Girls Basketball
Canton, 41 @ Norton, 43 - Final
By Josh Perry, Managing Editor
STOUGHTON, Mass. - On a night when injury and illness caused both teams to shuffle their lineups, experience and depth were going to be deciding factors. On Wednesday night, in a battle of Davenport Division unbeaten, Stoughton proved to have more of both. The Black Knights rolled to a 49-24 victory over Foxboro in their home gym to take a lead over the Warriors in the league title race. Stoughton won seven of the first eight matches on Wednesday and picked up five pins to win comfortably. “I was really surprised,” said Stoughton coach Mike Carroll about the final score, “because we had to move some guys around and they beat Sharon and you just don’t know how you’re going to match up. The kids wrestled great and that’s really what it came down to.” Foxboro coach Billy Ivatts said, “I think it turned early at the 120 match. I was hoping to pick up some points there. We bumped up our 113 to 130, so I think if we pick up that win then maybe we could’ve won.” He added, “We got beat up pretty good, but they’ve got a good team. I’m not disappointed with how we wrestled tonight.” Jaimy Jabon got things started well for the Black Knights with a pin of Mike Collins at 106 pounds, but Foxboro answered right back at 113 with Erika Snow picking up a pin of Cam Carpenter to even the meet at 6-6. It would be the last Foxboro points until a pin by Matt Mullally at 160. At 120, Phil Dure wrestled in place of regular starter Matt Kelley and Stoughton’s Jake Swartz was able to get a pin that gave the Black Knights back the lead and momentum. “I think the kids feed off it,” explained Carroll, “and there’ s a part of the lineup that the kids really see these kids are really good and winning and once they start the confidence flows and everything rolls from there. “ The Layton twins, Brett (126) and Brandon (138), each picked up decisive 10-0 victories while the coaches and teammates were urging them on to go for pins and the full six points. In between the Laytons, sophomore Tyler Cassidy did pick up a pin at 132, which his coach thought was a turning point. “I was a little nervous there,” said Carroll about having to replace one of his regulars, who was out sick, with a young wrestler. “We got a pin out of Tyler Cassidy, which was huge. Once I saw that swing, I thought we were okay.” The match at 145 was one of the closest of the night. Tom Mone beat Max Dorman 9-3, but he trailed 3-2 in the closing seconds of the first period before a takedown pushed him in front. In the second period, Mone led 5-3 and again in the final seconds earned another two points by takedown to extend the lead and lead to a more comfortable third period. After Mullally’s pin made it 35-12, Stoughton secured the victory thanks to Mike Carroll, the coach’s son, who jumped up to 170 and beat Dan Brickell 9-0 to give the Black Knights a 39-12 lead with only four wrestlers remaining. “He’s been sick and he’s been banged up a little bit but I knew we needed him to bump up a weight class and wrestle at 170 and he did,” said the elder Carroll. Joe Girolamo dominated 12-0 at 182 pounds for Stoughton before Phil Mohan (195) and Sam Hadley (220) recorded pins for the Warriors. Senior captain Brian Nquyen closed out the night for Stoughton with an emphatic first period pin in the heavyweight match. “They have a solid lineup the whole way through where we have a couple weight classes where we have a first-year varsity wrestler,” said Ivatts. “We only have one senior on the team, so we’re looking good for the future. Hopefully we can keep plugging along and winning some matches and learning.” The victory means that Stoughton controls its own destiny for the league title. If it wins out against Sharon, which suffered its second loss on Wednesday, and Canton then the Black Knights will be Davenport dual meet champs. Carroll is not taking anything for granted and made sure his wrestlers understood that nothing was won yet. “I just said to the kids that every team we match up with you match-up differently,” he said. “So, we have to load up, reload the guns and go after Sharon and hope the guys perform like they did today.” Stoughton will have a week off to try and get healthier before taking on Sharon next Wednesday on the road. Foxboro will travel to a Marshfield quad on Saturday and then host Oliver Ames next week. See more photos from the dual meet HERE. Josh Perry can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10. Here are today's games.
