Spartans Blow Past Clippers Get Over Quarter-Final Hump

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. -- The Monument Mountain boys basketball team Saturday delivered the knockout blow in the opening minutes of the third quarter en route to a 76-41 win over Cohasset in the Division 4 State Quarter-Finals in front of a packed house.

 

Manny Brown scored 28 points, and Griffin McElroy finished with 17 points, 12 rebounds and six assists as the fifth-seeded Spartans advanced to face No. 1 seed Holland School of Technology of Boston this week in the Final Four.

 

It was a furious four minutes for Monument Mountain coming out of the locker room to start the second half.

 

The Spartans used an 11-0 run to expand a 36-19 half-time lead and all but put the game out of reach.

 

“Taconic, Clinton and PHS, we lost a lot of leads in the past, so we know: Don’t get complacent, just play our game and just come out firing,” Brown said. “We came out in the [third] quarter like it’s a 0-0 game and played our game.

 

“We emphasize the first four minutes of every quarter, and we really put it to them that four minutes. I think we scored 30 in that quarter, and that was a statement. Now we’ve got to get our revenge against Burke in the next game.”

 

Last year, Holland, named Burke High School at the time, upset Monument Mountain, 90-60, in the quarter-finals.

 

On Saturday, Spartan 1,000-point scorer Brown had a modest nine points in the first half but took control of the game to start the third. He scored the first points of the half in transition, then took a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast for another fast break basket and got a steal that turned into an and-one at the other end for seven straight points and a 43=19 lead.

 

Brown ended up with 15 points in the quarter.

 

“The third quarter was amazing,” Monument Mountain coach Randy Koldys said. “We’ve had two third quarters this year where we came out and were so good – the one against Granby and then tonight.

 

“It was the difference in the game. Puts us up big, and we kind of coasted home a little bit. We’ll take it. Anything you can do to get to the Final Four, we’ll take. Third time was a charm. This is the third year in a row we’ve been [in the quarter-finals], and we got it done this year.”

 

McElroy knocked down a 3-pointer in each quarter of the game but did his biggest offensive damage early, scoring 11 and passing out five assists in the first half.

 

His triple off an assist from Brown late in the first quarter gave Monument Mountain a double-digit lead for good at 18-6.

 

The teams traded blows most of the second quarter, which ended when McElroy set up Brown for a 3-pointer to send the Spartans into the locker room on top, 36-19.

 

Monument Mountain was forced to play much of the first half without center Dom Calautti, who finished with nine rebounds and five assists.

 

“The two Finns came through for us right there,” Koldys said, referring to Finn Wheeler and Finn Mason. “Both those guys had to come in in a tough spot right there and did a great job. And the lead actually went up after the first quarter.”

 

McElroy also pointed to the contributions from Wheeler and Mason.

 

“Everybody has to step up a little and play a little bit bigger than they are,” McElroy said of the adjustment when Calautti sat. “I had to switch over to their big guy. And we had both the Finns come off the bench, and they held their own for sure.

 

“Every day, Finn Mason and Finn Wheeler are guarding Dom in practice. So when they have to go against a guy, when Dom subs out with two fouls, they’re ready for that. I think we’re always ready to take that challenge, and the second quarter proved it.”

 

After the Spartans dominated the early part of the third quarter, they ended the period with an exclamation point in the final minute.

 

A Cohasset turnover led to a transition bucket for Christian Blanchard (13 points) and Brown scored four straight, the last two at the free throw line with .9 seconds left in the quarter.

 

Isaiah Keefner scored seven of his 14 points in the third, which ended with Monument MOuntain on top, 67-21.

 

With that kind of a margin and knowing that all remaining games will be played at neutral sites, Koldys had a chance to manage the fourth quarter substitutions and get each of his regulars a standing ovation from the crowd as they left the game one-by-one.

 

After the final horn, the Monument Mountain players collected their Final Four trophy and made a beeline for the student section to celebrate with their classmates.

 

“The community that I’ve had here over my time at Monument has been amazing,” McElroy said. “The community always supports. There’s really nothing like it.

 

“If I’m having a bad game, I want to give it my all, because I know they’re going to support me through everything and all my ups and downs. I love the Spartan community and the Housy Hoops community, too, that comes out and supports. I can’t thank them enough for everything.”