By Seth Lakso, Globe Correspondent
The Minuteman boys' basketball team won a thriller Tuesday night in Lexington, defeating Greater Lowell, 69-64, in an overtime game that featured an improbable comeback and a half-court buzzer-beater.
Senior guard Troy Newton finished with a game-high 23 points for the Mustangs (7-8), 17 of which came in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Trailing by 12 points with 5:30 remaining, the Mustangs went on an 8-0 run to cut the Greater Lowell lead to 4.
"The key to our comeback was our defensive pressure," said second year Minuteman coach John Fusco. "We were making them take tough shots, and were solid on the boards, only allowing them one chance a possession."
With under a minute remaining Dylan Caples picked a nice spot for his only 5 points of the game, nailing a game-tying layup and a go-ahead three pointer with only seconds on the clock.
Dominick Dar responded in the final seconds of regulation for the Gryphons (8-7), connecting on a fall-a-way half-court three at the buzzer to send the game into over time at 60 apiece.
"That shot was incredible," said Fusco. "Nothing but net."
Dar led Greater Lowell with 21 points on the night.
"On the first possession of overtime one of our best players (Brendan Kingston, who finished with 14 points) fouled out and I remember thinking that Greater Lowell had all the momentum," said Fusco. "But my guys stepped up."
The Mustangs seized back the momentum in overtime, holding the Gryphons to just 4 points in the extra frame, to pick up their fourth win in the last five games.
"This was just a great basketball game," said Fusco. "My guys refused to lose this one. They just wanted this game and it showed in the way they played."
