AMHERST – Wednesday’s boys basketball game between Amherst and Pope Francis was one that everyone – players, coaches and fans – will remember for a very long time. 

The stage was already set for a good show. Amherst played some of its best basketball so far this season in the opening quarter to jump out to a staggering 24-7 lead. Marcielo Aquino hit a pair of buzzer beaters at the end of the first and second quarters to give the Hurricanes energy heading into the breaks. Pope Francis never went away though, gradually chipping away at the home team behind offensive star Cam Vedovelli.

Down eight points with less than three minutes to go, the Cardinals came all the way back and forced overtime, a fitting end for a phenomenal basketball game. Only… it didn’t end after the first overtime. 

Or the second. 

Or the third. 

By the time the fourth overtime rolled around, nerves were frayed so thin you could cut them with a feather. The players were exhausted, both coaches were yelling themselves hoarse and the Amherst home crowd was desperate, all thinking the same thing – please, someone, anyone, end this game and let us go home. 

Christian Martin secured the game-winning points, knocking down crucial free throws, including two critical shots with 20 seconds left on the clock, to give Amherst an 89-86 Suburban League South victory. You could almost hear the crowd audibly exhale when he hit his second shot to give the team a (somewhat) comfortable lead late in the fourth OT.

“It (felt) so good to just finally relax,” Martin said on how he felt after the final buzzer sounded. 

“In the fourth overtime, it was tied up and then Chris was like ‘I gotta hit these foul shots, I’m so tired,’” Amherst’s Ian Waite added. 

“I’m on E!” Martin said emphatically. 

By that point, everybody was running on empty, not just Martin, who finished with a team-high 19 points. It was a long road to get to the fourth overtime, and they needed contributions from everyone.

The Hurricanes were spoiled for heroes. Ryder Rietkerk, Brandon Stewart, Aquino and Waite all fouled out for the Hurricanes before the game was over, but Amherst wouldn’t have made it to the fourth overtime without key contributions from them all. Aquino in particular was electric for the Hurricanes, finishing with 18 points and bringing energy all night long.

Starter Philip Wababa played through a bloody nose he sustained early in the game, needing to change out of his bloodied jersey into teammate Darius Cage’s uniform so he could get back on the floor. Waite stepped up in the second and third overtime frames, hitting clutch free throws before fouling out on a desperate scramble to pick up a steal late in the fourth OT.

Liam Stewart, coming off the bench after fouls forced Amherst head coach Jamahl Jackson go deep on his bench, was a major factor in the fourth OT, draining a 3-pointer and forcing steals on defense to keep Pope Francis reeling. 

“At the beginning of season, we were engaged but we weren't as energized as the last couple games. Our sole focus has been to keep energy up. And these guys today on the bench just didn't quit,” Martin said. 

As the game dragged on, physicality increased from both teams. Tempers flared as the line of players fouling out grew ever longer, the Cardinals (7-3, 1-1) simply didn’t go away. Vedovelli stayed in it almost the entire game for the visitors, putting up a whopping 33 points in the loss, while TJ Reid finished with 21 points. 

“I think they're a great coached team. We've seen them so many times... they know us, we know them. So it's just a personal game, and then the longer it gets, the more personal it gets,” Waite said. “That was a special game for us, a big win for us. We needed it.”

The victory was massive for the ‘Canes, putting them over .500 on the season at 5-4 overall and keeping them undefeated in Suburban League South play (3-0). The road won’t get any easier for Amherst this season, as it faces tough opponents night in and night out. But if Wednesday’s night marathon game showed them anything, it’s that this is a team that can pull off the seemingly impossible, no matter how much the odds are stacked against them.

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