Boys Hockey Canton, 6 @ Lincoln-Sudbury, 2 - Final Milford, 7 @ Foxboro, 2 - Final - Seniors Pete Schuler and Drew Wilde each scored twice while Aidan Wilde, Sam Croteau and Nick Mobilia each scored once for the Scarlet Hawks. Franklin, 7 @ North Attleboro, 2 - Final - Joe Bourque scored a pair of goals and added two assist for the Panthers. Taunton, 1 @ Mansfield, 6 - Final Stoughton, 1 @ Oliver Ames, 9 - Final Wrestling Sharon, 30 @ Canton, 42 - Final Foxboro,, 24 @ Stoughton, 49 - Final - Jaimy Jabon (106), Jake Swartz (113), Tyler Cassidy (132), Brandon Cohen (152), and Brian Nguyen (Heavyweight) all had pins for the Black Knights, who moved to 3-0 in the league. Brett (126) and Brandon (138) Layton each won 10-0, Mike Carroll (170) won 9-0, Joe Girolamo (182) won 12-0, and Tom Mone (145) won 9-3 for Stoughton. Foxboro got pins from Erika Snow (113), Matt Mullally (160), Phil Mohan (195), and Sam Hadley (220). North Attleboro, 40 @ Franklin, 27 - Final Taunton, 38 @ King Philip, 42 - Final - Taunton senior Keith Porazzo (132) set a school record by becoming the program's first wrestler to reach 100 career wins. Oliver Ames, 33 @ Milford, 34 - Final Gymnastics Sharon, 136.4 @ Algonquin, 135.8 & Westboro, 124.8 - Final Swimming Boys North Attleboro, 40 @ Taunton, 51 - Final Sharon, 92 @ Oliver Ames, 66 - Final Girls North Attleboro, 55 @ Taunton, 38 - Final Sharon, 89 @ Oliver Ames, 81 - Final Girls Hockey Canton, 1 vs. Medfield, 1 - Final King Philip, 6 @ Scituate, 1 - Final By Josh Perry, Managing Editor FOXBORO, Mass. - After struggling to hit anything in the first half, the Foxboro offense ignited in the fourth quarter with a quartet of shots from beyond the arc that cut a Mansfield lead that was as many as 15 points in the third quarter to just three as the clock was winding down in the fourth. Needing a basket, the Hornets dumped the ball down to Meg Hill on the left block and the freshman made a perfect touch pass to a wide open Jackie Carchedi (seven points) who buried her second three of the game to extend the lead back to six and ease the nerves on the Mansfield bench. The Carchedi three-pointer and Mansfield switching out of the 2-3 zone that was effective for the opening three quarters, helped the Hornets hold on for a 49-44 road victory on Tuesday night against the current Davenport Division leaders. “That was a big hoop; that seemed to stem the tide,” said Mansfield coach Mike Redding. “You could see the kids when they had that one run -- not panic, but you could see concern in their eyes.” Foxboro coach Lisa Downs said of her team’s late rally, “We switched up into a trapping zone and I think that catapulted us a little bit but it was a little bit too late against a team that is that good.” The Hornets, fresh off a win over division rival Franklin on Friday night, started the game on fire. Sophomore point guard Jen Peel, who finished with a game-high 13 points, was able to find seams in the Foxboro defense to get to the basket for five points in the opening quarter. Caroline Maher added four of her eight points in the first as the Hornets jumped out to a 9-0 lead.
