EASTHAMPTON — The No. 2-seeded Williston-Northampton boys basketball team saw its postseason end, 72-68, to No. 7 Belmont in the quarterfinals of the NEPSAC Class A Tournament, Wednesday.
The Wildcats finish their season 19-6, while Belmont (21-3) advances to the semifinals where it will play No. 3 Milton Academy.
“I thought we competed, I thought the guys played hard,” Williston coach Ben Farmer said. “I thought we adjusted really well for the most part and I just thought they made more plays than us down the stretch.”
Senior Filip Rebraca led the Wildcats with 22 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Garrett Sullivan chipped in 16, including three 3-pointers, while Josh McGettigan added 10.
Farmer thought that his squad did not matchup well with Belmont, which plays an up-tempo style that was difficult to simulate in practice. The second-year coach wasn’t worried about his team competing though.
“That was one thing that I knew the whole time, that this group is always going to fight,” Farmer said. “They were never going to quit so I always felt like we were in the game until the horn sounded.”
With 2 minutes, 38 seconds remaining in regulation, Rebraca battled inside for back-to-back baskets to pull the Wildcat within 60-55. Belmont inched ahead as a 3-pointer made it 69-55, but McGettigan answered with a 3-pointer on the other end as the clock wound down to under a minute.
Duncan LeXander added a pair of free throws with 47 seconds left, but the Wildcats still trailed 69-60. Following a defensive stop, Garrett Sullivan got hacked behind the 3-point line and hit all three foul shots to pull Williston within 69-63 with 29.3 seconds remaining.
With little time left the Wildcats started fouling. The strategy worked as Belmont went 10-for-21 from the free-throw line in the second half, missing often in the final minute.
After pulling within three after a pair of free throws from Mike Manley with 20.4 seconds left, Belmont added one more free throw to secure the victory.
“We just had to play with composure, with (Belmont’s) style they try and speed you up. I thought in the first half they accomplished that, we took some quick shots and I thought our shot selection was a little iffy,” Farmer said. “In the second half we settled in a little bit more. We had some better possessions and we didn’t let them take us out of what we wanted us to do.”
Rebraca knocked down a long 3-pointer to tie the contest at 21 with 2:22 left before halftime. Belmont then took command with back-to-back 3-pointers for a 27-21 lead going into the second half.
“(Rebraca) plays so hard, he competes and he fights,” Farmer said. “That’s a tough game for him because the way they sped us up. They don’t play a traditional defense, so for a kid like Filip that’s a tough game to play in but I thought he adjusted and found ways to impact the game.”
Belmont was led by a 39-point performance from senior Jovan Jones, including six 3-pointers. David Mitchell chipped in 18 points.
“It was a great year, it was a special season. These guys have a ton to be proud of. I thought they represented the school incredibly well,” Farmer said. “I’ll remember these guys forever. It was a great bunch of kids who really enjoyed playing with each other.”