H.S. basketball: Frontier Regional boys basketball edges Greenfield in rematch (Video)

GREENFIELD — A late basket by Max Millette gave the Frontier Regional boys basketball team a 59-57 win over Greenfield on Wednesday night. The final quarter featured eight lead changes at a raucous Nichols Gymnasium.

The clutch basket was only one of the things he did to help secure the win in the final minute. The next play came on the defensive end for Millette. With 27 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Millette got to his spot in the paint and scored through a double team in the Hampshire North contest.

“I pivoted,”Millette said. “I saw the rim. I didn’t want to kick that out. I wanted the shot. I thought there was a lot of contact. But I don’t really know how it went in either. Guess it evened out.”

With the win, Frontier (15-1, 10-0) clinched at least a share of the Hampshire North League championship. With one more win or one more Greenfield (11-5, 8-2) loss, the Redhawks will clinch outright.

“It was definitely nerve-wracking,” Millette said. “Based on how the last game went I don’t think any of us were expecting that. It was fun honestly. That’s the game you want to be in. When it got to that point I think a lot of us just stopped thinking. I definitely did. I was just playing. That’s when the better team is going to win. “

With six seconds left in the game, Greenfield had one more offensive possession. The ball went to Grayson Thomas who immediately saw a double team. Thomas moved it to Conner Bergeron who attempted a 3-pointer, but Millette got a piece of the shot.

“Something Josh (Morse) always preaches is that you win the game on defense,” Millette said. “So I can make a miracle shot like that. All luck, but that [block] was discipline. That’s focus. I think that’s the one that earned us the win. Not the crazy, lucky shot on the other end.”

Frontier defeated Greenfield 70-48 on Jan. 8. The tenor of the game was completely different compared to the match up at Goodnow Gymnasium.

“Give them (Greenfield) credit,” Frontier coach Josh Morse said. “They played hard. That’s what it takes to win games. I didn’t think we played at our best but part of that is them. They forced us to not play our best. The big thing for us is that we got the stops when we needed them.”

Thomas finished with 27 points. The sophomore only had four points at halftime. Thomas scored 11 points on three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. With Thomas shooting poorly in the first half, Gavin Arsenault kept Greenfield close with 12 of his 14 points coming in the first 16 minutes. Bergeron added 11 points for the Green Wave.

Things unraveled quickly in the first game against the Redhawks. Greenfield steadied itself in the rematch.

“We didn’t get too emotional when things didn’t go our way,” Greenfield coach Angelo Thomas said. “Just being more mentally tough…for the most part I thought we did that tonight. The biggest difference was the mental toughness part of it.”

Bergeron’s strong take to the rim gave Greenfield a 55-54 lead with three minutes, 13 seconds left in the game. It was the final time Greenfield held a lead. Millette scored moments later to make the score 56-55 with 2:35 left. Malik Moore’s offensive rebound and putback tied the game, 57-57, with 45 seconds left.

Garrett Dredge was the primary defender of Thomas, but dealt with foul trouble in the second half. Dredge finished with eight points.

The game featured dueling students sections constantly chirping at each other. Some Greenfield students, led by Luca Siano, set up an ESPN announcing booth featuring dry erase boards, clipboards and non-functioning headsets.