“Right now we’re trying to find that balance between letting her go and setting up the offense,” said Redding of his point guard. “I don’t want to hold them back; we have some kids that can play in transition and score points.” It took Foxboro 4:55 to get its first basket. Freshman Ashley Sampson came off the bench to knock down a pair of jumpers and keep the Warriors within seven points (13-6) after one. “We just came out really flat and we weren’t executing,” said Downs. “We were dribbling into the zone, which is definitely what we didn’t want done. We made too many mental mistakes in the first half and unfortunately against a team of that caliber you can’t go into a hole and try to dig it out.” The Hornets continued to keep the pressure on Foxboro with a 2-3 zone that extended out to the shooters and did not allow the Warriors to get into any rhythm on the offensive side of the ball. Warriors leading scorer Kat Tamulionis scored five points in the quarter but had to work for every basket and would only score seven for the game. Downs said, “The girls will be looking at the scoreboard and if Kat has missed a couple of shots then it does take the wind out of our sails a little bit. Unfortunately, she has the weight of the team on her shoulders and she tries to do too much sometimes.” Freshman center Meg Hill scored six of her 10 points in the second quarter. Hill also added 11 rebounds in the game and gave the Warriors, who lack a consistent inside presence, real problems in the paint. Downs admitted that Hill’s emergence adds a different dimension to the game plan against the Hornets. “They have an inside-out game that a number of teams, like myself, don’t have,” said Downs. “We tried a few things in there and I’ve seen film, I’ve scouted and never the same thing is going to work twice on her.” In the third quarter, Foxboro tried to get back into the game with freshman Lily Sykes coming off the bench to provide a spark with five points in the third. Sykes and Kristen Bortolotti (six points) both knocked down threes and the momentum was starting to turn towards Foxboro, but Mansfield senior Alyssa Kelley momentarily halted the run with a three-point play in transition that extended the lead back to 14 points. Mansfield held a 40-28 lead heading to the final quarter and Redding credited the play of his team on the defensive end for giving the Hornets the edge. “We played a lot of zone a big reason because Kat Tamulionis is a nightmare of a matchup for 32 minutes and we hoped that they wouldn’t start hitting those threes later rather than sooner,” he said. “It was later but close enough that it made it very interesting late.” Foxboro battled back in the fourth quarter. Sykes knocked down a three to start the quarter and then senior Siobhain Nolan followed a layup by Hill with a pair of jumpers that cut the lead to seven. Sykes lined up her second three of the quarter from the same spot and suddenly the Foxboro bench and crowd were alive. “She’s just got ice in her veins,” said Downs about the freshman, who finished with a team-high 11 points (all in the second half) and four steals. “She comes on the court and just plays like a senior. She can make those outside shots and I’m thrilled to see her taking them.” Peel answered back with another drive to the basket that made it 44-38, but Bortolotti stepped in and knocked down her second three of the game to get the Warriors to within three, which was as close as they had been since the score was 4-0 in the first quarter. “Once you hit one three, it seems like everyone on the floor gets a little confidence,” Redding said. “Fortunately, early in the game they weren’t hitting them so we had the lead to use as a buffer late in the game. Carchedi’s three pushed the Hornets lead to 47-41 and Jess Stoyle made 1-2 free throws to add another point. Downs drew up an inbound play that got Cassidy Harrison (eight points) a look from the corner that she knocked down to make it 48-44 as time was running out, but it was too little, too late and Mansfield handed Foxboro just its second loss of the season. “This is a good Foxboro team and even with that late shooting to hold them to 44 is a good night for us. We just need to get more consistency on offense,” explained Redding. Mansfield (9-3) travels to Kelley-Rex rival King Philip on Friday. Foxboro (9-2) will look to qualify for the state tournament on Friday with the visit of Canton. Josh Perry can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10. By Ryan Lanigan, Editor-in-Chief MANSFIELD, Mass. - It’s not often a team celebrates after just the first basket of the game. But it wasn’t just an ordinary basket. Mansfield senior Ryan Boulter cut to the basket, taking a bounce pass from classmate Michael Boen and quickly depositing the ball into the basket for his 1,000th career point. Boulder went on to finish with 17 points, Boen added 19 points, seven assists, seven steals and five rebounds and the Hornets took care of Foxboro, 70-49. Sitting at 999 career points, it took just 17 seconds for Boulter to hit the milestone, becoming just the fifth player in Mansfield history to score over 1,000 points. Oh, and it was Boulter’s 18th birthday as well. “It feels great,” Boulter said, noting it was the best birthday present he’s probably gotten. “This means a lot to Mansfield, to my teammates and the coaching staff. I’ve worked so hard to get here but they deserve this too because they’ve pushed me in practice and they made me the player I am today.” Boulter’s bucket was the beginning of a back and forth first quarter between the Hornets and Warriors. Foxboro even took an 8-4 lead but Mansfield went on to outscore the Warriors 15-4 to take a 19-12 lead after one quarter. After the two teams went back in forth in the second quarter, each scoring eight points to make it 27-20 in favor of Mansfield, Foxboro started to gain some momentum. After Boen stretched the lead to nine, Foxboro’s Andrew Block drained a three and after a defensive stop, junior Adam DuBrow was able to beat the buzzer with a layup to make it 29-25 heading into half. The third quarter ending up being a strong representation as a whole for the Hornets. First, it was Boen that got it done on the offensive end scoring the team’s first seven points, similar to how he carried Mansfield in the first half.
