NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- Moonlight Diner overcame an 11-point second-half deficit to defeat MCLA, 69-65, in overtime on Sunday evening in the championship game of the John Giorgi Summer Basketball League Open Division.
League MVP Geoff Kondel scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Moonlight, which trailed throughout the first half and went down 44-33 when Ray Viches (24 points) hit a 3-pointer with 15 minutes, 26 seconds to play.
Kondel said Moonlight, which beat MCLA by five in the regular season, had some uncharacteristic struggles on Sunday night.
"They came out and took it to us right away," Kondel said. "We obviously were not playing too well in the first half, missing a lot of lay-ups.
"Normally, we don't do that. Normally, if we're playing bad, we tend to shoot 3s and not attack. We attacked today. We just couldn't get our shots to fall."
Kondel hit the last four field goals of the game for Moonlight as it overcame a four-point lead in the last minute of regulation and outscored MCLA 6-2 in OT.
Khalil Paul gave MCLA a 63-59 lead with 1:11 left when he drove to the basket from the left wing for a conventional three-point play.
But seconds later, Kondel put back an offensive rebound to make it a one-possession game.
After a turnover, Moonlight's Brendan Kordana (14 points) drew a shooting foul and made both shots to tie it, 63-63, with 38 seconds left.
Moonlight then forced another turnover and held for the last shot, but it could not convert, and the game went to OT.
Anderson Dalmace scored in the post to give MCLA its final lead, 65-63, but Kondel responded with a hoop to tie it.
Then after Moonlight's defense came up with another turnover, Kordana fed Kondel in the post to give their team its first lead, 67-65, with 40 seconds left.
Moonlight grabbed a defensive rebound at the other end, and after three straight fouls put MCLA over the limit with 5 seconds left, Anthony Sims (10 points) missed the front end, but Kondel put back the rebound to provide the final margin.
Tank Roberson scored 12 points for Moonlight, which also got eight points from Tyler Benoit.
Jacob Kennedy scored 16 for MCLA. Paul and Dalmace finished with 12 and 11, respectively.
"We had to grind that game out and get us to a chance to win," Kondel said.
"At the end of regulation, I said to the guys: 'Just stick with it. We finally are figuring it out and making our shots. We just keep playing defense, we're going to win this game."
In addition to crowning the 2015 Open Division champion, Sunday's festivities also included two semi-finals in the Women's Division and the induction of three new members of the John Giorgi Summer Basketball League Hall of Fame: forwards Paul Gaudreau, Mike Callahan and Kevin Meehan.
The Women's Division final on Tuesday will feature Teddy's Pizza against Williamstown Physical Therapy.
Teddy's defeated Bennington, Vt.'s, Mount Anthony Union High School, 53-41, on Sunday. Meredith Sullivan scored 19, and Hollie Steinman added 10 with 12 rebounds. The Patriots' Kathryn Frasier tied for game-high honors with 19.
WPT used a balanced offensive attack to beat Tony's Electric/Flynn & Dagnoli, 47-34, in the other semi-final. Megan Vaughan scored 12, and Aliah Curry and Emily Rosse each had 11 for WPT. Courtney Kegresse and Cassie Lincoln each scored 11 for Tony's.
There will be one semi-final in the High School Division on Monday, when Mount Anthony faces Berkshire Hoops. The winner of that one plays Hoosac Valley on Tuesday at 6:30 for the championship with the WPT-Teddy's Women's Division final to follow.
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- Moonlight Diner overcame an 11-point second-half deficit to defeat MCLA, 69-65, in overtime on Sunday evening in the championship game of the John Giorgi Summer Basketball League Open Division.
