By DAN BARILE
Eagle Times Correspondent
LANGDON, NH — In the most exciting local high school game to date this season, the Newport Tigers erased a 20-point third quarter deficit to defeat the Fall Mountain Wildcats, 75-74, in an overtime thriller on Thursday, Dec. 21.
Despite a couple of early threes from Newport’s Aaron Fellows, Fall Mountain effectively utilized a full-court press to secure a 20-12 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Wildcats defense continued to stifle Newport during the second quarter as their lead extended to double digits. Ledger Willett scored 13 first-half points to lead Fall Mountain to a 31-20 advantage at the break.
After a couple of quick baskets by Newport to open the second half, Fall Mountain went on a tear, which resulted in them taking a 53-33 lead with 2:24 remaining in the third quarter. Despite the Wildcats substantial lead, the Tigers would continue to fight and claw their way back. Newport managed to reduce the deficit to 13 as they entered the final frame on the short end of a 57-44 score.
Everything seemed to be under control for Fall Mountain after Owen Riendeau drained a couple of free throws with 1:57 remaining to give the Wildcats a 64-51 edge. However, freshman Tyson DiPaola drained a quick three for Newport to cut the lead to 10. Out of necessity, the Tigers immediately set up in a full-court press despite having minimal success earlier in the game with the same defensive approach. This time around, Newport managed to score three consecutive baskets following steals to bring the score to 64-60 with 49 seconds left in regulation. Fall Mountain converted one out of two free throws to extend its lead to five before Fellows connected on his fourth three of the night with 40 seconds to play. After Fall Mountain increased its lead to three, Newport’s Christian Forsythe finished strong at the hoop while getting fouled. Forsythe converted the free throw to tie the game at 66 with 17 seconds left. Newport quickly stole the ball again following Forsythe’s free throw and nearly took the lead before the Wildcats regained possession and moved the ball up court. Willett took the ball aggressively to the basket and converted a contested layup as the whistle blew with 4.5 seconds on the clock. The home crowd’s excitement immediately turned to shock when one of the men in stripes signaled that Willett had traveled. Newport’s final 3-point attempt bounced off the rim to send the game to overtime.
Overtime was a back-and-forth affair that saw Fall Mountain convert four out of eight free throws on their way to a 74-72 lead with 19 seconds remaining. The Wildcats were able to prevent Newport from driving to the basket on the final possession, but as the game reached its final seconds, the Tigers were able to find Fellows open outside of the arc. Without hesitation, Fellows drained his fifth three of the night before the buzzer sounded to secure a 75-74 victory for Newport.
Newport Head Coach Rob Clark was proud of his team’s comeback performance.
“They could have gone the other way and put their heads down, but they kept chipping away,” said Clark.
Fellows exploded for 33 points, Forysthe followed with 27 and DiPaola added 11 to lead the offensive attack for Newport. Fall Mountain was led by Willett with 22 points and received double-digit performances from Josh Town (13), Tyson Patch (12) and Luke St. Pierre (12).
After scoring only 20 points in the first half, Clark credited his team’s defense with fueling the offense to a 46-point performance in the second half.
“Defense created a lot [of our offense]. That’s what won it for us,” he said.
Fall Mountain (1-3) returns to action on Wednesday, Dec. 27, against Windsor in the Stevens Holiday Tournament. Newport (2-2) is scheduled to host Stevens on Tuesday, Jan. 2, at 7 p.m.
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