With a calmness that comes when hitting shots in the basketball net in the driveway on a summer’s day, Connor Marriott lofted the ball towards the Waterville basket.
No matter that just 1 seconds showed on the clock. No matter that one Sauquoit Valley player bumped him, and another came close enough to tell what brand of toothpaste Marriott uses. The ball nestled into the net as the buzzer marked the end of the third quarter.
Marriott and his Waterville teammates held off a furious Sauquoit rally last week at Waterville to beat the visiting Indians 58-51 and win their fifth game of the year.
The Indians traveled to Sherburne-Earlville and lost 48-37 to drop to 5-8.
Waterville used a 24-point first quarter to keep the lead throughout minus once in the third quarter. Sauquoit came back from a 32-23 halftime deficit to outscore Waterville 13-2 to start the second half and take a 36-34 lead.
Then Jake Neff hit what is becoming his signature shot - a straight up move to put the ball on the rim for a sure two points - and tied the game. The junior scored a career-high 19 points in the win.
Marriott had 18 points and assisted on 20 other points for the winning Indians with 10 assists for a double-double. He put Waterville up for good midway through…