Milford 60, Burncoat 59: Barry to the rescue

Barry scored only 12 after the break,  giving him a team high 30 for the game. But it's what he did in the game's final minute that had a big grin pasted on coach Steve Manguso's face.

"Anthony Barry was there for us all night," said Manguso after the Scarlet Hawks opened the season by pulling out a 60-59 win over the Patriots. "He really stepped up at the end. But that's what big players do."

After Milford had squandered a double-digit lead (45-31 at one point) in the second half and trailed 59-56 with 1:25 left to play, senior forward Mike Spates took an inbound pass from Barry and cut the lead to one with an easy inside basket. Then Barry stole Burncoat's inbound pass and scored on a layup for what would prove to be the winning hoop with 34.7 seconds remaining.

With the Patriots hustling upcourt, Barry tied his man up with the ball going over to Milford on the possession arrow.

Tim Hulyk was then fouled, but failed to convert the front end of a one-and-one. With fouls to give, the Scarlet Hawks kept fouling Burncoat so that the Patriots final possession began with 2.5 seconds, and the Patriots weren't able to get off a quality shot as time expired.

"Things weren't looking too good," said Manguso of the lead evaporating and his team suddenly losing its composure. "What saved us was that we weren't fouling and at the end we had fouls to give. We kept fouling and kept fouling and worked down the clock."

The first quarter had ended with Barry leading Burncoat 14-13. The Scarlet Hawks took a 12-point lead into the half - 39-27 - with the offensive contributions a little more evenly distributed in the second quarter.

But with their athleticism and speed, the Patriots were a dangerous team and never out of the proceedings.

"I told my kids that they wouldn't play many teams more athletic than that one," said Manguso. "Burncoat is going to win some games."

But some gritty play and a major helping of a talented forward named Barry bailed out the Scarlet Hawks on opening night.

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