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Belmont boys hoop takes out top seed Westford Academy
Westford - The Belmont High boys basketball team knew defeating number one seeded Westford Academy in the Division 2 North quarterfinal game would take a near perfect performance. The Marauders would need to hit clutch shots, from the field and from behind the 3-point line and charity stripe. They would have to out-rebound their opponents. They would have to play sound, fundamental defense against one of the top teams in the state, and would have to limit turnovers.In a nutshell, Belmont couldn’t afford to make mistakes against the mighty Grey Ghosts.
On Saturday night, Belmont’s performance was about as close to perfection as one can actually get.Andrew Musler poured in 20 points (11 rebounds) and Nick Destefano added 19 (five 3-pointers) as the Marauders upset Westford, 60-54, in front of a jam-packed house at the Academy.“We played smart tonight,” said Belmont coach Adam Pritchard. “The kids did what they were asked to do. Our goal was to try and keep Westford in the 50s. We had to work hard but we managed to do just that.
”For the game, the Marauders out-rebounded Westford Academy, 30-21.“We’re a great rebounding team, and that starts with the big three up front,” said Pritchard. “Monte Goodwin, Andrew Musler and Anthony Paolillo have stepped up and played well for us all year.”With the victory, Belmont, the ninth seed, improved to 14-8 overall.
The fact Belmont, Woburn and Burlington are all in the semifinals really says something about the Middlesex League.”Westford (19-2) got 19 points from Peter Lynch (seven rebounds). TJ Jann added 15 points and six boards, and Matt Ellis contributed nine points (three 3-pointers).
”With 1:03 left to play in the game, Westford’s Lynch hit a close-range jump shot, making the score 50-44 in favor of Belmont. But that’s when Musler went to work.First, the Marauder junior scored on an easy layup. After two foul shots by Westford’s Andrew Chandler (making the score 52-46) with 44.1 seconds to play, Musler was fouled on two straight possessions. He proceeded to go a perfect 4 for 4 from the charity stripe, giving his team a 10-point cushion, 56-46.Lynch came back for Westford, hitting a jumper with 25 seconds remaining. But again, Musler was fouled, and again, he went 2 for 2 from the line.“Musler was clutch tonight,” said Pritchard. “He’s such a talented player, one of the best all-around players in the area.”Jann drained a 3-pointer for the Grey Ghosts with 10 seconds to play, making it a 58-51 game, but Destefano put the final nail in the coffin by drilling two foul shots of his own.In the first quarter, Westford came out on fire, led by Lynch, who scored eight quick points for the Grey Ghosts.
“Assistant coach Dave Murray told us to keep shooting,” said Destefano. “This was a huge game, and every possession mattered. I knew I had to come through and hit some 3-pointers tonight.”Destefano continued his hot shooting in the third quarter, drilling a three before immediately coming back with a two.“Destefano was huge tonight,” said Pritchard. “He hit some big shots for us, and he’s an example of a senior stepping up for his team, big time.
”But Destefano wasn’t alone. Marcus Papas launched a long-range three that hit nothing but net just as time expired in the quarter, giving the Marauders a 41-31 lead.“That was a big shot Papas hit,” said Pritchard.
Winthrop boys hoop advances to Tsongas Arena for rematch of last year's D4 North finals
Snowden's Cinderella story came to an un-Disney-like conclusion last night in Greater Lawrence.Winthrop led by 11 for much of the first half, and although the No. 14 Cougars fought back to within one in the third quarter, the second-seeded Vikings never trailed and progressed to the Division 4 North finals with a 65-52 victory.
On Wednesday, the Cougars revved up their defensive pressure in the second half after the Vikings built a 31-19 advantage. The underdogs capitalized on their fast-break prowess to go on a 15-4 run and bring the game to 35-34 with four minutes remaining in the third.The Vikings took advantage of their opponent's miscues and poor transition defense to pull away. Winthrop's Dino Mallios was the game's high scorer with 21, putting him five short of 1,000 for his career, and Anthony Hatzisavas collected a double-double with 16 points and 11 boards.
