MOUNT CARMEL - Christian Kelley's putback at the buzzer gave Mount Carmel a 44-42 win over North Schuylkill in the Red Tornadoes' season opener Thursday.
Kelley's shot was the climax of a comeback in which the Red Tornadoes came back from a 13-point deficit in the first half, then an eight-point deficit about halfway through the fourth quarter.
North Schuylkill led 36-28 when Ben Scicchitano hit a three-point shot to get Mount Carmel started on a 16-6 run to finish the game. The Red Tornadoes trailed 24-11 in the second quarter before going on a 9-0 run to finish the first half.
The Red Tornadoes picked up their defense and rebounding in the second half. They forced 20 turnovers and committed only 10, and after having just five rebounds at halftime, they pulled down 16 in the second half.
"Rebounding and defense are going to have to be our MO (method of operation)," said Mount Carmel coach John Lazicki. "We have kids who don't quit, particularly this group. Juwan Sullins gave us a great lift off the bench, and Ben and Zack (Tocyloski) made some big shots. I said before the game if we took care of the ball we'd have a shot, and we took care of the ball."
"We let them back in the game," said North Schuylkill coach Curt Zigmont. "We had chances to put them away. But we didn't protect the ball and we didn't defend very well in the second half. We graduated four starters and our sixth man from last year is hurt, so we're playing a whole new group of kids."
What the Spartans do have is size, with two 6-5 starters and a 6-4 as well.
"Their kids are long and we had to be careful with the ball," Lazicki said. "We were afraid to play them man because of their size, so we went with the zone and they didn't shoot (much) from outside. I think our guards played well. That was Tommy Lynott's first varsity start and he had a nice game."
Mount Carmel took a 42-40 lead with 38 seconds to play when Scicchitano stole the ball and passed downcourt to Tocyloski on the break. But Tevin Murray tied the game with putback for the Spartans with six seconds left, prompting a Mount Carmel timeout.
Tocyloski took a shot near the top of the key as the clock wound down, with Kelley getting the rebound and putback. Zigmont didn't think the shot beat the clock according to his video, on which he said the horn sounded before Kelley put the ball back up, and Lazicki wasn't sure himself.
Scicchitano paced Mount Carmel with 14 points, and also had four steals. Tocyloski added 13 points and three steals, and Kelley had nine points and six rebounds.
Jake Damiter had 13 points, and Murray had 12 points and seven rebounds for North Schuylkill.
Game Summary
NORTH SCHUYLKILL (42) - Damiter 6 0-1 13, Manbeck 4 0-0 8, Ennis 1 0-0 3, Hillbish 1 0-0 2, Murray 6 0-1 12, Marlow 0 0-0 0, Mazur 0 0-0 0, Jordan 2 0-0 4. Totals 20 0-2 42.
MOUNT CARMEL (44) - Lynott 1 0-0 2, Tocyloski 5 0-0 13, Sullins 0 0-0 0, Scicchitano 5 3-4 14, Wasilewski 3 0-3 6, Amarose 0 0-0 0, Kelley 4 1-4 9. Totals 18 4-11 44.
3-point FGs: North Schuylkill (2) - Damiter, Ennis; Mount Carmel (4) - Tocyloski 3, Scicchitano.
JV score: North Schuylkill 40-31