Hall’s clutch free-throws help Mascoutah hold off Highland for MVC victory
Quincy Hall was the right man at the right time for the Mascoutah basketball team Friday night.
Holding just a four-point lead over visiting Highland in the final 30 seconds, Hall — the Indians’ senior standout guard — stepped up big time.
Hall nailed three free throws to help host Mascoutah hold off a furious Highland rally and post a 57-53 win in the Mississippi Valley Conference opener for both teams.
Hall, who scored 11 points on the night, was glad he could help his team secure their first MVC win and move to 5-1.
“Me being a senior, I’ve got to calm us down and relax us. We’ve been in this situation before, so we knew what to expect,” Hall said. “We just had to stay calm and keep focused and get the dub.”
Mascoutah came out focused in the opening quarter building a 16-9 edge thanks to the scoring of 6-5 junior center Miles Ntekop and sophomore guard Jayden McCoo.
Ntekop was a handful for HHS (4-2, 0-1) as he led the Indians with 16 points.
“When our big boy Miles plays the way he did tonight, that opens everything up,” Mascoutah coach Cole Schomaker said. “That’s the best game he’s had in our program, and he was absolutely phenomenal.”
A 9-5 run keyed by a Ntekop bucket and a Jacob Jung three-ball pushed the lead to 25-16, and Mascoutah carried a 29-20 advantage into halftime.
Hall’s up-and-under layup stretched the lead to 14 points late in the third quarter, but a Jake Ottensmeier drive for two kicked off an 8-2 surge, pulling Highland within 41-33 at the end of the third quarter.
Mascoutah appeared to have the game put away up 13 with 3:38 to go, but the Bulldogs hit the Indians with a furious 12-3 run keyed by an Ottensmeier lay-in.
Ottensmeier, who scored a game-high 23 points, nailed a 3-pointer to pull the Bulldogs within 55-53 with 6.2 seconds left, but HHS could not get over the hump as Hall knocked down his final two foul shots to close the door.
Hall enjoyed closing out the game.
“I missed one earlier, so I knew I had to knock those down, and I knew if I hit both of those free throws, it’s a two-possession game,” he said.
Bulldogs coach weighs in
Highland coach Deryl Cunningham said he felt his team played pretty well, but hitting just 3-of-18 from the charity stripe cost the Bulldogs dearly.
“I thought the guys did a good job as Cade (Altadonna) got in foul trouble early and Braxdon (Decker) did a nice job (filling in) and we had a lot of guys make plays. Even the second half when we got down, we were making a push,” Cunningham said.
“As I told my guys, the free throw shooting, that was the difference in the game ... we’ve been a good free-throw shooting team and give Mascoutah credit, they’ve got some young kids and they did a good job,” he added.
Final thoughts
Corey Harris and McCoo also scored in double figures for the Indians with 11 and 10 points, respectively as Mascoutah had four double-figure scorers. Schomaker praised his team’s balance and unselfishness.
“We’ve got guys that can shoot and spread it around, and they’re so unselfish,” Schomaker said “They don’t care who gets the credit, are so unselfish and they’re a tight-knit group.”
Altadonna joined Ottensmeier in double figures with 10 points, and Grant Fleming chipped in 9 points for Highland.
