EATON TWP. - Vermilion’s Madison Montgomery made just one field goal in the Sailors’ 52-49 West Shore Conference win over Midview on Friday, but it was a critical hoop at the end of the second quarter.
Midview junior forward Patrick Geyser had just hit a 3-pointer from the left corner with only eight seconds remaining in the first half, but Montgomery responded by taking the inbounds pass, jogging up the floor and pulling up for a shot from the blue “M” that adorns the center circle of the floor at Kubuski Gymnasium.
No Middie stepped up and tried to defend the shot, which sailed through the air, hit squarely on the backboard and dropped in for the buzzer-beating score.
“You know, I’ve been practicing those shots all the time in practice, just messing around,” Montgomery said. “I got the feel for the ball and I just let it go. It just gave us a lot of momentum going into that second half. Our coach always preaches about finishing off a game and we came out and did that.”
“It was a huge momentum breaker because they hit a huge three to end the half,” Vermilion Coach Kurt Habermehl said.
“He comes and hits the half-court shot and it kind of breaks that momentum they have going into the half.
“We’ve been telling our kids they’re good players. They’ve got to make plays. Tonight, they made plays.”
The Sailors improved to 10-6 overall and 6-4 in the WSC, while the Middies fell to 4-12, 3-7.
Montgomery might have hit the first big shot of the game for the Sailors, but it was not the last. Senior guard Dan Oates also hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key at the end of the third quarter.
The Sailors used Oates’ shot as a springboard and outpaced Midview 16-9 over the final eight minutes.
The Middies turned the ball over on their first two possessions of the fourth quarter and watched a four-point lead quickly turn into a deficit. Oates connected on a 3-pointer from the right wing to start the fourth and followed Mitch Novak’s putback with another 3-pointer.
Midview got within a point of the Sailors when Nick Clark made a baseline jumper with 1:19 remaining, but Vermilion made three of four free throws late to seal the win.
Vermilion made six of 10 free throws, while the Middies were three-of-seven from the foul line in the fourth quarter.
“In the second half, our free throw shooting was terrible,” Midview coach Troy DiFranco said.
“We were five of 15 and missed a couple front ends of one-and-ones. We gave up seven offensive rebounds and still had a chance to win it.”
Contact Matt Florjancic at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.
Vermilion 52, Midview 49
VERMILION (52): Madison Montgomery 1-3-6, Cameron Zima 2-1-6, Dan Oates 4-0-12, Mitch Novak 3-2-8, Aaron McCann 1-0-2, Cody Timbs 3-0-6, Nick Farley 3-5-12. Totals 17-11-52.
MIDVIEW (49): Eddie Brezina 0-2-2, Ryan Mains 1-2-4, Patrick Geyser 1-0-3, Nick Clark 6-4-16, Jake Stracensky 2-0-4, Andrew Agee 3-0-6, Patrick Linn 2-0-4, Riley Moore 3-3-10. Totals 18-11-49.
Vermilion 6 11 19 16 - 52
Midview 9 16 15 9 - 49
Three-point goals: Midview 2 (Geyser, Moore), Vermilion 7 (Oates 4, Montgomery, Zima, Farley 1 each). Field goals: Midview 18-41 (43.9 percent), Vermilion 17-48 (35.4 percent). Free throws: Midview 11-22 (50 percent), Vermilion 11-21 (52.4 percent). Rebounds: Midview 32, Vermilion 34. Turnovers: Midview 16, Vermilion 13. Fouled out: None. Junior varsity: Vermilion 44-37 (OT)
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