The Potomac Highlands Dispatch - the online newspaper

Sentinels escape with 53-52 home win against Miners
Pesky Mountain Ridge squad shows off quickness in season opener

By The Potomac Highlands Dispatch
CUMBERLAND., Dec. 10 - It has been about nine months since the Fort Hill and Mountain Ridge boys basketball teams took the court.

Turns out it was worth the wait. The home team Sentinels used clutch free-throw shooting to escape Friday night with a season-opening win against the Miners, 53-52, in a contest that was filled with hope and heartbreak for both teams.

It just depended on which second you looked at the scoreboard.

For some time Friday night, it seemed as if the last thing that would decide the game between the Fort Hill and Mountain Ridge boys basketball teams was a made free throw. It stands to reason, then, that is exactly what sealed the game for the Sentinels.

Senior Brandon Remson nailed three of our free throw attempts in the last 97 seconds -- the first to knot the game at 47 points apiece with 1 minute and 37 seconds left to play in the fourth quarter. Then junior Mark Kelly, who finished with 14 points, made the most important four points of the night.

Tied at 47, Kelly made two foul shots with 60 seconds left on the clock and then made two more 23 seconds later. The fourth and final shot gave Fort Hill a 53-49 lead.

With 11 seconds to play, Mountain Ridge senior Brandon Paris hit a lay-up to pull the Miners within 53-51. He was fouled on the play and made the free throw as Mountain Ridge trailed by a single point. Four seconds later, Kelly helped keep the Miners in the game when he missed two free throws, but Fort Hill held on for the win.

Fort Hill trailed by seven after one quarter of play but led by that same margin with 3:36 left in the third quarter. Then things got interesting.

With a passionate crowd on hand - with fans supporting both teams - Mountain Ridge coach Dave Hobel called a time out with 3:29 to go in the third quarter in an attempt to get his athletes under control. Hobel knew the Miners had had several opportunities but their shots weren't going in.

"We tell our kids to get the best shot we can get," Hobel said. "We just quit making shots."

Fort Hill led 36-29 with 3:36 left to go in the third quarter after Garrett D'Atri, who scored a team-high 15 points, hit a 3-pointer. But Mountain Ridge ansswered. Junior Montana Bradley hit his own 3-pointer with 2:01 left in the third to pull the Miners within 36-32.

Fifty seconds later, Bradley - who finished with a game-high 19 points - dished off to Caleb Fazenbaker who hit a tre. Mountain Ridge trailed just 36-35 with 1:11 to play inthe third. After buckets by D'Atri and Kelly, the Bradley responded for the Miners by hitting a second 3-pointer. The third quarter ended with Fort Hill nursing a slim 40-38 lead.

Hobel said it was a good game to open the new season. Fort Hill coach Glenn Rice understood perfectly Hobel's situation. That's because Rice's Sentinels were in the same situation early on.

"I think we shot the ball too quick," Rice said of first-quarter play, after which the Miners held an 18-11 advantage. "When you shoot the ball quickly and don't make it, you're going to have more trouble with (Mountain Ridge)."

Rice attributed the lack of execution in the first quarter to anxiety and a high level of intensity. He knows Mountain Ridge will give his team another good game the next time the two teams are scheduled to meet on Jan. 21.

Kelly agreed with his coach about the early minutes. He said his team knew Mountain Ridge was "not a pushover" but that the Sentinels had expected to win by at least 10 points.

The Miners' speed and agility - and shot-making abilities early on - caught Kelly and Fort Hill off guard, he said.

"It surprised me," Kelly said. "I think it surprised everybody."