“We got to see what type of team we can be when Boen was in foul trouble [Monday] and just what he brings to the table,” Mansfield head coach Michael Vaughan said. “You can’t speak enough on what he does, not just scoring and getting to the rim but also rebounding the basketball and being a great defender and communicator for us.” Second was the strong defense of the Hornets, who limited the Foxboro to just eight points in the quarter, representative of the mere 49 points they allowed all game. And then there was Boulter, who had just four points in the first half and after a slow start to the third, erupted for nine points on the backend of the quarter to put Mansfield up 52-33 with just one quarter left. “I was happy with how he played in the second half,” Vaughan said of Boulter. “One thing I’ve been challenging him to do is find different ways to score points and I thought in the second half he did and he didn’t even shoot well. Now that he’s able to find different opportunities to get those shots, I think it’s going to make a big difference how we play down the stretch.” Foxboro was able to close the cap to 11 at one point in the final quarter, but Mansfield went on to finish the game on a 13-3 run to close it out. “They switched a lot of screens in their man-to-man defense and thats something that gave us trouble tonight,” Foxboro head coach Jon Gibbs said, who’s team finished with 22 turnovers. “It threw off our rhythm on offense and it definitely resulted in us having more turnovers than we wanted. I thought we had some defensive breakdowns but give credit to Mansfield, they’re a very talented team. I thought our kids played hard but you’ve got to play a really, really good game and at times we didn’t play our best.” Rob Lowey finished with a team-high 18 points and added seven rebounds for Foxboro and DuBrow had 13 points. Boulder becomes the first male 1,000th point scorer at Mansfield since Paul Souza in 1979 according to The Sun Chronicle’s Mark Farinella. Despite having league MVPs and multiple league titles over the last half decade, Boulter is Vaughan’s first 1,000 point scorer. “Rocky [DeAndrade] had 912 I think and Michael Lofton was in the upper 800’s. I think for Ryan, when he came in as a sophomore with that unique ability to stretch the floor and shoot the three, he got bonus points,” Vaughan said. “His junior year he kind of complemented his game and now this year you’re really starting to see a kid who’s going inside-out, shooting over people. I keep telling college coaches he’s a kid who three years ago was 6’1”. He’s starting to figure out how to play at 6’6” and I think his upside is unbelievable. “He’s a kid who stuck with it. After his sophomore year he could have stopped working on his game - he already made it, he was already good enough. But he didn’t want to be just good enough he wanted to be one of the greats that have worn a uniform here.” Mansfield (9-2) will look to make it two in a row when they host King Philip on Friday. Foxboro (6-4) travels to Canton on the same night. Ryan Lanigan can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @R_Lanigan. Just 17 seconds into Mansfield's game against Foxboro, senior Ryan Boulter made a cut to the basket, took a pass from Michael Boen and laid it in for two to become the first Hornet to score 1,000 points in 36 years. Watch the play here plus an interview with Boulter following the game. Here are today's games.
