City of Basketball Love

By Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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NEWTOWN — Tyler Sutton is no ordinary freshman.

Before he took the court for George School this winter, Sutton had a pile of Division I offers and a high-profile reputation. 

“It’s not a lot for me,” Sutton said. “It’s not any pressure. It’s just more on my plate that I have to handle. I have to be a leader on the court and off the court. I have to handle things a little different and not move like a freshman. I have to move like I actually know what I’m doing, which I do.”

It’s why Wednesday evening he had no fear letting an off-balance three fly at the buzzer. It's why despite the shot's degree of difficulty he believed it was going in — and it did.

The shot delivered the Cougars a 57-54 home win over Hill School and Sutton one of the first signature moments of his high school career.

“Amazing experience knowing that I have full control to take our team to the win,” Sutton said. “Knowing I hit the shot, it was a blessing. I’m not gonna lie. It was a lot.”

George School senior Tristen Guillouette led his team with 17 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. Mount St. Mary’s head coach ​​Dan Engelstad and assistant Jeremy Freeman were there to watch him play and extended a scholarship offer after the game.

Junior Luke Melniczak' added another 16 points (four threes) and Sutton finished with all 12 of his points in the second half for George. The Cougars (5-6) jumped ahead early and continued to add on, going up 43-27 after three quarters on a late three by Melniczak. 

“The past few games we haven’t been playing too well,” Melniczak said. “We were kind of angry from the last few games, so I think we were all kind of fueled by that and we started off attacking from the start.”

Hill School sophomore Ethan Johnston scored 10 of his team-high 15 points in the fourth quarter. He helped the Blues trim their deficit down to single digits less than three minutes into the final period. The defense of junior point guard Jacob Meachem (four steals) and sharpshooting of junior Anderson Brndjar continued to tighten things.

Brndjar, who matched Johnson with 15 points (five threes), hit his fourth three of the fourth quarter to tie the game 54-54 with 40 seconds to play. Sutton couldn’t connect with Guillouette on the other end, turning the ball back over to Hill.

While pressured by Melniczak, Johnston slipped and was called for a travel to give George the ball back.

“Honestly, it was just defense,” Sutton said. “They were going on a run, so we had to take a little moment and just calm down and get ourselves together and come together back as a team.”

After Hill used its fouls to give, George School had 1.7 seconds to come up with its game-winner. The original plan was to look for Guillouette, but when he was covered Sutton caught the ball, took one dribble right, elevated and clutched before launching the go-ahead shot. 

“It was honestly get the ball to Tristen, but if I was open, take the shot,” Sutton said. “So I took the shot, and I had confidence that I was gonna make it.”

Even with a defender's hands in Sutton’s face, the shot swished through the net, sending the Cougars into a frenzy after their first buzzer beater win of the year.

“That was crazy. I was so happy for him,” Melniczak said.” Everyone rushing the court after that, it was a good moment.”

After a 2-5 start to the season, the Cougars have won three of their last four — even with junior forward Luke Bevilacqua out with a back injury for the last week or two. Sutton is continuing to figure out how he can best contribute to the winning efforts.

Plenty more challenges lay in their way as the Friends Schools League season continues Friday against Friends’ Central.

Even if he’s not hitting game-winners, Sutton will be an important piece for the reigning league champs as a freshman point guard. 

“I’ve been playing up my whole life, so this isn’t really anything new to me,” Sutton said. “I just have to be a better leader on the court, just a little bit more knowing that I'm the point guard. Besides that nothing too crazy.”

By Quarter
Hill School:  9  |  8  |  10  |  27  ||  54
George School:  14  |  12  |  17  |  14  ||  57

Scoring
Hill: Ethan Johnston 15, Anderson Brndjar 15, Nemo Holmes 11, Quadri Bashiru 5, Jacob Meachem 5, Logan Davis 3

George: Tristen Guillouette 17, Luke Melniczak 16, Tyler Sutton 12, Kasey Fleming 9, Ivan Ryabov 3.