Trailing by 12 points late in the third quarter against No. 6 Hollis-Brookline, third-seeded John Stark started feeling the upset bug that bit No. 1 Oyster River and No. 2 Portsmouth earlier in the day.

So when head coach Mike Smith called a timeout late in the contest on Sunday, March 2, it was no surprise one of his seniors, Gavin Sappier, was most vocal about his fear of a sudden finality.

“We’re not going home,” said Sappier. “Not today.” His teammates agreed and complied.

Stark finished the contest on a 14-0 run for a 65-59 quarterfinal- round win, advancing to the Class I semifinals, scheduled for Wednesday, March 5.

“I can honestly tell you we weren’t worried,” said Shane Arsenault. “Not to sound cocky, but our team is built on comebacks and winning like this.”

The team is also built on senior leadership, and it was clearly on display in the fourth quarter, said Smith.

The veterans scored 25 of the Generals’ 29 points in the final frame as the locals, in the last eight minutes, nearly matched their total through three quarters.

The contest was tied at halftime, but Hollis-Brookline was the third-quarter aggressor, shooting 9-for-12 from the field. The momentum shift came instantly in the fourth quarter.

The Generals chipped away at the deficit, and with 1:50 left in the contest, Ben Titcomb nailed two free throws to tie the contest.

The shell-shocked Cavaliers tried to reignite their offensive engine, but a traveling call was followed by a Sappier steal, then a Titcomb block and finally a backcourt violation.

By the time Stark inbounded the ball, up six points, Hollis- Brookline players gave a halfhearted effort at an intentional foul, and the Generals passed the ball around until the final buzzer sounded.

“I think, when we got down there in the third quarter, we started feeling tired, and you know, with the big floor, you could almost see it (in their faces),” said Smith. “I called a timeout, we talked, and I told them, ‘No more excuses.

You have all day to feel tired tomorrow. You’re either going to be tired feeling really good about what happened or you’re going to be tired feeling like you just missed the opportunity of a lifetime.

“Defensively,” added Stark’s coach, “that’s as a good a stretch as you’re going to see.”

Titcomb, with 19 points and 15 rebounds, absolutely dazzled Hollis-Brookline.

Sappier provided 15 points and seven rebounds; Arsenault added eight and eight. Zack Morrill-Winter, who played nearly the entire fourth quarter with four fouls, netted 13 points.