Boys Basketball Sharon, 65 @ Attleboro, 54 - Final - Sharon junior Matt Lowerre dropped 23 points for the second straight game and classmate David Roelke had his best game of the year with 17 points and eight rebounds. Attleboro's Kyle Murphy led the Bombardiers with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Canton, 33 @ King Philip, 62 - Final - King Philip had a trio of players scored 11 points - seniors Erich Ryan and Nick Dumont and sophomore Noah Goodwin - to pace the offense. Canton's Jamal Robert had eight points for in the loss for the Bulldogs. Foxboro, 49 @ Mansfield, 70 - Final - Senior Ryan Boulter scored his 1,000th career point just 17 seconds into the game and finished with 17 points. Classmate Michael Boen, who assisted on Boulter's first bucket, finished with a game-high 19 points, seven rebounds, seven steals and five rebounds. Christian Weber and Sam Goldberg both scored 10 points for the Hornets. Foxboro junior Robby Lowey had 18 points and seven rebounds. Stoughton, 44 @ Franklin, 72 - Final - Franklin junior Tim Prunier led all scorers in the game with 16 points and senior Dylan Reno added 11 points for the Panthers. Stoughton's Brandon Teixeira scored a team-high 14 points for the Black Knights. Milford, 47 @ Taunton, 89 - Final - Corey Green led all scorers with 20 points for Taunton while Matt Midouin scored 11 points and Jose Mercado added 10 points. Alex Croteau led Milford with 17 points while sophomores Nate Davila and Isiah Washington each had eight points. Oliver Ames, 69 @ North Attleboro, 55 - Final - Ryan Carney notched his second double-double of the season, with a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds. Chris Kyne had 11 boards to go along with nine points, Brendan Welch scored 11 points and Rael Handy had 10 points. North Attleboro freshman Chad Peterson led the Rocketeers with 16 points and sophomore Brent Doherty added 12 points. Girls Basketball Attleboro, 50 @ Sharon, 37 - Final - Emily Houle scored 14 points for the Bombardiers and added five assists and five rebounds. Sarah Deyo scored nine points and had 10 rebounds four blocks and three steals, point guard Fatima McDonald scored six points and had six assists, while freshman Sam Pierce scored 13 for Attleboro, which did a great job distributing the ball to supporting players, according to Eagles coach Cliff Tomassian. Sharon was led by Alyssa Piazza with nine points, while Charlotte Ransom had eight, Ashley Mukasa had seven, and Paulina Kosmadakis had six. King Philip, 55 @ Canton, 42 - Final - Emily Sullivan led the way for the Warriors with 22 points. Rylie Dalzell added nine points for KP, which pulled away with a 13-6 third quarter. Gabby Kenefick led the Bulldogs with 13 points. Mansfield, 49 @ Foxboro, 44 - Final - Sophomore guard Jen Peel led all scorers with 13 points. Freshman Meg Hill added 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Hornets and Caroline Maher scored eight points. Freshman Lily Sykes came off the bench to score 11 points (all in the second half) and also had four steals for the Warriors. Katherine Tamulionis was held to seven points and Cassidy Harrison added eight. Foxboro rallied to get within three points in the fourth, but Jackie Carchedi knocked down a big three and the Hornets held on for the win. Franklin, 59 @ Stoughton, 20 - Final - The Panthers built a 25-4 lead at halftime. Franklin was led by Lauren Rudolph with nine points, while Lexi Martin added eight, Olivia Adiletto had seven, Kiera Fernandes and Caroline Maguire each had six. Eleven Franklin players scored in the game. Taunton, 73 @ Milford, 43 - Final North Attleboro, 53 @ Oliver Ames, 29 - Final - The league leading Rocketeers were paced by senior Melissa Beaupre, who finished with 11 points and sophomore Ashley Ahern added 10. Niyera Mitchell scored nine points to lead OA. Swimming Boys Attleboro, 75 @ Mansfield, 93 - Final Foxboro, 55 @ Milford, 90 - Final Girls Attleboro, 60 @ Mansfield, 91 - Final Foxboro, 75 @ Milford, 87 - Final Girls Hockey King Philip, 1 vs. B/M/W, 1 - Final Mansfield/Oliver Ames, 5 @ St. Joe’s/Boston Latin, 5 - Final By Ryan Lanigan, Editor-in-Chief
