Gilford pulls off come back to beat Mascoma Valley in D3 boys basketball final (video)

KEENE – Mark Uicker stood on the court of Keene State College’s Spaulding Gymnasium, disbelief still on his face.

A Division III championship medal hung around his neck, and moments before, he’d been celebrating with his Gilford High School boys basketball teammates and posing for pictures with the championship plaque.

And yet …

“I still can't even believe what just happened,” Uicker said.

What happened was a championship game the senior and his teammates, and many in the Gilford community, will be talking about for a while.

Down 22 points to No. 2 Mascoma Valley in the third quarter, and 15 points going into the fourth, the fourth-seeded Golden Eagles came back to tie the game at the end of regulation, took their first lead in overtime, and survived to beat the Royals 57-55 to win the program's fifth title in seven seasons Saturday night.

“This was special,” Gilford coach Rick Acquilano said. “It’s not that other groups weren’t special. This group has come further than a lot of people would have given us credit. We had a lot of work to do.”

That was true of the championship game, too, as Gilford (19-3) went into halftime down 30-12 and still trailed 36-14 after back-to-back 3-pointers by Mascoma's Brayden Pierce (21 points, eight rebounds) with just under six minutes left in the third.

The Golden Eagles did it by turning to sophomore Owen Hawkins, who finished with a game-high 25 points, 20 of which came after halftime. Hawkins hit four 3-pointers and was also 9 of 10 at the free throw line, including a pair to tie the game with 3.5 seconds left in regulation and to win it with 9.2 seconds remaining in overtime.

“Dating back to our semifinal game, I hit some (free throws) to win it, too,” Hawkins said of feeling any pressure on those free throws. “It was being in the moment, being used to it, taking advantage of it, just being able to knock them down late. My teammates are at my back if I miss them.”

Uicker and Henry Sleeper each had 11 points, with Uicker adding four steals and Sleeper grabbing eight rebounds.

“We have so many guys  that can score,” Uicker said. “Between me, between Owen, between Henry, we’ve really got a three-headed monster over here. That didn’t show with the day I was having, but man, Owen really stepped up for us.”

While Gilford's defense started to slow down Mascoma midway through the third quarter, the offense didn't pick up until a buzzer-beating 3 by Hawkins to end the frame.

That made it 40-25 Royals going into the fourth, and it started Hawkins on a personal 8-0 run, as he opened the quarter with a jump shot and another 3 to make it a 10-point game. Uicker followed with a jumper and Sleeper scored off a steal to make it 40-34 and force a Mascoma timeout with 6:25 remaining.

But the Royals turned the ball over - one of 20 in the second half and overtime - and after a foul, Gavin Forest (seven points) made a pair of free throws to put the run at 15-0 and cut the Mascoma lead to four.

“We just started applying a little pressure, and I think they got, I don’t know if complacent is the right word,” Acquilano said. “You’ve got to be careful trying to eat the clock with that much time left. I thought we just did a good job of applying pressure, but we turned them over and over again to start the fourth quarter. We started capitalizing and everything just kind of flowed.”

Bryce Ballou (19 points, seven rebounds, five assists, four steals) finally ended the Royals' scoring drought with a basket, but Sleeper came right back with another bucket. It was a 46-41 lead for Mascoma when Hawkins hit two more free throws, and after a timeout, hit 3 to tie the game with 1:30 remaining.

Aidan Hemmerling put the Royals back in front on a layup with about 40 seconds to go and Mascoma came up with a stop to try to put the game away. With four fouls still to give, Gilford watched as seven seconds ticked off the clock before finally putting Mascoma in the bonus.

Colin Myers (11 points, nine rebounds, three blocks) went to the line with 13 seconds left, but missed both free throws and Gilford got the rebound. The Royals then fouled Hawkins with 3.5 seconds left and the sophomore sent the game to overtime.

Hawkins hit another free throw to open the extra session to give the Golden Eagles their first lead, 49-48, but a basket by Myers and two free throws from Ballou gave Mascoma a 52-49 lead.

Uicker answered with a 3-pointer to tie the game, and after two missed free throws by Mascoma, the senior scored to give Gilford a 54-52 lead. Sleeper added a free throw in the final minute for a three-point advantage, but the Royals weren't done.

Pierce was fouled by Forest on a 3-point attempt with 15.9 seconds to go in overtime and hit all three free throws to tie the game again at 55.

But again, the Royals sent Hawkins to the line with 9.2 seconds to go and he hit both. Mascoma was able to get a final shot off, but a 3-point attempt by Hemmerling was off the mark and time ran out before the rebound was secured.

“We were down big and coach was just saying this isn’t over,” Hawkins said. “We just had to claw back, take it one possession at a time. We had to get good shots, don’t turn the ball, play defense and get stops.”