LISBON FALLS

At the start of the fourth quarter in Monday night’s boys high school basketball game at Lisbon High School, it didn’t sound like Oak Hill was playing its first road game in Lisbon’s new gym.

The Raiders had just reeled off a 9-0 run, erasing what was a dominant third frame for the Greyhounds, and their visiting fans were through the roof.

But the hosts had one more run left in them — a game-deciding run.

Down five, Noah Carter followed a Tyrese Joseph bucket with a clutch trey to tie the game at 43. Then, after a Raiders turnover, sophomore Jonah Sautter raced down the court and earned a home crowd-pleasing hoop-and-harm to rip the lead from Oak Hill’s grasp for good.

The Raiders didn’t score again, sending Carter and Sautter to the line to seal the deal with five more points. The Greyhounds scored the last 12 points of the game to emphatically capture the Mountain Valley Conference Game, 50-43 and clinch a Class B South playoff spot.

“Motivation? Right there!” Carter, who finished with a game-high 19 points, said of the final fun. “First time Lisbon is going to go somewhere in the playoffs, and it was on all of our minds. We just did it.”

Turnover struggles

Lisbon (9-8) was plagued by 17 turnovers in the first half, with Oak Hill (5-12) controlling the second frame and taking a five-point lead into the break, 24-19.

But, Carter, who was held scoreless until the final minute of the half, hit a 3- pointer that pulled the Greyhounds within three and sparked a burst in the second half. The 5-foot-5 guard opened the third quarter with two treys and 10 points total, putting Lisbon right back in the thick of things.

“We were able to clean it up going into the second half,” Lisbon coach Jake Gentle said. “We were able to convert some easy looks, and defensively we just came out a little bit stronger and were able to hold them down a little bit.”

“Definitely slowing it down more,” Carter said of his team’s second-half turnaround. “We’re a much better team when we can just slow it down and get the ball moving. We weren’t really doing that in the first half at all. Being able to do that really helped us out.”

Down 36-34 heading into the fourth quarter, Oak Hill, behind 17 points from Connor Elwell, responded with the 9-0 run to put Lisbon on its heels. Jonah Martin hit a trey to get the spell started.

Behind their home fans, Greyhounds Carter, Sautter fired right back.

“We played as tough as we could,” Oak Hill coach Tom Smith said. “It’s a hostile environment. They just put a run on, and we didn’t respond to it. A couple fouls hurt us and they moved the ball. They scored easy layups.”

Josh Huston and Joseph split 18 points for Lisbon, with Sautter controlling the boards and reeling in 13 rebounds.

“We just knew that we weren’t playing as well offensively as we needed to play,” Gentle said. “A lot of that was Oak Hill’s pressure defense. They came out with a lot of energy and took away a lot of the looks that we were trying to get. Give them credit. They played a tremendous defensive game in that first half.”

Senior Dalton Therrien chipped in with nine points for Oak Hill, with Martin tallying eight and center Marcus Bailey adding seven boards and a pair of steals. The Raiders managed 26-percent shooting from the floor.

“These guys have really been working hard because they want to get to the tournament,” said Smith, whose Raiders entered Monday’s contest just outside the Class B South playoff picture. “Patience has come a long way. Moving the ball, we started to really buckle down on defense and dig in. It’s starting to pay dividends.”

Joseph pulled in nine boards for Lisbon, which turned it over just five times in the second half. Carter hit four triples.

“You want to be playing your best basketball going into the playoffs, and I feel we’re getting close to that,” Gentle said. “We still have some things we need to clean up and we have one more game to help rectify those situations.”

The Greyhounds will close their regular season with a home game against St. Dom’s on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Lisbon 50,
Oak Hill 43

Monday, at Lisbon High School
Oak Hill — 12 12 10 9 — 43
Lisbon — 11 8 17 14 — 50
Oak Hill — Dalton Therrien 3-2-9,
Jonah Martin 3-1-8, Connor Elwell 6-
5-17, Darryn Bailey 1-2-5, Marcus
Bailey 2-0-4, Matt Strout 0-0-0,
Austin Noble 0-0-0, Connor Nilsson
0-0-0. Totals — 15-10-43.
Lisbon — Jonah Sautter 2-3-7, Noah
Carter 5-5-19, Troy Galarneau 3-0-6,
Josh Huston 4-0-9, Tyrese Joseph 4-
1-9, Lucas Francis 0-0-0. Totals —
18-9-50.
3-point field goals — (OH) Dalton
Therrien, Jonah Martin, Darryn Bailey; (L) Noah Carter 4, Josh Huston.
Records — Lisbon 9-8, Oak Hill 5-
12.
Up next for the Greyhounds —
Wednesday at home against St.
Dom’s, 7 p.m.

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