"I wouldn't trade Dino for another player in the state," Brown said. Gavin Mahoney added 11 to go along with seven assists and five rebounds, and Mark Jenkins scored four and had six boards, six assists and three steals.
Jose Vasquez was the Cougars' high scorer with 14, and Justin Robinson scored 13, all in the second half.
Classical falls to defending D1 state champ Central Catholic; Byrd scores 24 in loss
LAWRENCE -- The reigning Division 1 North champion and current number-one seed will continue its quest for a repeat. Unfortunately for the hometown fans, that team isn't Classical.The eighth-seeded Rams outplayed Central Catholic for much of the first half and entered the intermission tied at 34. Classical's offense sputtered following halftime and Raider guard Billy Marsden caught fire as the Merrimack Valley Conference champions defeated the visiting Rams 72-58 at Lawrence on Tuesday to advance to the semifinals.
Click here for a photo gallery from the game.
"Classical was feisty, and they never stopped playing hard," said CC (22-1) coach Rick Nault. "We had a tough time handling (Jasper) Grassa and (Jarell) Byrd, but we clamped down in the third and fourth quarters and took care of business defensively."
Byrd played a phenomenal first quarter, scoring nine points to go along with five blocks and rebounds and two assists on his way to a team-high 24 points, and Grassa added 17, but the player who made the biggest impact was Marsden, who finished with a game-high 32.With the scored knotted at 34 entering the third quarter, the combination of CC's defense, its size, and Classical's inability to find the bottom of the net kept the Rams scoreless for the first 4:30. A Byrd layup made the score 44-34, and Classical climbed as close as 48-42 until a fourth-quarter Raider run created a 69-51 advantage for the home team.
"I'm very happy with the effort. It may have been different if we could have scored in the beginning of the third. Tony Wonde had two straight open elbow jump shots, and Jasper had two open threes, and if we hit those, maybe things are different," Grassa said. "As soon as their lead went to 12, we had a very difficult time because we were forced to change how we wanted to play."
The quartet combined for 25 points and countless second-chance opportunities as Wonde and Chris Francois, who are both six feet tall, were taking turns on the big men with Byrd (6-4) free to roam.
Bishop Fenwick finishes off Wilmington in OT
CHELSEA — It was hard to escape the eerie feeling in the Bishop Fenwick huddle before overtime started last night.
The Fenwick boys basketball team had let a significant first-half advantage slip away against Wilmington, and the thought of another disappointing OT loss in the Division 3 North semifinals at the hands of the Wildcats was inescapable.
Last year the Crusaders nearly knocked off then-No. 1 seed Wilmington, but lost by a bucket in the extra session. Fenwick made sure that didn't happen again, outscoring the Wildcats 11-0 in OT for a 71-60 victory.
Instead of being consumed by the smothering triangle-and-two defense Wilmington played against seniors Mike Clifford and Nolan DiPanfilo in the second half, and the possibility of another let-down against Wilmington, the Crusaders perservered.
Fenwick led by 10 (40-30) at the half thanks to monster performances from Clifford and DiPanfilo.
Clifford accumulated 15 points and 11 rebounds before intermission and DiPanfilo was a man on fire, knocking down three three-pointers and scoring 21.
Wilmington quickly cut into the deficit by chasing DiPanfilo all over the court and collapsing down on Clifford in the post.
Clifford worked hard to get 10 points in the second half, but DiPanfilo couldn't even get his hands on the ball. Working other players into the scoring mix didn't come that easily to the Crusader either.
"You want other guys to play well. We need those other guys," Fenwick (20-2) coach Mike Kane said. "The ideal situation is for Phil Eagan to get 20 points, Nolan to get 20 points, and Mike to get 20 points. When Mike and Nolan had such a good first half, they went to a triangle-and-two and I think Phil felt the pressure that he had to step up at that point."
DiPanfilo's baseline jumper that he turned into a three-point play to start overtime took a lot of pressure off the Crusaders. Eagan followed with two more hoops, one on a nifty pass from Cotoia, and Fenwick made the free throws down the stretch to close the deal.