FOXBORO, Mass. - North Attleboro twice erased two-goal deficits and exploded for three goals in the final period to rally for a 5-4 comeback win over Mansfield. The Rocketeers went down 2-0 and 3-1 in the second period but four straight goals - one in the second, three in the third period - earned North its second ever win against Mansfield. “I’m told them not to stop fighting,” North Attleboro head coach Steve Snizek said of the message between the second and third periods. “Towards the end of the second I thought we were starting to get the momentum after killing some penalties. Penalties killed us in the second so I told them to stay focused and play with desperation and our motto is that we don’t lose third periods.” The two sides skated to a scoreless first period despite Mansfield owning the the advantage in attacking zone time and shots (15-5). The Hornets had three key scoring games from Jared Collins, Charlie Losiewicz and Shane Doherty scattered through the period but North goalie Brady Grunewald couldn’t be beat. Mansfield finally solved Grunewald less than three minutes into the second period. North went on the power play less than two minutes into the period, but the man advantage quickly disappeared after an interference call made it 4-on-4. Shortly after winning an offensive face off, the puck fell to Collins, who skated into the slot and fired a wrist shot into the back of the net. The Rocketeers once again took a penalty, this time with 7:14 left in the second period. And once again, Mansfield cashed in. With 5:59 left, Matt Farragher found Collins, who passed it along to Billy Grant. Grant skated from the boards straight across the center of the ice and picked his spot, making it 2-0. But instead of folding, North was able to cut into the first two-goal deficit they faced. North freshman Jason McNeany delivered a relentless shift that included a pass disruption behind Mansfield’s net, a hit along the boards that resulted in a loose puck. McNeany bounced on the loose puck and held off a defender as he skated through the circle. He fired a backhanded shot on net only to have it blocked off a defender. McNeany stayed with it though and batted the loose puck in with another backhand attempt to make it 2-1. “I thought there were times we controlled the play and there were times they controlled it,” Snizek said. “It was about simple hockey, easy passes and getting out of the zone. I’m just amazed by the resiliency of them never giving up.” Mansfield didn’t let North get any momentum though and just 26 seconds later, Collins took the feed off a face off and and quickly buried another shot to make it 3-1. Click HERE for a full photo gallery of the game. The Rocketeers were able to get within one once again, this time striking with just over a minute in what turned out to be a vital goal from senior Ryan Ma. With a man advantage, Ma took a pass from Sean Young and ripped a slap shot from just inside the blue line that snuck past Mansfield goalie Anthony Visconti to make it 3-2 with 1:03 left. The Hornets nearly put the game away just five minutes into the final period but Grunewald was able to move across his crease from left to right and robe a one timer from Farragher. “I have to give a lot of credit to our goaltender,” Snizek said of Grunewald. “He’s been the all-star of our team this year and he proved it again tonight. Matt left big shoes to fill and he’s been up to the challenge, I can’t say anything more he’s just been unbelievable this season.” The Rocketeers mounted their comeback and did so in quick fashion, scoring three goals in a three minute period. First, North was able to clear their own zone cleanly - something they