RallyNorth.net

Moore's game-winner with 4.4 seconds left sends Knights to North final

Friday, March, 09 By Jeff Hamrick
Staff writer

WOBURN — Kyle Moore had already proven deadly from 3-point range.

But his final 3-pointer, with the clock ticking down Friday, was not only was the biggest of his young career, but one of the most memorable shots in North Andover history.

With the Scarlet Knights trailing by one point with 4.4 seconds left in the Division 2 North final, Moore calmly drilled his fifth 3 of the night, the game-winner in a 65-63 victory over defending Division 2 champion Brighton.

“I’m feeling some excitement,” said Moore, who has 13 of North Andover’s 34 three-pointers in three postseason outings. “My teammates were saying ‘Kyle is wide open.’ And to just have that kind of trust, you have to knock down the shot. And when the coach gives you the green light on every shot, what’s better than that?”

Moore’s 3-pointer was set up by a huge play on the defensive end.

Football superstar Gabe DeSouza, who had been carried off the court late in the first half with an ankle injury, made his return known by drawing an offensive foul against a hard-driving Jerrod Clark, who had scored 12 second-half points.

“I was telling the guys to do all the little things,” said North Andover captain Jake McElroy, who had a game-high 22 points. “Box out and be in the right place on defense. (DeSouza) has been doing that all year.”

The late-game heroics were necessary as North Andover, which led by as many as 11 in the first half, watched Brighton rally from an eight-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter to take a 63-62 lead with 1:03 remaining. It was the second one-point lead the seventh-seeded Bengals had taken in the second half.

“We were out-sized at most every position,” Knights’ coach Paul Tanglis said. “We said we have to limit what they did on the glass, and that was the difference. It was scrappy. We knew they were going to make runs, and we weren’t going to hold them off for long. It was a total team effort; gutsy, gutsy by these group of kids.”

The third-seeded Knights missed their ensuing four shots, including a pair from the line. But a Garrett Murphy offensive rebound kept the ball out of Brighton’s hands. Clark then found his driving lane shut down by DeSouza with 29.3 seconds left.

With the shot clock off, North Andover (18-5) worked the perimeter until McElroy drove the lane and kicked the ball out to Moore in the right corner.

“It was our defense tonight,” said Moore, who had 17 point. “If we play good defense, we’re not going to lose. We’re the best team, and I think we’re going to win it all.”

Winning it all, would mean three more victories starting with Saturday’s North Finals against eighth-seeded Woburn (16-7) at 4:15 p.m. at Lowell’s Tsongas Center. The last time the Knights reached the North title game was 2013 when they lost to Brighton.

“We’re going to enjoy this for about the next half hour, then we have to get ready for Woburn,” Tanglis said. “They’re a great team, and we just have to be ready to go. No excuses, we just have to get it done.”