The Microwave: Carpenter heats up in a flash and helps Sullivan County boys defeat Montgomery

MONTGOMERY–It all started innocent enough. Ben Carpenter drained a free throw which closed the third quarter and put Sullivan County up four points.

Then he opened the fourth with a pull-up 3-pointer. Then he made a steal and fed Riley King for a 3-point play. Next, Carpenter again found King for a layup before blocking a shot, grabbing the rebound and going coast to coast while converting another 3-point play.

In just 82 seconds, Carpenter not only helped Sullivan County break open a close game Tuesday night, but also showed how complete a player he has become. He had a hand in 11 straight points bridging the third and fourth quarters, scored a career-high 26 and added seven rebounds while helping the Griffins defeat Montgomery, 66-45. Carpenter made six straight second-half shots at one point and was tough defensively as well, making three steals and blocking two shots.

“It’s really just my teammates,” Carpenter said. “Everyone was playing well, and they were doing a good job getting me the ball and putting me in a position to score.”

Carpenter is right. His teammates also shined with three scoring in double figures and Tucker Blasi playing tremendous defense off the bench. But he also sold himself short. The junior guard is enjoying a breakout year and everything which has made him such a quality player was on display against upset-minded Montgomery on a Gold Out night there.

In addition to guarding multiple players, Carpenter also scored in seemingly every way possible. He was outstanding attacking the basket, hit some mid-range jumpers, frequently earned free throw opportunities and added a 3-pointer. He is continuing to evolve as a player and Carpenter is a big reason Sullivan (9-7) finds itself sitting at No. 2 in the District 4 Class A standings.

“I’m a junior now, so I feel like I should be stepping up,” Carpenter said. “My teammates are the one who are the helping the game slow down for me. We’ve been playing together for so long and we play really well together, and they help me out a lot.”

“We have a couple guys that can run the show offensively and Ben has become such a versatile defensive player for us this year,” Sullivan coach Glenn Vaughan said. “One of his biggest contributions to our team is I can put him on almost any type of basketball player, and he can guard them and bother them. It was good to see him go strong to the basket tonight and it was a really nice game for him.”

This was a fiercely fought contest as Montgomery (7-8) kept fighting back whenever Sullivan tried asserting itself the first three quarters. The lead changed hands seven times during that time and Montgomery held a one-point lead early in the third. It was still a three-point game in the closing seconds of the third when Carpenter was fouled under the basket as time expired and made a free throw.

Nobody knew that shot was ignite a torrid streak, but Carpenter, who opened the season by making a game-winning buzzer beater against Troy, went into overdrive from there. His baseline jumper put Sullivan County up, 55-40 two minutes into the quarter and made it 13 straight Griffin points that he was a part of. Carpenter’s play was contagious as well and Sullivan played a near perfect fourth quarter, making 8 of 10 shots while going on a 23-4 run.

“Ben has had a number of games where we’ve needed him to step up big, whether it’s offense or defense. Tonight, it was a little bit of both,” Vaughan said. “Especially offensively tonight, he stepped up and sort of got the ship going in the right direction.”

Although the result was not what Montgomery wanted, the Red Raiders also have been steering the ship well. Four starters graduated from last year’s playoff team, including 1,000-point scorer Logan Almeida. Still, the Red Raiders have come a long way and entered Tuesday’s game riding a three-game winning streak.

Rumors of a rejuvenated program’s demise following a second straight playoff appearance were greatly exaggerated.

“I think people felt we were going to be a four-win team for the whole year. I tell everybody we’re better than people think, but not as good as I think we can be,” Montgomery coach Junior Parrish said. “They’re learning and they’re getting better. I tell them every day just get a little better.”

Montgomery has followed that advice and younger players have come along, while seniors have adapted to new roles. Parrish has helped fuel a resurgence for what was once a dormant program and the expectations have not changed. The Raiders are fighting for a District 4 Class AA spot and can earn that if they play well down the stretch.

Building off Tuesday’s performance would go a long way in making that happen. The Raiders gave the Mid Penn East Division’s second-place team all it could handle and took turns exchanging leads with it throughout the first half. The Griffins went up seven in the third quarter, but Saafir Stewart Williams (13 points) drained three 3-pointers and pulled Montgomery within one. Hayden Wilt scored nine points, Noah Gearhart (8 points) dealt four assists and Montgomery entered the fourth quarter looking more than capable of pulling off a big win.

It did not happen, but Montgomery continued taking steps forward despite the result.

“Something like this game will, hopefully, push our younger guys to keep getting better,” Parrish said. “They’ve made massive strides. It’s one thing to be a controlled team; it’s another thing to be controlled and trust your instincts and I think we’re starting to get to the point where they’re starting to trust their instincts, too. They’re making moves that aren’t just robotic.”

Rayne Parrish is having a strong senior season for Montgomery and gave it a boost with two quick 3-pointers in the first quarter which put his team ahead. At that point, Vaughan made slowing the team’s leading scorer the top defensive priority. Different players took turns face guarding Parrish, but it was Blasi who stuck like glue to him most of the time.

The freshman has been developing into a strong contributor off the bench and put on a defensive clinic Tuesday. Blasi never left Parrish alone and played a monster role in limiting him to just three more shots until late in the fourth quarter.

“Tucker is a really focused competitive person in general, and on the basketball court he is no different,” Vaughan said. “I just kind of felt like let’s try and take Rayne out of the game because he’s a heck of a player and Tucker accepted that challenge with his toughness and his work ethic. His motor never stops.”

Trey Higley helped power that Sullivan motor as well and produced a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. King again stuffed the stat sheet, scoring 12 points, grabbing six rebounds and dealing four assists. Derrick Finnegan added seven points and three rebounds, grabbing three straight offensive boards in the third quarter, eventually scoring and putting Sullivan up, 42-37.

“We have a lot of different players who do good things for us,” Carpenter said. “If one person is off, there’s another one who can pick him up.”

SULLIVAN (66)

Riley King 5 2-5 12, Ben Carpenter 8 8-14 26, Trey Higley 6 2-5 14, Derrick Finnegan 3 1-2 7, Maddox Bahr 2 1-2 5, Tucker Blasi 1 0-0 2, Connor Smithkors 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 14-28 66.

MONTGOMERY (45)

Rayne Parrish 2 0-0 6, Saafir Stewart Williams 4 2-6 13, Parker Bennett 0 3-4 3, Hayden Wilt 3 3-4 9, Noah Gearhart 4 0-0 8, Demaj Stewart Williams 1 2-2 4, Parker Persing 0 0-0 0, Blake Fry 0 2-2 2. Totals 14 12-18 45.

Sullivan 15 9 19 23-66

Montgomery 14 9 16 6-45

3-pointers: Sullivan 2 (Carpenter 2); Montgomery 5 (S. Stewart Williams 3, Parrish 2).

Records: Sullivan County 9-7. Montgomery 7-8.