Bradford, Vt.
The Olympians may have gotten it on Thursday night, prevailing 68-66 over Montpelier in a Capital League classic featuring 20 lead changes.
O’s junior Ben Emerson’s seventh 3-pointer forged a 66-66 tie with eight seconds remaining. After a pair of missed free throws by Montpelier’s Danny Bruce, Lincoln Ilsley drove the lane and drew contact for a pair of free throws with 1.7 to go. He sank both — sandwiched around a Solons timeout — and Montpelier’s half-court heave at the buzzer was way off as the Olympians (4-7) won for the first time since Dec. 30 at Blue Mountain.
“It was a high pressure situation, but I was thinking, ‘Just make one,’ ” said Ilsley, who pumped his fist and shouted, “Let’s Go!” upon Montpelier’s timeout. “I knew it was unlikely they would score with 1.7 seconds left.”
Emerson finished with 23 points, Matt Towle scored 16 and Ilsley 15 for Oxbow. Montpelier senior Tucker Odum scored 17 of his game-high 25 points in the second half.
The Olympians’ recent five-game skid included a heartbreaker at home against rival Rivendell (53-52) and a potentially demoralizing 66-47 defeat at Randolph on Tuesday that gave the Galloping Ghosts their first win of the year.
The Olympians, who play in Vermont Division III, responded in a big way against the D-II Solons (4-5). Led by center Karyka Taylor (16 points, 12 rebounds), Montpelier enjoyed size advantage but never led by more than four.
That was the largest lead for either team as they traded blows in a loud Mona Garone gym.
“I feel like this has to be a turning point for us,” third-year Oxbow coach Steve Carson said. “That loss on Tuesday felt like rock bottom. But we came ready to play and played like a true team tonight.”
Oxbow sank 13 3-pointers, including three by Towle, a pair by Ilsley, and one by senior Jake Stimson for his lone points.
Asked if his team is one that must live and die by the 3, Emerson wasn’t shy toward the label.
“That’s what we are, and it’s because we have 3-4 really good shooters,” Emerson said. “We spend a lot of time shooting at practice.”
Maybe too much. The Olympians are scoring 59.9 points per game, 8.6 higher than last year’s 5-16 team. But their man-to-man defensive scheme is allowing 5.6 more points per game, yielding more than 80 to two opponents.
Montpelier scored 13 points higher than its season average on Thursday, but Carson noted marked improvement for his team’s “D.”
“It came down to team defense tonight, boxing out and rebounding,” the coach said. “We spent a lot of the preseason working on offense, and our defense might have suffered as a result. We’ve been emphasizing our defensive concepts at practice recently and we started to see it come together tonight.”
Taylor scored 10 in the first half for Montpelier, which led 17-16 after the first quarter and 28-24 following Odum’s 3 a minute before halftime.
Oxbow closed the period on a 5-1 run to tie it, highlighted by Emerson’s buzzer-beating trey off the glass following a defensive rebound by Orin Mahikoa.
Oxbow had struggled in numerous third quarters during its losing streak, which Carson attributed to a lack of energy. That wasn’t going to be a concern on Thursday.
“(Emerson’s clock-beater) was definitely a momentumsetter,” Ilsley said.
Carson only wished his team could have kept building off the spark rather than heading to the locker room for halftime.
“It was probably the shortest halftime speech I ever gave,” the coach said. “Great shot by Ben, even though he didn’t call ‘bank.’ ”
Oxbow got in early foul trouble in the second half, and the Solons reached the bonus midway through the third quarter and double bonus during its final minute.
Montpelier hit 9 of 13 free throws in the third quarter, but shot just 5-for-13 from the line in the fourth.
“Oxbow always plays hard. You have to capitalize on the things you can control against them,” sixth-year Solons coach Nick Foster said. “We didn’t do that at the free throw line tonight. To me, that was the difference in the game.”
Odum did convert two from the line to give Montpelier a 66-63 lead with 25.2 seconds left. Emerson missed a 3 from the corner on the ensuing Oxbow possession, and Bruce snagged the rebound for the Solons. However, an alert play by senior Kyle Pittman tied him up on the baseline for a jump ball, possession Oxbow.
This time, Emerson converted for the seventh tie of the night before Ilsley won it at the line.
“It’s something we can definitely build off,” Ilsley said. “We needed a game like this.”
Oxbow visits U-32 on Tuesday and has a rematch with the Solons on Jan. 31 in Montpelier.
Free Throws: Oxbow shot 53.2 percent from the field (25-for-47) while Montpelier was 37.7 percent (23-for-61). … The Olympians went 5-for-9 from the free throw line, Ilsley going 3-for-3. … Kyle Sweet and Mahikoa fouled out for Oxbow. … Swept in two games against the Solons last year, Oxbow improved to 4-6 in its last 10 against them. … The Olympians boys and girls teams have begun a series of tutorials with elementary school players on Saturday mornings in Mona Garone Gym. … Oxbow’s last winning season came in 2001-02 under Stretch Gillam, though the O’s have gone 10-10 three times during the regular season since.
Jared Pendak can be reached at jpendak@vnews.com or 603-727-3225.