SHARON, Mass. - Sharon closed the first half on a 10-0 run to take a four point lead into halftime and used that momentum in the third quarter to create separation on their way to beating Attleboro, 69-58.
The Eagles jumped out to a 12-3 lead in the first quarter but Attleboro kept it close by finishing the quarter on a 9-2 run to trail by just two, 14-12, after one. When two free throw's from Sharon's Brian Mukasa made it 19-15, the Bombardiers responded with a 10-0 run that gave them a 25-19 lead but the Eagles finished on a 13-3 run, including the last eight coming off four consecutive Attleboro turnovers, to go into halftime up 32-28.
"We decided to change up the defense with about two minutes left [in the second quarter] because we were getting stagnant and not getting any turnovers and when we changed, they turned it over four consecutive times right at the end of the half," said Sharon head coach Bruce Jackman. "We made an adjustment on that defense at halftime and almost played it exclusively in the second half."
In the third quarter, the teams started by splitting the first four field goals to make it 36-32 before Sharon sophomore David Roelke hit consecutive three pointers and after an Attleboro free throw, classmate Matt Lowerre drained a three of his own to make it 47-33 Sharon.
"Those are the type of guys for Sharon that have been able to hit those shots which makes them so difficult to defend with all those guys coming in making shots," said Attleboro head coach Mark Houle. "We didn't want to give them those opportunities and someone has to take them and when it's not Frtizson, we felt we had a good chance."
A three pointer from Jimmy Fritzon stretched the lead to 16 and Mukasa finished the quarter with two field goals to hand the Eagles a 54-36 lead going into the final quarter.
"The momentum changed a bit at the end of the second quarter and they went on a run so they're up at the half," Houle said. "You have to stay out of runs against Sharon because they string some together and its tough to come back with the game we want to play."
Sharon never had their lead shrink below double-digits in the fourth quarter but the play had a vibe of being a one possession game, partly due to Attleboro senior Tim Walsh scoring nine of his team-high 24 points in the quarter.
"Yeah, it felt like we were on the edge the whole time," Jackman added. "It was a good win and Attleboro is a very good team. They play well and Tim Walsh had a hell of a game, but we played very well and I don't have any downside."
Mukasa finished with a game-high 26 points for Sharon, scoring 10 in the first quarter and seven more in the second quarter. A mixture of injuries and great defense from Attleboro's Stanley Beaubrun limited the league's leading scorer Jimmy Fritzson to 10 points.
"Brian was ready to play tonight, there was no question about it," Jackman said.
"Mukasa had a great game tonight," Houle added. "As everyone knows in the league, it's a tough match up for those two. We chose to really try and make Fritzson work a little bit harder and that worked."
With nine players scoring for the Eagles, it was players like Erik Kushner (seven points, nine rebounds) that stepped up in a big team win.
"It was a great team effort, they all played well," Jackman said.
Both coaches credited their opponents' defense as Jackman credited the Bombardiers game plan on Fritzson and Houle credited Sharon's big men for playing with a physical edge.
"[Sharon] makes you play a different pace game and they like to trap and get you out of your set offenses. They make you play read and react offense," Houle said.
Sharon improves to 12-3 and will be back in action Tuesday again against a Kelley-Rex opponent, this time against Franklin. Attleboro (10-6) had their three-game winning streak snapped and will play host to Oliver Ames on Tuesday.
Ryan Lanigan can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @R_Lanigan.