ORANGE — Down by one with 1 minute, 16 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Quabbin Inc.’s Morgan Softic faked a shot and as the defender jumped and overshot Softic, he netted the jumper to give his team a one-point lead.
Teammate Noah Bailey then netted a jumper just eight seconds after Softic’s to seal a 27-25 victory over the Senator Boosters, Monday afternoon in Orange Recreation Association action.
Trailing 27-24, Senator Boosters’ Aidan Barilone netted one free throw in the final minute. A half-court shot at the buzzer by the Boosters did not fall.
Barilone gave Senator a 24-23 lead with a free throw with 2:56 left in the fourth quarter. After teammate Dylan Young tied the game at 21 to start the fourth quarter, Barilone put his team up 23-21 with a pair of free throws. Bailey tied the game at 23 with 4:17 left with a jumper.
Quabbin Inc. trailed at the half 17-13, but an 8-2 run during the third quarter gave it a 21-19 lead going into the fourth. Joey Walker scored four points for Quabbin Inc. during that time, while Bailey scored two points and had five rebounds. Bailey had 17 rebounds in the game.
Quabbin Inc. held an 8-6 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Barilone started the second with a free throw followed by a basket from underneath to give the Senator Boosters a 9-8 lead. The two teams then traded baskets. Derek Collins netted a jumper to put Senator up 13-10. Bailey cut the lead to one with a basket of his own. The Boosters received baskets from Kaden Vescovi and Barilone to go up 17-12.
Tied at four in the first quarter, Bailey gathered in an offensive rebound and put the ball back up for a 6-4 lead. He scored again to put his team up by four when teammate Michael Gemelli fed him a great bounce pass from underneath the hoop.
With 1:55 left in the third quarter, Gemelli generated a steal by swiping up at the ball while the Boosters were taking it up court. Gemelli forced the ball loose and jumped on it, while his coach called a timeout.
For Quabbin Inc.: Noah Bailey, 14; Joey Walker, 6; Morgan Softic, 5; Michael Gemelli, 2.
For Senator Boosters: Aiden Barilone, 11; Anthony Gallo, 4; Kaden Vescovi, 2; Derek Collins, 2; Trey Gallo, 2, Dylan Young, 2; Gavin Young, 2.