struggled with at times - and the puck found its way to sophomore Erik Clements. Clements went in with speed as classmate Zach McGowan raced up side by side to space the defense. With that space, Clements released a shot that found the back of the net to make it 3-3. North Attleboro took its first lead less than a minute later with a power play goal. Andrew Casson fed Mark entail, who found Young. Young used his speed to race right at the defense, dangled to his left into space and then finished his shot to make it 4-4 with 5:46 left. The freshman McNeany was back at it again just over two minutes later. He tossed a shot on goal from outside the circle near the boards that was stopped by Visconti but McNeany didn’t give up and charged it, took control of the rebound and buried the goal to make it 5-3. “He’s like our secret weapon out there,” Snizek said of McNeany, who has 14 goals this season. “We knew he was coming up and he’s got the grit that I would definitely want for our second line center. He’s been producing too with five goals in the past two games.” Collins’ was able to register his third goal for a hat trick, finishing off a 2-on-1 and pass from Farragher to make it 5-4 but with just 9.8 seconds left, it was too late for the Hornets. Mansfield, who has now dropped two in a row, has surrendered nine goals in the last two third periods. “It’s happened all year,” Mansfield head coach Rick Anastos said. “The same thing happened in Franklin. We played two great periods then we came out flat. Six penalties doesn’t help either - again. “They wanted it more. Our team, we’re lacking something. Too much bickering, the chemistry is not good right now. We need to play 45 minutes. Without a doubt better than our record but we’re not playing as a team and that’s really what it comes down.” North Attleboro improves to 7-3 overall and 3-1 in league play - good enough for second place in the Kelley-Rex. The Rocketeers will host first-place Franklin on Wednesday at 8:00. Mansfield drops to 3-6 overall and 2-2 in league play. The Hornets will host Taunton on Wednesday at 4:50. Click HERE for a full photo gallery of the game. Ryan Lanigan can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @R_Lanigan. By Josh Perry, Managing Editor MILFORD, Mass. - Heading into halftime, Milford had made only three shots from the floor and scored only 14 points. The young (only one senior on the floor) and shorthanded Hawks (with only eight players dressed to play) needed a leader to find the spark that could turn things around. Senior guard Clarissa Miyares provided that boost in the second half. The captain came out firing and scored all of her team-high 16 points after the break, including 13 in the third quarter alone, and gave the Hawks the momentum to complete a season sweep of Hopedale. With Miyares leading the way, the Hawks stormed back into the game with a 23-8 third quarter and held on down the stretch to claim a 55-47 victory that ended Milford’s five-game losing streak in its first home game since January 2. “We were like okay guys clearly this is a different game than last time,” said Miyares about the halftime team talk. “So we have to come out strong and come out aggressive, like we did in the first few minutes.” Milford coach Trisha Cullen added, “We played well against Hopedale in the first game of the season, so we knew we could play with them we just needed to confidently come out and play with a lot of energy.” Cullen continued, “Clarissa is a senior and coming out shooting the three to start the half really set the tone offensively and it was the boost that we needed and we just ran with it.” It took the Hawks 5:22 to get on the board on a free throw by Emily Piergustavo. Milford would not hit its first shot from the floor until sophomore Christine Pye knocked down a jumper with 45 seconds remaining in the quarter. A layup by freshman Katie Irwin made it 10-7 after one.
