putnam pg 7 1-27-22
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Jada Mills, left, and Molly Moffitt. Photos by Twin Vizuals Photography.
Down eight points with just a minute-and-a-half to go, things didn’t look good Jan. 23 for Putnam Science Academy’s unblemished 16-0 record.
“I’m not going to lie and say that didn’t pop into my mind,” said Arturo Dean.
“I was thinking, ‘Hey this might be it,’” said Barry Evans.
Coach Tom Espinosa said, “I didn’t know if we were going to win the game. I was pretty frustrated.”
But a 3-pointer here, a stop there, a transition layup here, missed free throws there … and a Barry Evans putback off a missed shot with one second to go to erased all of the deficit and forced overtime.
And it was in overtime that Sotirios Nafpliotis drilled the biggest shot of the Mustangs’ season, a 3-pointer from the wing with four seconds to go that gave them an improbable 100-97 win over Brewster Academy.
“It takes heart,” Dean said. “We knew a game like this was going to come, so dig in and lock in mentally and face adversity. We will never give up. That’s what it takes.”
The Mustangs came out of a timeout with a set to get Desmond Claude the final shot of overtime. He was going to go one-one-one and try to get downhill to the rim. But Brewster came out in a zone, and when a defender sagged to far inside, Claude fired to an open Nafpliotis, who said he put up 600 shots a day back home in Athens, Greece over the semester break.
“I trust my shot, so I think it’s always going to go,” said Nafpliotis, who only hears it from his coaches and teammates when he doesn’t shoot the ball. “When I do my warmups, I always make my last shot so in situations like this, I can make the last shot. I’m thankful to make it but it wasn’t just that basket. My teammates did a lot before that. We were down eight with 1:30 to go.”
It was a terrific ballgame befitting two of the country’s top prep programs.
“I give Brewster all the credit in the world,” Espinosa said. “Man, they played hard. We did a lot of it to ourselves with missed free throws and defensive breakdowns, but in the end, these guys care for each other, they have each other’s backs. They like playing together and for each other.”
Nafpliotis finished with 10 points. Claude had a game-high 25, while Dean, Evans, and DayDay Gittens each had 16.
The Mustangs also won Saturday night at the event held at Northfield Mount Hermon, knocking off New Hampton 69-50 behind 13 from Nafpliotis, and 14 points, four rebounds, and two blocks from Mouhamed Dioubate.
PSA’s girls’ Prep Black team suffered a loss in its only game last week, falling 58-56 on the road to St. Andrews Jan. 21. Ines Goryanova scored a team-high 12 points but the Mustangs couldn’t hang on late and dropped another tough game.
Jada Mills had 11 points, Anna Kitch made three 3-pointers and finished with nine points, and Molly Moffitt pulled down 12 rebounds for PSA (5-5), which had a good look at a potential game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The Prep Red team fared better, though; toppling MacDuffie 74-30 Jan. 22 behind 17 points and seven rebounds from Zuza Komor. Alice Meunier continued her fine play this season by once again doing a little bit of everything, finishing with 13 points, five rebounds, four steals, and three assists, while Lilly Krysinski also had another strong all-around game, tallying eight points, 10 boards, six assists, and six steals. Zoe Bayer chipped in with 13 points, and Astou Ndiaye added 10 for the Mustangs.
The boys’ Varsity team won its lone game of the week, 48-40 over Rectory Jan. 19, as Vincent Tremulot ignited the Mustangs on both ends of the floor.
Tremulot scored a team-high 11 points and, as coach Nick Schmidt said, “really set the tone for us with his energy and placement defensively. Our defense kept us alive and in the game. We were great on the ball, in the gaps and in help side, and Vincent was a big part of that.”
Tomeu Pieras added 10 points, and Pau Amengual finished with eight for the Mustangs.
By Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy