I had a great time on Sunday watching the Metro West play-offs. The last time I spent that much time in a sports facility was probably in 2010 while working at the M-Plex.
- I started my day by watching undefeated Foxboro 8th grade girls’ team take on the best D2 team this season: Easton. Foxboro played very fast and jumped out to a 17-10 first quarter lead powered by Nicole Gallagher’s 12 points.
Gallagher played the entire first frame and earned herself a well-deserved break to start the second quarter. However, during that span Easton ripped off five straight points to pull within two. That’s as close as they got.
Foxboro took a 29-23 lead into halftime behind Gallagher’s 18 points. Foxboro had a big fourth quarter, outscoring Easton 18-8, including a 14-0 stretch. Gallagher led Foxboro with 24 points and Ashley Sampson added 13 points in the 59-41 win.
Easton has been great in D2 for years, but this is the first time I have actually sat and watched them critically and I was impressed. They lack star-type basketball players, but they have a lot of girls that play hard, opportunistic and are well coached. The entire roster gets good playing time and they all contribute. There is no wonder that they have had as much success as they’ve had over the years.
-The next game on the docket was another 8th grade girls’ match-up, Milton vs. North Attleboro. Milton started off quick with a 6-0 run to start the game, but North Attleboro bounced back behind Anna Shaughnessy’s seven first quarter points to cut the deficit to 15-13 after the first quarter. Milton held a slight edge throughout the entire game which ended in a Milton victory, 56-54.
Anna Shaughnessy led all scorers with 25 points as she was her usually creative self in the paint and made a living at the free throw line. Milton’s Kendall Currence led the way with 16 points in the victory. Milton also received contributions from players that are not on the radar, and survived to win in a “team” fashion, after a frantic fourth quarter.
- I took some time off to eat and absorb some of Mansfield boys’ varsity coach, Mike Vaughan’s, philosophies on basketball and life. Shortly thereafter, I couldn’t help but notice the buzz brewing around the 8th grade boys Southboro and Newton game.
This seemed to be a back-and-forth game throughout regulation and it appeared as if Newton’s season was coming to an unceremonious end as Southboro held a 59-53 lead with a little over a minute left. Due to pressing with urgency and turning some turnovers to points, Newton found itself in a position to tie the game when Ethan Wright went coast-to-coast to score and got fouled. Wright was not able to convert the ”And-1” and Newton had to put Southboro at the line to extend the game. Southboro hit both FT’s to take a 61-58.
Newton got the ball in Wright’s hands and this is when things got silly. Wright split the defense at around half court with a spin move and pulled up for what appeared to be a 28-foot jump shot that went through the net as time expired and bedlam followed as the Newton bench and fan section erupted. Only in March…
In the first overtime, the teams were a little stagnant until about 15 seconds left in the frame. After a timeout, Newton was able to penetrate Southboro’s 3-2 defense and locate a wide open Robbie Hodin for a 3-pointer to take a 3-point lead, 66-63. However, Southboro wasted no time pushing the ball up the court and Kyle Henderson supplied some clutch heroics of his own as he buried a double-clutch 3-pointer at the buzzer which left the Newton bench in agony and the Southboro crowd in utter joy.
After an even second overtime, Newton outscored Southboro in the third overtime, 8-3, powered by Hodin’s five points to come up with an epic victory over Southboro, 79-74. Hodin and Wright finished with 23 points apiece.
- Due to the Southboro-Newton game going long, I made it over to Needham vs. Stoughton 8th grade game a little late as Needham held an early 8-2 edge.
After watching Needham’s Thomas Shaughnessy, Brandon Monheimer and Cam Nelson shine in the Select Hoops Showcase, I was looking forward to watching them play. The first observation was the 6’5” Nelson wasn’t there. Turns out he was in Canada for a school field trip.
After the first quarter, Needham held a 15-6 lead. In the second quarter, Stoughton was able to chip away at that lead behind 10 points from Alex Sjoquist. Shaughnessy led Needham with 11.
Stoughton also hung around in the third quarter and entered the fourth quarter down by five, 42-37.
In the fourth quarter, Shaughnessy and Monheimer decided it was winning time. Shaughnessy buzzed all over the court on both ends and Monheimer turned into a determined scorer. Needham used a 21-point fourth quarter to dispose of Stoughton, 63-52.
- I stayed put to take in 8th grade boys D2 bump up Attleboro take on first year Metro West town, Winchester. Attleboro jumped out to a 16-9 lead after the first quarter behind Michael Perry’s six points.
The lead was extended to six points by halftime, 28-22.
Although Attleboro led for the entire first half, it seemed as if it was only a matter of time before Winchester would turn it on. That happened in the third quarter behind guard Michael Yarin as Winchester outscored Attleboro 22-12 to take a 44-40 lead into the fourth quarter.
Winchester held that lead throughout the remainder of the fourth and ended up winning 57-53. Winchester was impressive and very fundamentally sound. They were very poised and even keeled throughout the entire game, regardless of the score.
Attleboro proved why they were one of the best D2 teams in the state.
Michael Perry is a beast and he surrounded by plenty of capable guards. It was a nice run for Attleboro.
- I missed most of the Belmont-Stoughton 8th grade girls’ game, but I did take a peek at the scorebook afterwards and needed a calculator to tally up Asiah Dingle’s contributions – especially in the second half. If my calculations are correct, she finished with 32 points in Stoughton’s win over Belmont, 55-50. I need to stop picking against Stoughton. I’ve seen Asiah do that too many times.
- The final game I watched was Newton against Medfield 8th grade girls. This game had a slow start to it, as Newton took a slight lead into halftime, 21-18.
The offense woke up a bit in the third quarter as Newton stormed out to a 10-2 run behind 4 points apiece from Veronica Burton and Paige Ollivierre. The cream rose to the top as Burton turned it on during the second half and led all scorers with 20 points. Paige Ollivierre added 14 points in Newton’s 47-41 victory.
Medfield is disciplined in their attack led by Maggie McCarthy. McCarthy is the glue that holds that team together. She handles the ball, is very unselfish and is also the team’s leading scorer. She led with 16 points.
I am looking forward to next weekend’s final four games.
