to extend the lead to 49-41.
Reid Hryckiewicz did some clutch 3-point shooting for the Chieftains in that fourth quarter. He got them to within one (51-50) but Crossmon made both of his free throws to get the three-point advantage back for the Phantoms.
Hryckiewicz struck from 3-point land again to knot the score at 53-53.
Bryson Bourne made both of his free throws to put the Phantoms back in front with 54 seconds to go.
It all only set the stage for Rose.
The Phantoms had their chances in those final 13 seconds. After a timeout with 2.8 seconds left, Crossmon took a desperation 3 but it was off the mark. The Chieftains were celebrating a dramatic victory just as they did in March with the win over Williamstown in the state championship game.
It was a battle of defending state champions as the Phantoms won the D-IV crown.
Bourn led all scorers with 26 points. Crossmon knocked down three 3-pointers and finished with 13 and Levi Petit, a workhorse all game down low, finished with 10 points.
Rose led the Chieftains with 19 points. He had three 3-point field goals and one of them that fans at the game will remember for a long time.
Hryckiewicz added 16 and Kagan Hance 12.
The Chieftains raised their record to 7-4 and the Phantoms fell to 5-5.
Rapanotti said it would be easy for Rose’s other contributions to get lost in the face of the one electrifying shot, but that they were considerable.
“He made a lot of big plays today, had a lot of steals,” the Green Mountain coach said.
Rose said he believed playing in the title game at the Barre Auditorium with all of its mystique doesn’t hurt in games like these where there is big moment after big moment.
“I think it definitely helps,” Rose said.
The Phantoms and Chieftains would both love to get back to the storied building on the hill in downtown Barre.
tom.haley @rutlandherald.com
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