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 The Toppers led the Riverton Hawks for twenty-two minutes of play
before dropping the ball Friday night and eventually losing 43-39.
The Toppers jumped out to an early 8-1 lead over Riverton in the
first quarter, with all eight points coming from Matthew Amidon. A
steal and a basket by Beau Collier extended that lead to 10-1 and
rattled the Hawks' cage and forced Coach Kyle Weber to call a
timeout. Mount Pulaski would continue to play well and hold a 14-5
lead at the end of one quarter of play.
The Toppers stretched that lead to 18-5 on baskets by Peyton Taylor
and Dalton Litterly early in second quarter action. A three by
Michael Lowery and a basket by Blake Collier would give Mount
Pulaski its biggest lead of the night at 23-8. Riverton would close
that gap a little before the half, with the Toppers taking a 25-14
lead into the locker room.
Whatever Coach Weber said in the Riverton locker room at the half
sure got the Hawks stirred up as they hit the third quarter ready to
take flight. Following an early third quarter basket by Mount
Pulaski's Taylor, the Hawks went on a tear, scoring eleven straight
points and tying the game at 27-27 with 2:13 on the clock. Seconds
later, Lowery's drive thru the lane was good and the Toppers
regained the lead, 29-27. Not for long, however. Riverton's Ryan
Roscetti came right back and fired a jumper to tie the game again,
29-29. Taylor would swing the lead back into the Toppers favor as he
sunk two free throws with 4.9 seconds remaining in the third
quarter. With 1.4 seconds on the clock though Roscetti tossed up a
three, only to get fouled on the miss. He would go on to make all
three free throws and give the Hawks a 32-31 lead as the third
quarter came to a close.
Mount Pulaski had the possession of the ball to start the fourth
quarter and after running some time off the clock, Beau Collier
nailed a three to give the lead back to the Toppers, 34-32. It only
took Riverton thirty seconds to tie the score yet again, 34-34. Next
it was Beau Collier's turn to get fouled while shooting a three. He
calmly sank each of his free throws and Mount Pulaski again had the
lead, 37-34. Just when it looked like the Toppers were ready to make
a fourth quarter run, thanks to Beau Collier's quick six points,
things immediately changed. 6'5 Taylor was called for two fouls in
less than 25 seconds and he promptly headed to the bench. Blake
Suhling sank two of his free throws for Riverton at this moment and
the Hawks only trailed 37-36. Amidon, who had been quiet since the
first quarter, drove the baseline and got one to fall to extend the
Topper lead to 39-36 with 3:03 remaining in the game.
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Josh Gabriel's two free throws with 1:29 on the clock were good and
edged the Hawks closer, 39-38. Mount Pulaski would lose the ball in
the next possession and it would be Roscetti who would take
advantage of the Toppers error and promptly give the Hawks' fans
something to cheer loudly about, a 40-39 lead with just a minute to
play.
The Toppers did have another chance but turned the ball over with 39
seconds left. Mount Pulaski had no choice but to quickly foul and
once again Gabriel went to the line and made both shots. With
Riverton in the lead 42-39, Mount Pulaski panicked and just could
not get a good shot.
Riverton would rebound the ball and Lowery would foul Suhling, who
made one free throw to give the Hawks a 43-39 lead. With 11.9
seconds left the Toppers had one more chance to score but were
unsuccessful and a stunned Topper team had watched this one slip
away.
The Toppers were led by Matt Amidon with 10 points while Ryan
Roscetti led Riverton with 14 points.
Mount Pulaski falls to 11-9 on the season and Riverton improves to
14-5.
Mount Pulaski travels to Buffalo Tuesday night to take on Tri-City.
Mount Pulaski scoring vs. Riverton:
Amidon 10
Taylor 8
Beau Collier 8
Lowery 7
Litterly 4
Blake Collier 2
[Teena Lowery]
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