Falmouth High freshman Nicco Pitre admitted he got a little tired during the second overtime but never felt the stage was too big Friday night in a Class A South boys’ basketball quarterfinal against York at the Portland Expo.
Pitre, the only substitute the Yachtsmen used, scored seven of his team-high 17 points in the second overtime as the fourth-seeded Yachtsmen outlasted fifth-ranked York, 62-56.
“I’ve played in a lot of big games in AAU. It’s a team thing,” said Pitre, who already had totaled his most minutes in a varsity game by the time regulation ended.
“I mean, six periods is a lot. I started cramping in my calves.”
Falmouth (10-9) advanced to the semifinals against top-ranked Greely (19-0), which defeated eighth-seeded Fryeburg Academy 68-53 in the second quarterfinal at the Expo. They will meet at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Cross Insurance Arena.
Falmouth made 25 of 38 free throws.York (11-8) was 10 of 18 at the line.
Sam Manganello scored 15 points, Nik Hester had 12 and Jack Bryant added 11 for Falmouth, including six consecutive free throws in the fourth quarter, the last two with five seconds left to force the game to overtime.
“Make it or don’t make it, he’s the guy you want there,” said Falmouth Coach Dave Halligan. “He’s a senior captain and he’s the reason why we’re here. You know, we really shouldn’t be here if you look at all the things that happened to us.”
Before the season, Falmouth lost two expected starters – Nikko DePatsy and Michael Simonds – to season-ending injuries. Then its top inside reserve, Emmett Hamilton, was hurt, turning a seven-man rotation into just six.
York had its own difficulties, primarily because Paul Marquis was hired to be the coach just days before practice started after the controversial dismissal of Randy Small.
York countered Falmouth’s short bench with a flurry of reserves, using 12 players. It was freshman Brady Cummins who got hot, scoring 11 of his team-high 13 points in the fourth quarter and overtimes before becoming one of the three York players to foul out.
“That just kind of shows a little bit about who we are,” said Marquis. “It was the next man up, and with foul trouble and guys fouling out in overtime, guys just made plays.”
Cummins had seven points in a fourth-quarter flurry as York forced several turnovers and overcame a seven-point deficit. With Chris Cummins (11 points) making a clutch jumper in the lane and then 1 of 2 free throws, York had a 47-45 lead with 13 seconds left before he committed his fifth foul on Bryant.
In the first overtime, Bryant and Hester missed tips at the rim in the final seconds, resulting in a 51-51 tie and second overtime.
On his way back to the bench, Bryant smiled. He said he was thinking how he and Hester tried to tip the ball instead of going up strong with two hands as they practice daily.
“I was thinking it just shows you have to do the things you practice in the game, but I also knew we could keep playing and win it in the (next) overtime,” Bryant said.
Steve Craig can be reached at 791-6413 or:
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