The evenly matched game was the first in perhaps a decade for what used to be a steady rivalry. But with Saranac Lake on the ascent the last few years, the teams hadn’t faced each other in a long time. Now, however, the Lumberjack basketball program is on the upswing, and the crowd, coaches and players all acknowledged how significant the win was for a program that has struggled as of late.

The first two quarters were evenly matched, as each team put nine points on the board in the first. The Lumberjacks then built up a five-point lead midway through the second quarter, but the Red Storm regained the lead on senior Jarrett Ashton’s sinking of two free throws to put Saranac Lake up 18-17.

Tupper Lake senior standout Kameron Sarvis negated those free throws just a minute later, draining a 3-pointer from the top of the key to put Tupper Lake back on top. Ashton then responded by taking the ball the length of the court for a layup to tie it up at 20 with just 9 seconds left on the clock. Sarvis rounded out the scoring for the first half with a free throw to put the Lumberjacks back on top 22-20 going into halftime.

Saranac Lake came out strong in the third quarter, jumping to an early lead and taking advantage of a foul-happy Lumberjack team. With two and a half minutes gone in the third, Tupper Lake had committed six fouls to the Red Storm’s one. Saranac Lake took a 38-29 lead into the final 8 minutes of action.

Saranac Lake’s Jarrett Ashton drives to the hoop while Tupper Lake’s Kameron Sarvis attempts to block the shot during the second half of Friday night’s game in Tupper Lake. (Enterprise photo — Justin A. Levine)

Sarvis came out swinging in the fourth quarter, driving hard to the hoop to sink a layup and get a plus-one foul shot. Sarvis missed the free throw but got his own rebound and kept the ball alive in front of the Red Storm hoop.

But the fouls came back to haunt Tupper Lake, as the Red Storm racked up a bit of a lead with repeated trips to the foul line. Sarvis put the ‘Jacks back in the game with a 3-pointer from the right corner that brought Tupper back within one halfway through the quarter.

Tupper Lake senior Max LaClair tied the game at 42 with a rebound on a missed Sarvis free throw, and Bradley McLear gave the ‘Jacks their first lead of the quarter with a jump shot from the left side.

With just over 2 minutes left to play, LaClair sank a huge 3 to put Tupper Lake ahead 47-44. The Lumberjacks — both on the floor and on the bench — rallied the hometown crowd to make a lot of noise as the team played with an intensity the Tupper Lake gym hasn’t seen in years.

Ashton brought the Red Storm back within one, first sinking a 3 and then making one of two free throws to bring the score to 49-48 with 49.2 seconds left on the clock. After a defensive stop, Saranac Lake maintained possession of the ball in the Tupper Lake half, but the hard fouling ‘Jacks kept their hands to themselves and walked away with the win.

Tupper Lake senior Max LaClair grabs a rebound Friday night while Red Storm players Emmit Bevelaqua (25) and Jarrett Ashton (11) look on. (Enterprise photo — Justin A. Levine)

Tupper Lake coach Brian Bennett said he was thrilled with the way his boys played during the back-and-forth game.

“The team was not together as of this morning,” Bennett said. “They had to bring themselves together and they did it completely. The only negative thing I said after the game was there was about 3 to 5 minutes in the third quarter where we were lacking, but then they brought it back together so who cares about those 3 to 5 minutes.

“The guys have admitted many times this year that they’re much more nervous when they’re in the lead, and that’s something we’re changing. We want to be in the lead and one mistake isn’t going to change the game.

“This gym hasn’t been that loud in years.”

Ashton said he was disappointed with the loss despite scoring a game-high 25 points.

Tupper Lake’s Bradley McLear raises the ball over defending Saranac Lake players on his way to the basket during the second half of Friday night’s game. (Enterprise photo — Justin A. Levine)

“[We played] real bad, we came out really slow,” he said. “We’ve had a problem breaking 1-3-1 zones this year, and they came out and played a 1-3-1 zone against us and we just couldn’t figure it out until the second half.

“We had the lead, but they fought hard. They really wanted it.”

Saranac Lake coach Dermott Morgan was happy to be playing against Tupper Lake again despite the loss.

“That was fun, we haven’t played these guys in probably a decade,” Morgan said. “What happened to the rivalry between Saranac Lake and Tupper, maybe we started it off again.

“They were hot, they rained down a lot of 3s on us. They had a lot of intensity, but I’m proud of my boys, they played hard to the end.”

Tupper Lake next hosts Parishville-Hopkinton on Monday, while the Red Storm host Ausable Valley on Wednesday.