Miracle Overtime Buzzer-Beater Sends Newbury Past Eagles
Nashua – Two seconds can seem like a lifetime. Unfortunately for the Eagles men’s basketball team, they found that out the hardest way imaginable Thursday night.
Two seconds away from forcing a second overtime after Eagle freshman Chris Hanson (Salem, Mass.) sank two pressure-packed free throws to tie the game at 97, Newbury guard Steve Morris (Somerville, Mass.) answered with a 75-foot miracle that hit nothing but net as the buzzer sounded giving the visiting Nighthawks a stunning 100-97 victory in a wild matchup of future New England Collegiate rivals at a raucous Vagge Gymnasium.
Morris, who had initially forced overtime knocking down a three pointer with 21 seconds to play in regulation, took the inbounds pass from Javon Mathis (Plainville, Conn.) and heaved the ball from the far right corner knocking down the longest shot recorded in Vagge Gymnasium history in a regular season game.
The win was the eighth straight for the Nighthawks (17-7), while the Eagles (7-17) dropped their fourth straight.
Kevin Cleveland (Lynn, Mass.) led all scorers for Newbury pouring in 28 points, going 13 of 16 from the field and added 12 rebounds. Arch Mitchell (Framingham, Mass.) knocked down 21, while Mathis chipped in with 18. Morris finished with 14.
Hanson led Daniel Webster with 19 points including five three-pointers, while Adam Landry (Vernon, Conn.) knocked down five more from outside on the way to 18 points. Tim Jackson (West Henrietta, N.Y.) added 11 while Steve Savage (Salem, N.H.) chipped in with 10.
Senior Eagle captain Ryan Middlemiss (Methuen, Mass.), playing in his final home game and honored in a pregame ceremony, dished out a game and career best nine assists and added eight rebounds and five points.
Newbury led by six (44-39) at the half and by as many as 13 in the second before a pair of wild swings led to overtime.
Trailing by 11 at 74-63 with 9:09 to go in regulation, the Eagles mounted a furious comeback with an 18-5 run consuming 4:24 to take the lead. Hanson knocked down a three with 6:34 left for a 77-74 Newbury lead, followed with another with 5:11 to go to cut it to one, and Landry added another for an 81-79 lead with 4:45 left.
After building the lead to 88-81 with 2:18 to after a Hanson jumper, Newbury responded with a wild finish to force overtime. After Cleveland buried two free throws, he followed with a lay up with 1:21 left setting up Morris’s first heroics.
Newbury opened the extra session with the first six points thanks to a dunk and layup from Cleveland.
Trailing by five (97-92) with 51 seconds left, Jackson knocked down a three with 40 seconds to go and Middlemiss followed with a steal of Morris with 16 seconds left.
Hanson was then fouled outside the arc and sank both freebies with 2.1 seconds to go, setting up the Morris miracle.
The Eagles, who still own the eighth and final playoff spot for the upcoming GNAC tournament, close their regular season Saturday at Rivier beginning at 1:00 p.m. The Eagles hold a one-game lead over Mount Ida for the final spot. Mount Ida travels to Lasell for a 1:00 p.m. matchup. The Eagles can clinch a tournament spot with a victory or a Mount Ida loss.
Newbury travels to Green Mountain Saturday for the four-team Association of Division III Independents Northeast championships. The Nighthawks face future NECC rival Southern Vermont at 5:30 p.m.
