Going up for the rebound, Waterville’s Gabe Williams snatched the ball and held on despite attempts to pry it loose.
Williams collected some floor burns diving for loose balls in the game at Waterville vs. Mount Markham, but this time he stayed up to dump a pass to teammate Cole Pearsall. Pearsall, seeing two Mustangs set up camp under the Indians basket, pulled up and drained a 3-pointer that made good early in the fourth quarter.
That basket, part of a double-double night for the freshman with 10 points and 12 rebounds (he came close to a triple-double with 7 steals) gave the Indians a 43-40 lead. But Mount Markham tied it with their own 3-pointer on the next basket, erased a Waterville lead as high as eight points in the first half and took home a 59-51 win over Waterville.
The loss, the 11th for the Indians this season, came despite 27 points from Connor Marriott, who went 12-for-14 at the line, and another solid basket-to-basket game from Pearsall, whose presence anywhere near the basket cannot be ignored by opponents.
That was apparent once the game started after ceremonies to recognize Waterville’s three seniors: Justin Henty, Darren Johnson, Nathan Johnson. Pearsall had two steals in the first...