Watertown 82, Wayland 71: Raiders repel Warriors in D-3 North semis
WOBURN — The Watertown High boys basketball team represented an endless series of dead ends for upset-minded Wayland in the second half of last night's Division 3 North semifinal at Woburn High.Second-seeded Watertown (19-4) advances to the sectional final where it will face the winner of tonight's game between No. 1 Bishop Fenwick and No. 4 Wilmington Sunday at Lowell's Tsongas Arena (time TBA).
Senior Kyle Stockmal led the Raiders with a game-high 28 points last night, while sophomore Ricky Morrisey delivered 21, senior Cory Stockmal had 15 and senior Benyam Kerman had 12.
Undefeated Brockton boys basketball team back in Div. 1 South final
BRIDGEWATER — Before its Div. 1 South Sectional semifinal matchup against Brockton, legendary Marshfield High boys basketball coach Bob Fisher was quoted as saying: “Brockton, in my opinion, is the best team in the state, in any division.
”Well, Brockton did nothing to alter Fisher’s opinion, as the top-seeded Boxers defeated fifth-seeded Marshfield, 83-61, on Wednesday night at Bridgewater-Raynham.Brockton (22-0) keeps its perfect season intact and returns to the sectional final on Saturday at UMass-Boston at 8 p.m. to play third-seeded Newton North (18-5), which lost to the Boxers, 81-60, on Feb. 1.
“Nobody gave us a chance to hang around, and we made a ballgame of it in the first half.”“We didn’t match their intensity coming out,” said Brockton senior forward Jarrad DeVaughn, who had a team-high 24 points and seven rebounds. “They came out fired up and coach sat us down and told us to run our sets. Then we just put it to them.”After Marshfield sophomore guard Aaron Davis, who had 17 of his game-high 25 points in the second half, opened the second quarter with a jumper to push the lead to 19-15, Brockton answered with a 17-2 run, to give the Boxers their first lead at 32-21.The run began with a 3-pointer and a jumper by senior guard Shawn Yard (10 points). Yard’s defense was instrumental in forcing the Rams into 21 turnovers, while the Boxers committed only 13.Senior guard Henry Vargas hit a jumper before Marshfield senior center Phil Whitaker (10 points), connected on the only Ram basket of the run.Yard, then hit a pair of free throws before senior forward Rondell Best’s (eight points, six rebounds) offensive rebound and a 3-point play by Chris Torres (eight points) ended the run.Brockton outscored Marshfield, 18-8, in the second quarter to take a 33-25 lead at the half.
“We got a burst of energy there from Rondell Best and Chris Torres,” said Boen of the run. “They both came in racing and got things going and that’s what we needed. That’s when our defense started to get better.Best, scored the first six points as senior guard Tim Young (six points) and DeVaughn connected on jumpers before Young found Montes for a dunk, in leading the Boxers to 30 fourth-quarter points.A fact which was not lost on both coaches was the Boxers advantage on the boards as Brockton outrebounded Marshfield, 47-20.“
Catholic Memorial 80, Walpole 75: Good Knight
MILTON — There were supposed to be no secrets between Walpole and Catholic Memorial entering last night’s Division 2 South boys basketball semifinal.
"They did a good job on the boards, where we’re a lot bigger and stronger. They did a good job on the boards and I didn’t think they could.”Marven Toussaint, who was immense for the Rebels for the second straight contest tying for a game-high 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting, drilled a 3-pointer from the right side with 49 seconds remaining to pull within one possession for the first time since late in the first quarter at 76-73.“It’s been a good experience, it made me grow as a person, just hopefully in the future helps me with playing college basketball,” said Marven Toussaint of the postseason run.
