Mt. Abram boys basketball beats Spruce Mountain on last-second shot

Mt. Abram’s Owen Cook, center, and Kaiden Longley, right, rush to celebrate with teammate Chase Ross after Ross hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer. (Libby Kamrowski Kenny/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image

SALEM — The Mt. Abram boys basketball team was on the verge of a disappointing season opener before Chase Ross came through in the clutch.

The Roadrunners trailed by a point with six seconds left when Owen Cook made a pass from the post to Ross, who calmly took a shot from behind the 3-point arc. It swished through the net to give Mt. Abram a 48-46 win over Spruce Mountain in a Class C/D Mountain Valley Conference matchup.

“(Cook) got a really good rebound and that was huge,” Ross said. “Without that, I don’t hit that shot. My feet were set, I shot, and thankfully it went in. (The shot) felt pretty good. I didn’t shoot particularly well, but that one felt different from all the ones I missed.

“It’s awesome (to win). We knew (Spruce Mountain) was going to come in and compete, but we wanted to compete as well, and we were able to come out with the win.”

Ross scored eight points, all in the second half. Brennan Mitchell scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Roadrunners, who won the Class C state title last season.

Austin Armandi led the Phoenix with 19 points. Dylan Jewett added 14.

How did they get there?

Clutch shooting. After taking the lead midway through the first quarter, Mt. Abram led most of the contest and was up 44-37 after the third quarter. Jewett scored seven points in the fourth quarter as Spruce Mountain took the lead in the final two minutes.

With a minute left, Mt. Abram fouled Owen Kelvey, who missed both shots. After a timeout, the Roadrunners were able to set up Ross for the win.

“Spruce Mountain is a heck of a team, and we were worried about turnovers,” Mt. Abram coach Jeff Pillsbury said. “When (Spruce) turned it up late, they really dictated that fourth quarter. But Owen got a big rebound and skipped it to (Chase).”

What does it mean?

The win gets Mt. Abram off to a good start in Class D. Basketball realignment moved the Roadrunners down a class, but they will still play members of the Mountain Valley Conference, giving them a challenging schedule during the regular season.

“We’re in a tough conference, so I’m definitely worried about getting (to the top of the conference),” Pillsbury said. “Monmouth Academy comes down, and they’re really good. They rolled us two times this summer. You still have those teams to deal with.”

The Roadrunners beat Mattanawcook Academy 74-48 in March for the program’s first state championship. Mt. Abram graduated some key players, including Bryce Wilcox, but also has several returners, led by Mitchell and guard Killian Pillsbury.

“We have three (forwards), which is really big,” Mitchell said. “Two of them have really stepped up this year. We have two returning guards. A bunch of people are stepping up.”

Spruce Mountain moved to Class C from Class B and is expected to be in the hunt come tournament time.