ATHOL – Coming into Monday night’s boys basketball game between Frontier and Athol, Max Millette was eight points away from reaching a personal milestone inside somewhere memorable for the Red Hawk.
“My mindset was focused on just getting the win,” Millette said. “It was hard to avoid the thought of getting it because I just wanted to help us win. The crowd was great tonight because this is actually where it all started, since I got my first bucket in eighth grade here.”
But the senior took his time to make history, as Millette first witnessed Alex Ellis record two early free throws before Alex Ellis completed an old-fashioned 3-point play on the fastbreak to extend Frontier’s cushion to 7-0 with 6:38 left in the first quarter.
Ellis recorded four field goals and six free throws to lead the Red Hawks with 14 points. Millette (12), Ty Skroski (10), and Dean Gray (10), meanwhile, each finished in double digits with 32 combined points.
The Bears weren’t scoreless for long, though, as they forced a turnover in the opposing zone. And then Dominik St. Andre responded with his own transitional hoop to cut the home team’s deficit to five.
Karim Thompson recorded a team-high 14 points in a losing effort for Athol, while Goodwin (six) and Eli Wein (five) recorded 11 combined points.
But the fun continued, as Millette soon located Ellis along the left baseline for a give-and-go. Athol didn’t back down, though, as Ethan Goodwin raised the crowd to their feet with a two-handed slam.
And then after an unsuccessful up-and-under layup, Oliver Johnson (four points) connected with Goodwin for a last-ditch effort bank shot to cut the Red Hawks’ lead to 20-8 over Athol through eight minutes of action.
As the Red Hawks maintained a comfortable lead entering the second quarter, Millette slowed down on locating open teammates around the court and decided to shoot himself. And no bigger opportunity presented itself than when Frontier forced another turnover in the opposing zone.
Now with only one defender to beat, Millette maneuvered around Tyler Kacmarczyk and scored with his right hand to make it a 30-10 lead for the Red Hawks with 3:23 left until halftime. More importantly, though, that shot ensured Millette eclipsed the 1,000-point mark of his career in an eventual 68-33 win for Frontier against Athol.
“I was able to reach this milestone thanks to my teammates and coaches,” Millette said. “Coach (Josh Morse) gives me the ultimate freedom, and that’s the best way I can be as a player.
“And my boys believe in me, so I couldn’t ask for a better situation. So it was kind of poetic to get it here in front of a respectful place of fans.”
Coming into the season, the senior only needed 66 points to become the eighth boys basketball player in school history to reach the milestone. But after Millette averaged an impressive 29 points per game against Ware and Wahconah to start the winter, it was only a matter of time until Millette earned his time to shine.
Millette is a unique athlete, though, because his main focus has always been to help those around him find success on the court. And if you ask Millette, he doesn’t plan to change that mentality, especially now that he has 1,002 career points and counting behind his third consecutive double-digit scoring effort to begin the season.
“The win comes first,” he said. “And if that means passing to my guys and getting them together, then that’s what I’m going to do. I don’t care about my points, I just want to win.”
Frontier ultimately outscored Athol 32-20 in the second half to improve its record to 2-1 and will now welcome Mahar to town on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The Bears, meanwhile, will move past their season-opening loss and begin a two-game road trip in Northfield against Pioneer Valley on the same scheduled date and time.
