MONTGOMERY–Marc Molina already had stepped up. Five minutes into the fourth quarter, Molina stepped into a 3-point attempt and let it fly.

Molina drained the clutch shot, put South Williamsport up four and ignited a game-sealing run as the Mounties won a hard-fought 54-48 rivalry game at Montgomery. Molina replaced a sick Dylan Scheller in the starting lineup and scored a season-high 12 points as South (13-6) rebounded from a loss three nights earlier at Bucktail and completed a season sweep of the Red Raiders (11-6).

“Coach tells us to keep shooting if we’re open and when you’re a shooter, you have to believe the next one is going in,” Molina said. “That felt great hitting that shot to help us out there. That seemed to lift us, and we caught fire there.”

A few seconds later, Radley Knapp made a pretty spin move, pushing the lead to six and Montgomery never pulled closer than four again in a game which was tied entering the fourth quarter. Knapp scored 23 points, Levi Butler added 11 and the bench came up big as short-handed South pulled off a gutsy win against a fellow playoff qualifier in a game which featured 10 lead changes through the first three quarters.

Scheller is a starting forward, so South debated sticking with a traditional starting lineup or throwing another guard into the mix. With several South plays featuring Scheller on the outside, South opted for the extra guard and Molina immediately validated the decision, drilling two early 3-pointers and helping his team go up, 10-3.

“Dylan does a lot of good things for us, so I knew I had to step up and do a good job for my team,” Molina said. “It felt really good to go in there and have a good game to help the team win.”

Who would win was in doubt until the final seconds. But when Molina hit his 3-pointer at the three-minute mark it started pointing the direction toward the victor. After a hot start, though, Molina had grown cold and missed his last four shots.

But the junior guard remembered what his coaches often tell he and the other team’s guards. When another opportunity presented itself, Molina took advantage and South started taking a win.

“He had his shot, and he stepped up and made the most of it. Coach Rick (Moser) and I are shooters from back in the day and we tell these guys you have to be ready to catch and shoot when they’re open,” South coach Joe Simon said. “We want to catch and shoot within seconds of catching the ball. For him to continue to do that and Levi doing the same thing and making a big shot for us, too, that was great to see.”

Montgomery is fighting for a home District 4 Class AA playoff game but dropped a second heartbreaker against South after losing by three on the road earlier this season. Montgomery led 23-17 in the second quarter, but a mental lapse helped South surge back and take a two-point halftime lead.

The Raiders were up five when Jaymes Carpenter converted a shot and was fouled. He missed the ensuing free throw, but nobody initially moved, and Butler was able to grab the rebound, score off a putback and convert a 3-point play which tied the game. South then regained the advantage in the half’s final seconds.

“We just cannot pay attention. We cannot focus for a full four quarters,” Montgomery coach Rivers Parrish said. “If they lock in for all four quarters we win that game. That’s what’s frustrating. What are we waiting for? We’re ¾ of the way through the season.”

Parker Bennett scored a team-high 16 points and made six steals for Montgomery, while Hayden Wilt added nine points and six boards. A Wilt steal and layup pulled the Raiders within 52-48 with a minute remaining and Jace Hanford made a steal seconds later. A 3-pointer, however, was off the mark and South took 20 seconds off the clock before Butler was fouled with 11 seconds remaining and buried both free throws to help seal victory.

“South jumped us out of the gate but from there they couldn’t get anything going and we were sticking to the game plan which really was just running our sets right,” Parrish said. “We stopped doing that. We lose focus and it goes downhill from there.”

Knapp kept going downhill in the fourth quarter but in a good way, attacking the basket and hitting the boards. He scored eight of his 23 points in the final eight minutes, putting South ahead to stay with a putback.

Knapp put up his usual strong numbers, but it was unsung heroes like Carpenter, Chance Quimby and Davis Pace who also played a major role in South winning. Quimby did an excellent job running the offense, dealing seven assists and stuck like glue to Bennett in half-court sets, while adding three steals.

Ultimately, it was strong defense throughout the rotation which helped South gut out a win on a day it was down a starter and dealing with foul trouble most of the afternoon. The Mounties allowed just 30 points over the final three quarters and never let Montgomery rediscover the rhythm which it had displayed during a 15-3 first half run.

“I told them right from the start that defense was going to have to win this game for us. They’re a powerful offensive team and we had to limit them as best as we could,” Simon said. “I challenged the guys to match their intensity on defense and I think that’s where you saw the back and forth from there on out. We started keeping our guy in front of us and really buckling in on the defensive end.”

That included Pace making the most of his first significant varsity action. Pace has been excelling at the JV level and in practices, so South called in him for big minutes in the first half when guard Jordan Baier was in foul trouble. He responded well as did Carpenter who scored six points and added four boards. Chima Uwawuike also provided a spark off the bench, pulling down six rebounds.

Nothing came easy, but all the Mounties placing their fingerprints on this victory made it feel especially rewarding.

“It was a great way to bounce back after a midweek loss that really put us down a little bit,” Simon said. “That was a great team win against a really good team.”

SOUTH (54)

Radley Knapp 10 3-3 23, Levi Butler 3 4-4 11, Jordan Baier 0 0-0 0, Marc Molina 4 1-2 12, Chance Quimby 0 0-0 0, Chima Uwawuike 1 0-0 2, Kyree Moy 0 0-0 0, Jaymes Carpenter 3 0-1 6, Davis Pace 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 8-9 54.

MONTGOMERY (48)

Parker Bennett 5 6-7 16, Hayden Wilt 4 1-4 9, Briar Persing 3 0-0 7, Damaj Stewart-Wililams 2 1-1 3, Ethan Tupper 3 0-0 7, Jace Hanford 2 0-2 4, Brady O’Rourke 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 8-14 48.

South 14 13 12 15–54

Montgomery 18 7 14 9–48

3-pointers: South 4 (Molina 3, Butler); Montgomery 2 (Persing, Tupper).

Records: South 13-6, 4-2 Mid-Penn. Montgomery 11-6, 2-4.