La’Mear Singletary could certainly sense that the evening had a different feeling as his Montclair High Mounties were preparing for their biggest game of the young season as a strong Millburn team came into a packed MHS gymnasium in a key early-season Super Essex Conference-Colonial Division showdown.
“I was nervous, I’ll admit it,” said the Mounties’ valuable 6-foot senior guard as his team prepared for the Tuesday evening, Jan. 6th contest. “They (Millburn) are a really good team and came in undefeated in the conference.
“We really wanted to win, but we knew it was never going to be easy.”
Singletary was able to eliminate most of those nerves early on as he had a steal and breakaway basket in the game’s first few seconds, and he then scored off dribble penetration and canned his first of five 3-pointers from the perimeter in the contest.
Singletary would wind up scoring a career-high 40 points, the highest single-game total by a Mountie in more than two decades, while leading MHS (8-3, 2-0) to a thrilling 75-71 double-overtime victory over the Millers (8-2, 2-1).
For his efforts, the Mounties’ veteran senior backcourt ace is the latest Parisi Fairfield/Sideline Chatter Athlete of the Week.
It’s been a good first month of the season for the Mounties, who have been led by their two most experienced players, Singletary (16.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game) and fellow senior guard Mason Determann (16.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 5 apg. and 2.8 blocks per game).
Still, there have been a couple of recent rough patches, including in losses to a strong Teaneck team (79-67, Dec. 29, in the finals of the Jingle Bells Jubilee Quad 1 tournament in Paterson) and 66-52 at Demarest (on Jan. 3).
In between those setbacks to quality opponents was a strong second half showing vs. the Patrick School on Jan. 1, New Year’s Day, as the Mounties roared back to win 51-43 behind 26 points from Determann and 10 points and 6 assists from Singletary, who has shown a true penchant for dishing to teammates who might have a better look at the basket.
“I’m more confident this season and I feel I have a more well-rounded game, including with my defense, rebounding and assists,” added Singletary. “I already have almost as many assists (34) in the first 10 games than I did all of last season (41) in more that twice as many games (23), and that’s something I’m pleased about because I think it also helps us be a better team.”
The Mounties have also had strong contributions from others in their chemistry-laden rotation, including up-and-coming junior swingman Kody Nesbit (10.1 ppg.), strong 6-4 senior center Mez Okaro (8.5 rpg), defensive-minded junior guard Samad Jiles, promising sophomore guard Josiah Brown - who continues to round into form after recovering from a back injury – and steady junior reserves Cameron Wittington and Asher Seawell.
Singletary, who was the high scorer for the Mounties with 19 points against both Teaneck and Demarest, was destined for even more offensive production vs. Millburn in the first of two home-and-home SEC-Colonial contests this season between the two division title contenders.
A slow start, which the Mounties have had a few too many of lately, also occurred against Millburn in their Jan. 6 showdown as MHS trailed 20-15 after the first quarter and 35-28 at the half, even with Singletary continuing to make his fair share of baskets and teammate Mason Determann (13 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists) having another of his fine all-around efforts.
But, as the Mounties still trailed, 56-50, heading into the fourth quarter, Singletary and company were not going to relent.
And, they responded in a big way.
Singletary saved his best for crunch time, scoring seven points in the fourth quarter, including a clutch 3-pointer from the top of the key with 5.3 seconds left to force overtime.
The Mounties and Millers were deadlocked at 67-all after the first overtime and Singletary then came through with his best moments of the night in the second extra session, scoring six points and adding a critical rebound to lift MHS to its dramatic 75-71 double-overtime victory over Millburn (8-2, 2-1).
Singletary’s layup off a steal and nice assist from Determann gave the Mounties a 69-67 lead with 2:21 left in that second OT session before the MHS first ‘40-Point Man’ since early in this century connected on a very timely ‘3’ from the left wing to make it 73-71 Mounties with 56 seconds still showing.
A late free throw by Singletary after his big rebound with 16.2 seconds left ended up sealing the deal as a Millburn desperation shot missed as the buzzer sounded and led to a celebration for the Mounties and their fans.
“It was a great victory for us to put us No. 1 in the conference, which is the position we want to stay in,” said Singletary. “I’ve never scored 40 points in my life. The most I had before was 32 against North Star (Academy) in a game last season.
“Someone said that no Montclair player had scored that many points in 22 years; but, more important to me is that we picked up a great victory in our conference to put us in first place for now.
“We know there are a lot more big games ahead of us, and we love to face great competition, so we’ll see if we can keep it going, but we definitely had great energy in the second half against Millburn and our confidence continues to grow.
“We graduated nine seniors last year and have only four returnees, but it’s all been coming together and the new guys on varsity are doing their share to help us continue to grow as a unit.
“Our goals remain the same which is to win the conference, go as far as we can in the counties, and win a Group 4 state title!”
Montclair was edged by Newark Collegiate, 62-61, on Sunday, Jan. 11, in the ‘Slow Mo’ Showcase at Weequahic, before returning to SEC-Colonial Division action with Tuesday’s (Jan. 13) game at Orange before Thursday’s (Jan. 15) 4 p.m. showdown at neighboring rival Bloomfield.
Also on the upcoming slate are key conference contests vs. Livingston at home, 4 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 20, and at Irvington, 4 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 22.
Following an SEC crossover game vs. township rival Montclair Kimberley Academy, 2 p.m, Saturday, Jan. 24, at MHS, there will be the Essex County Tournament seeding meeting on Monday, Jan. 26.
The much-anticipated return matchup with Millburn is set for 4 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 3, in ‘Millerville.’
Follow Steve Tober on 'X' @Chattermeister
***
Parisi Speed School has been empowering athletes for over 30 years, since 1992. As the industry leader in youth performance training in the country, they have successfully trained over 1,000,000 athletes to include schools, teams, youth organizations and individual athletes from 7 years of age to the Pros in MLB, NFL, MLS, NBA and WNBA.
Parents and coaches are invited to visit their website for additional information at www.parisifairfield.com or contact their Director, John Cirilo at 973 227-0199.