The Knights (19-4) had an answer, however, as Allen Harris waited for the shot clock to wind down inside 10 seconds, drove the lane and, with the help coming over, found Kyle Lawrence cutting the baseline from the right corner. Lawrence hit the lay-up to push the lead out to five with 29 ticks to go, essentially securing CM’s passage into Saturday’s sectional final against the winner of tonight’s Milton/Franklin winner. The Knights, who are slated to move to Division 1 next year, will be looking for their third straight South title.Lawrence was big for the Knights with the game on the line, scoring 10 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter.“Even when we were up big I knew they were going to quit, they were going to make a run at us,” said CM coach Denis Tobin. “They got it to three and we got lucky Kyle Lawrence got hot down the stretch, I thought Al Harris made the play of the game when we isolated him and we hit Kyle for the bounce pass to make it a two possession game there at the end.“I give all the credit in the world to Walpole, boy, they played their hearts out. Coach St. Martin should be proud of that team. He’s done a super job.”Having to beat a pupil to get the win did leave a bitter taste in Tobin’s mouth.“In the offseason I thought it might be nice and all, but I didn’t enjoy it all, it’s no fun,” he said of playing a former assistant. “A good guy had to lose, and I know how hard he’s worked with them, it’s no fun beating a friend.”Despite committing turning the ball over nine times in the first quarter, Walpole hung tough, trailing 23-18 after eight minutes behind a strong inside game that saw Derek Hand score six of his nine points and Rory Quinlan add all five of his points.Catholic Memorial (19-4) stretched the lead to as much as 14 in the second quarter as Jeff Tagger (22 points, 5 assists) capped a 9-0 run with a 3 and the Knights took a 13-point lead to intermission at 40-27. Walpole hampered themselves with 17 turnovers in the first half, most of the sloppy variety more so than from CM pressure.“Some people were intimidated, you could tell, me included, but we definitely came back in the second half,” said Ryan Terp, who was limited to five points. “Everybody thought, ‘It’s CM, defending champions, they have this persona about them that they’re better than everybody,’.
It definitely got to us in the first half.”CM opened the second half on a 10-2 run for a 50-29 lead with 5:19 to go in the third on a Tagger steal and lay-up. But as he did against Falmouth, Toussaint started knocking down shots and using his defense for easy points, stroking a 3 and getting a pair of lay-ups off steals that cut deficit to 13. A Mike Ennis tip in just before the buzzer made it a 61-46 lead entering the fourth.Anthony Conway gave Rebels fans a glimpse of next year with a terrific final eight minutes, with eight of his 10 points and five of his seven rebounds, tipping in a missed Terp 3 to cap a 6-0 run to open the fourth, prompting a timeout as Walpole got to within single digits.The lead fluctuated between eight and 11 for much of the quarter until Terp knocked down a difficult 3 from the right side with 1:41 left to cut the deficit to 74-68. Walpole then forced a shot clock violation and Terp made both ends of a 1-and-1.Lawrence countered with a pair of free throws of his own to push the lead back to six and provided the big answer to Toussaint’s 3 in the final minute.
St. Bernard's stuns top seed
By Sean Sweeney
Posted: 02/28/2009 06:12:05 AM EST
SOUTHBRIDGE -- The third time was the charm for the St. Bernard's boys' basketball team: After three tournament games against foes from the Southern Worcester County League, the Bernardians were able to notch a big tournament victory on Friday night.
Behind solid shooting by a host of players and nine 3-pointers, the No. 8 Bernardians came up with a solid upset of top-seeded Southbridge as the Blue and Gold send the Pioneers down and out of Central Mass. Division 2 tournament with an 81-57 victory at a jam-packed Southbridge High Gymnasium.
The win propels the Bernardians (15-7) into the Division 2 semifinals once again, with their opponent to be determined this evening. No. 5 Groton-Dunstable Regional plays No. 4 Tantasqua Regional -- which has beaten St. Bernard's in the last two Division 2 title games -- at 7 p.m.
"Either team that makes it there, it's going to be a great game," St. Bernard's coach Mark Pierce said. "We're looking forward to it, and we're still playing. That was our goal tonight, to keep on playing."
The Bernardians put four players in double figures in the game, with Andrew Gosselin leading the way with 24 points, including five 3-pointers. John Henault added 18 points, while Chris Grenier added 11 points and 13 rebounds.
Gosselin's deep 3-pointer on a pass from Grenier started things off and gave St. Bernard's a 10-9 lead, before a Bernardians steal on the next Pioneer possession led to a Henault old fashioned three-point play.
