Leahy's buzzer-beater lifts Newmarket boys basketball past Wilton-Lyndeborough

WILTON - The Newmarket High School boys basketball team only needed two points, but when the Mules tried to go inside on the final possession of Friday's game against Wilton-Lyndeborough, nothing was there.

As the final seconds of overtime ticked away, the ball went around the perimeter and wound up in the hands of senior Sam Leahy, who had no choice but to throw up a shot from way behind the 3-point line. The ball kicked off the backboard and into the net, giving Newmarket a 57-55 win over Wilton-Lyndeborough.

The shot came after the Warriors' Jordan Litts forced overtime with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from just inside halfcourt, and after Matt Ducharme hit two free throws with 41.9 seconds left to give WLC (3-5) a 55-54 lead.

"Fortunately, we had the last buzzer beater and we had the win," Newmarket coach Jamie Hayes said. "We were trying to get it inside to the big guy and they did a good job collapsing on him. We stayed patient until we did get a good look. I wouldn't say it was a great look, but it was uncontested anyway."

Ryan Jarvis had a game-high 28 points for the Mules (4-4), including five 3-pointers, while Ian Bentley had 10 points and Leahy added nine.

With Jarvis scoring 17 of his points in the second half and overtime, WLC was looking to keep the ball out of his hands and stop Newmarket from getting inside.

"I thought defensively, we took out (Jarvis) and we put pressure inside the 3," WLC coach Ken Garnham said. "The kid chucked one up from seven or eight feet beyond the 3-point line and it went in. It was one of those things. It’s a tough ending, no question about it."

Litts led the Warriors with 27 points, including the 3 to send it to overtime and another buzzer-beater to end the third that gave WLC a 37-32 lead. But Newmarket opened the fourth quarter with a 13-2 run, which included two 3s by Jarvis, to go up 45-39 with 4:48 to play.

"There were time we needed to run an offense and we just chucked it around and took quick shots or threw it away," Garnham said. "It's a discipline that we haven't gotten yet, the idea that there are times where you just have to run your offense."

But after Bentley's two free throws gave Newmarket that six-point lead, it was time for the Mules to go cold, as they went more than four minutes without a point, allowing the Warriors to cut the lead to one, 45-44, on a layup by Ducharme.

Leahy made two free throws at the other end to push the lead back to three with 15.4, and Pratt missed a 3-pointer, but Litts was there for the putback to make it 47-46. The Warriors fouled Jarvis with 2.1 seconds left and the Newmarket senior made both to again make it a 3-point game.

WLC's Patrick Martin was able to get the ball to Litts near halfcourt and after one dribble, Litts let fly the game-tying 3-pointer.

"The shot he hit to tie it up was certainly one of the best shots I've ever seen at that point of the game," Garnham said.

"We just said you can't let the halfcourt shot take the momentum out of the game and it can't take away from what we did and what we wanted to do," Hayes said. "We made a lot of mental mistakes to put them in a situation where they could hit that shot. We just needed to clean that up."

Newmarket took a two-point lead in overtime on two free throws by Leahy, but the Warriors got four straight free throws from Litts and Pratt to go up 53-51. Jarvis answered with a 3-pointer that put Newmarket up one, but Ducharme made two more free throws to put the Warriors on top with 41.9 seconds left, setting up Leahy's game-winning heave.

"I don't think we played really well," Hayes said. "We had spurts where we looked like we knew what we were doing and then we had spurts of very basic mistakes. We were fortunate to come out with a win."