Mt. Ararat senior Nick Brady guards Freeport senior Conner Smith in Tuesday’s game. Smith led all scorers with 23 points and made the winning shot with less than three seconds remaining. Cooper Sullivan/The Times Record

TOPSHAM — In the final high school basketball game of Conner Smith’s career, the Freeport senior guard made six 3-pointers. None were bigger than the last.

Freeport trailed by two with 13.3 seconds left when Smith rebounded the second of two missed foul shots by Mt. Ararat. He pushed the ball up court to Bryce Dwyer, who traced the 3-point line from right to left, bringing his defender with him. That left plenty of space and enough time on the clock for Smith to catch and shoot, and give Freeport a one-point lead.

Mt. Ararat (4-13) drew up one final inbounds play with 2.4 seconds left, but the running 3-point attempt hit the backboard and Freeport (5-13) won, 48-47.

“Hit some shots in the first quarter (because) my teammates were able to set me up,” Smith said. “I think just throughout the whole game, I was kind of looking for that shot, but the end was probably the most open shot.”

Smith led all scorers with 23 points and added four rebounds and a steal.

Mt. Ararat started the game on a 10-0 run, led by 11 at halftime and stayed in front until the final shot.

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“I thought we played well on (Smith),” Mt. Ararat coach David Dubreuil said. “He hit some great shots, contested shots, a lot of them. Their other guys stepped up and had big games, and that’s what really hurt us the most part.”

Senior forward Eben Lyons scored nine points for Freeport, and sophomore guard Ben Albertini added eight points. Senior forward Alex Berry had six assists and grabbed three rebounds.

“They know it’s their last game,” Freeport coach Tyler Tracy said. “There’s no tournament for us, but (Berry) had those big steals at the end. Eben Lyons was just the man on the boards and great defensively. (He) created some opportunities to help us get back in. Bryce Dwyer was just his consistent self, and he was the one that drew two defenders to kick the ball out to Conner to hit the 3 , so I’m really proud of all four (seniors).

“It’s a little bittersweet now, because reality set in that this is my last time with them, but I’m glad that they went out on this high.”

After an overall flat first half, Smith said Freeport’s ability to rely on its defense allowed it the confidence to close the gap offensively. In the second half, the Falcons outscored the Eagles, 25-13.

“We just wanted to go as hard as we could for those last 16 minutes,” Smith said.

Senior forward Andrew Clemons led Mt. Ararat with 19 points, three rebounds and three blocks. Senior guard Caleb Murphy added 10 points, five rebounds and three assists. Senior guard Logan Dubuc contributed six points.

Mt. Ararat’s regular-season finale against Brunswick was moved from Thursday to Friday due to the forecast for inclement weather. A doubleheader with the girls teams will kick off at 5 p.m., and the boys are scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

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