"That's what (Gosselin's) supposed to do; he's a shooting guard," Pierce said. "That doesn't surprise us. He has the green light to shoot the basketball. When he's open, he's going to shoot."
Gosselin leads St. Bernard's to victory
By Shauna Staveley
Posted: 02/25/2009 06:06:10 AM EST
FITCHBURG -- St. Bernard's boys' basketball player Andrew Gosselin wasn't feeling well come game time, but he sure didn't play like it.
Gosselin scored a career-high 27 points, including seven 3-pointers, in a 72-60 win against Blackstone-Millville Regional in the first round of the Central Mass. Division 2 tournament.
"I was actually feeling sick at the beginning, I had too many subs to eat," Gosselin said. "But right when the game started and I hit my first shot, I knew that it was going to be a good game. I wasn't feeling jitters, or nerves that I usually get, which is weird with the crowd and everything. But, it was a good game and we wanted it."
Woburn boys basketball team to play in sectional final
LAWRENCE — The game of basketball is certainly considered a team sport but there are definitely times when one player can control every facet of the game, and put a team on his back, and that was went down last night in the Division 2 North semifinals.
Woburn’s Hanell Velez showed the couple of thousand fans in attendance last night why he was the Middlesex League co-MVP as his Tanners beat league rival Burlington, 79-66.
Velez had arguably the best game of his career on his biggest stage scoring 35 points, collecting 18 rebounds, dishing out 7 assists and blocking 4 shots as Woburn High student section chanted “MVP” all night long.
Except for about 20 seconds when the game was tied at 26-26, the Tanners led the entire contest. Leading 41-33 at the half, Woburn dominated the Red Devils in the third quarter outscoring them 22-15 and going into the fourth period with a seemingly comfortable 15-point edge (63-48).
Burlington, however, has great senior leaders in Fico, Matt Trahan and Brendan Farley and they led their club on a 10-0 run to begin the fourth cutting the Woburn lead to 63-58, and give their fans the energy they had lacked the previous three quarters.
A hoop by Fico and a three by Farley cut it to five again (68-63) with three minutes left but Velez scored seven straight over the next minute plus to make it 75-63 with 1:35 left. It was Velez’s three with no time on the shot clock over Fico to put them back up 10 that showed everyone at the game why he is a full scholarship-type of player.
“Hanell had 35, 18, 7 and 4 blocks, I’d say that’s quite a stat line,” Woburn head coach Tom Sullivan said with a smile after the win. “That’s a career for most people. It’s the way he got them too because he never forced anything.”
“This is the third time we played them this season and we played them twice in the fall league and quite frankly every game has been a real battle,” Sullivan admitted. “Burlington is an extremely good team and I am fortunate to have been part of game like this tonight.”
Velez wasn’t alone in this one as he had a different teammate step up in every quarter to help him. In the first it was Mickel Simpson scoring 10 of his 12 points while in the second 6-7 sophomore center Nick Lund had eight of his 11.
“They were trying to take (Randy) Parker and ‘H’ out of the game and I thought Mickel really stepped up,” Sullivan said. “Mickel likes the limelight and he really plays big in big games.”
Still, Papas was certainly proud of his club even after the tough loss.
“Our kids never quit,” he said. “We cut it down to five but could never get over the hump. We had a tremendous season and we are really happy for our seniors. They will never forget this type of run.”
Lexington 79 Acton-Boxboro 57
The Colonials ran head-long into the proverbial buzzsaw as No. 2 seed and Middlesex League champ Lexington, now 19-1, took a 37-27 halftime lead and slowly pulled away over the final 16 minutes for the triumph.
For No. 15 A-B, which played the Minutemen two years ago in the tourney and also came up short, senior guard Kyle Curry completed his high school career with a strong 22-point effort.
Also playing well for the Colonials (14-9), who ousted St. John's Prep in the first round, were sophomore forward Wes Schroll (5 points, 8 rebounds) and senioir guard Brett Miller (8 points, 4 boards).
