Lebanon
The Raiders beat Milford, 47-42, in a defensive battle that ushered in the home stretch of the season for both squads. The hosts improved to 14-1; the Spartans are 15-1.
Lebanon began the game on a 9-2 run, but then went nearly six minutes without a hoop. The scoring draught allowed Milford to take its first lead (11-9) midway through the second quarter. The game was tied 21-21 at halftime.
Led by Ryan Milliken’s 17 points, Lebanon found success in transition, but Milford did a good job of stifling the run-and-gun approach for long stretches. The formidable Spartan defense proved capable of lulling Lebanon’s offense to sleep at times.
Raiders senior KJ Matte got Lebanon off to a good start in the fourth quarter by drawing a foul on a 3-point attempt from the top of the key. Matte, a 1,000-point scorer who had 10 points on Tuesday, hit all three free throws. Lebanon fouled Milford 3-point shooter Ryan Banuskevich a minute later, however, and he converted two of his three foul shots to notch a 36-36 tie.
The hosts countered with a Milliken layup, assisted by Graham Chickering off a pretty end line out of bounds play. Milliken was fouled and converted the ensuing free throw. Lebanon then made a defensive stop before Chickering found Matte for a 3-pointer, which pushed the lead to 42-36 with 5:17 remaining. The six-point margin was the Raiders’ largest since early in the first quarter.
The Spartans fought until the end, remaining dangerous until they missed a 3-point attempt down six points with 17 seconds left. Milford was led by Banuskevich (14 points) and Shane Winnett (13 points).
“We like to pride ourselves on defense,” Chickering said. “And that’s really what it came down to at the end. We just got a little bit of a lead and that last minute, (Milford) didn’t really do much out there.”
Chickering had a big night with seven points and nine assists. The senior point guard executed an array of textbook bounce passes, effectively slicing through the Spartan paint.
“I definitely consider myself more of a pass-first point guard out there,” Chickering said. “We’ve got a whole lot of great shooters out there. I really see it as my role to score when we need buckets, but really just try to find people out there, try to spread the ball around, get everyone involved.”
The do-it-all senior seems to impress his coach on a regular basis.
“Graham Chickering,” Lebanon coach Kieth Matte said. “He does so many things that are unseen that make a huge difference for a basketball team to win.”
The 6-foot-1 distributor is also a defensive menace, which prompted Matte to switch him on to Winnett toward the end of the third quarter. Chickering held his assignment scoreless for the remainder of the game.
“He did such a phenomenal job on Winnett down the stretch,” Matte said.
Lebanon has three more games, including on Friday at John Stark. If the Raiders and Spartans can both win out and tie for first place, Lebanon would own the tiebreaker advantage and claim the top seed. The top 14 of D-II’s 21 teams will qualify for the playoffs, with the first two seeds earning a bye.
“It was two good teams playing each other and that makes it a lot of fun,” coach Matte said following Tuesday’s victory. “But I think both of these teams are going to be judged on how they do next month, so it was a great tune-up for the tournament.”
Notes: Lebanon’s only loss of the season was to Hollis Brookline, 61-51, on Jan. 20. … The Raiders lost in last year’s title game after falling in the semifinals in three consecutive years. Milford’s last two final-four appearances yielded back-to-back championships in 2010 and ’11. Lebanon won its last title in 1998, Matte’s first year at the helm after taking over for Metcalf. … Milliken sustained a hard foul with about a minute remaining in the fourth quarter. He left the game and didn’t return after landing on his elbow and lower back, limping off the court following an injury stoppage of play. The Raider workhorse said he would be fine and doesn’t expect to miss any further game time due to the injury. “Just a couple bruises,” he said. … Lebanon High legends Rich Parker (class of ’77) and Rob Woodward (’81) sat together for the first half of the game. Both former pro athletes (golf and baseball, respectively) played for Metcalf.