Falmouth Academy Boys' Basketball Holds On To Win

By: Rich Maclone
Published: 12/17/10

 A back-and-forth affair went down to the final possession as the Falmouth Academy boys’ basketball team escaped a test from St. Andrew’s on Wednesday night.

Senior Lyon Van Voorhis blocked a lay-up attempt by Ryan Sweeney at the buzzer to preserve a 54-53 win for the Mariners. FA is now 5-3 on the season.

The game-saver was just one of several plays down the stretch that Van Voorhis made to help his team avoid what would have been a painfully memorable collapse. Falmouth had led by 12 points with nine minutes to play, but St. Andrew’s rode its pressing defense to come all the way back. St. A’s grabbed the lead late in the game and held a one-point edge on two occasions, but Falmouth found a way.

The visitors took the lead for the last time with 2:35 left when a pair of free throws by Steve Parr made it a 51-50 game for St. A’s. The Knights then forced another FA turnover near midcourt, which led to a good look from 3-point land, but the ball rimmed out and FA came away with the ball with a chance to get the lead back.

Guard Dan Eder, who has been playing injured recently, attempted just one shot all game long but picked his spot well as he rattled in a 3-pointer from the wing with 1:48 left to make it 53-51. The Knights battled back to tie it on their next possession, dropping in a jump shot with 1:29 left, making it 53-all. FA took the lead for good with 75 ticks left. Van Voorhis was fouled when St. A’s tried to trap him along the sideline, which awarded the forward a 1-and-1. He canned the first, putting FA on top by a point.

From that moment on neither team netted a basket. St. A’s missed a three and then FA held the ball for a long possession before Tom Aviles (24 points) missed a leaner with 18 seconds left. The visitors then called a timeout with 11 seconds left to set up a final shot. The play they drew up was ruined by Van Voorhis, who tipped the inbound pass into the backcourt and out of bounds, all the way down the floor. St. Andrew’s kept possession but now had to go the length of the floor with seven seconds to play. Considering the situation, St. A’s did well as they nearly won it at the buzzer. Parr got into the lane and got off a lay-up that rimmed off. Van Voorhis (16 points) tipped it out of bounds with one second left, and the game had one more play which Van Voorhis ended with his well-timed swat.

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