The second quarter was just as much of a struggle for the Hawks. Milford went 5-8 from the line and Irwin was the only Hawk with a made basket, as Hopedale stormed out to a 27-14 lead at the break. The Blue Raiders were led by junior Lea Hyland, who scored 10 of her 13 in the first half, and senior Katelyn Rizzo who added nine of her game-high 21. The game turned immediately after the break, as Miyares came out gunning with a pair of three-pointers in the first minute of the second half. Those made shots seemed to inspire the Hawks who were suddenly getting stops and crashing the boards on every possession. Down by nine, Milford went on a 13-0 run to take the lead for the first time in the game. Miyares hit a pull-up jumper, knocked down a pair of free throws, and then buried a straightaway three that tied the game at 33-33. Irwin then followed up a layup in transition and then made a great individual play that included a 360 dribble and crossover and was finished with a scoop to make it 35-31. Cullen was full of praise for her senior captain and her influence on the team. “It’s hard when we’re so young and there isn’t much leadership on the court, but Clarissa has done nothing but go above and beyond any coach’s expectations as a leader off the court,” said Cullen. “She always does everything right and always puts her team first.” When asked about the difficulty of keeping her confidence high after a tough shooting half, Miyares responded with a shrug, “You just have to keep your energy up. So, you miss a few in the first half so you’re due for a few in the second half and just keep shooting.” Miyares provided the spark and her teammates followed her lead. That included freshmen Gillian Valanzola (eight points and five rebounds) and Juliana Tracy, who had only three points but added 14 rebounds. “Fourteen rebounds from a freshman is huge,” said Cullen, “she’s just a hard-working player. Gillian also played tremendous. Two freshmen kids that work so hard and it’s a lot of promise for the future.” In the fourth quarter, Irwin added five of her 13 points and Pye scored six of her 12, as the Hawks showed composure down the stretch to keep the visitors at bay. Miyares also buried a big three off an inbounds play that put the Hawks back up five at 50-45. Milford went 5-6 from the line in the closing minute to wrap up the win. “We’ve been on the road for the last six games, we’ve been on a losing streak, so it’s just nice to be in our gym and to get a win and now playoffs are more in reach,” said Cullen, who is holding out hope that the Hawks can claim a playoff spot. “Beating Hopedale means we’re still in it. Six more wins -- they’re out there for us to take, so I’m looking forward to that moving forward.” Milford will play host to Taunton on Tuesday before Oliver Ames visits on Friday. Josh Perry can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10.
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Here are today's games.
Boys Basketball Franklin, 59 @ St. John’s Shrewsbury, 66 - Final King Philip, 43 vs. Brookline, 71 - Final - Erich Ryan led the Warriors with nine points and eight rebounds. James O'Brien chipped in with eight points for KP, while Brookline finished with four players in double figures. Mansfield, 69 @ Brighton, 71 - Final - Mansfield senior Ryan Boulter scored a career-high 39 points for the Hornets and added nine rebounds. Milford, 46 vs. Hopedale, 78 - Final Girls Basketball Milford, 55 vs. Hopedale, 47 - Final - The Scarlet Hawks rallied from a 27-14 halftime deficit to end a five-game losing streak. Senior Clarissa Miyares scored 17 points in the victory, all in the second half, to lead the Hawks. Freshman Katie Irwin score 13 points, sophomore Christine Pye scored 12 and added nine rebounds and three blocks, and freshman Juliana Tracy scored three points and added 14 boards for Milford. Boys Hockey Mansfield, 4 @ North Attleboro, 5 - Final Canton, 2 vs. Newburyport, 4 - Final Attleboro, 1 @ King Philip, 7 - Final Stoughton, 0 @ Milford, 2 - Final - Peter Schuler and Drew Wilde scored for the Scarlet Hawks in a non-league game against Stoughton. Ethan Rawl, who made 37 saves, was outstanding in goal according to Stoughton head coach Dan Mark. Swimming Boys Sharon, 67 @ Canton, 92 - Final Mansfield, 87 @ North Attleboro, 83 - Final Taunton, 92 @ King Philip, 78 - Final - Taunton pulled away for the win in the relays after a tight meet. KP senior Mike Choate won the 200 IM and the 100 back, junior Alex DiGiacomo won the 200 free and the 100 fly, and sophomore Jack Poppenberger won the 100 breast. Girls Sharon, 78 @ Canton, 89 - Final Mansfield, 68 @ North Attleboro, 97 - Final Taunton, 61 @ King Philip, 97 - Final - The Warriors clinched their first league title with the win, which moved KP to 5-0 in the Hock this season. Senior Sydney Nasson won both the 200 and 500 freestyle, while senior Emily McQuaid won the 200 IM and the 100 fly. Freshman Callie Sullivan added wins in the 50 free and the 100 back. Girls Hockey Canton, 7 @ Franklin, 1 - Final StandingsKelley-Rex
Davenport
Top 25 Scorers
Triple-Doubles
Double-Doubles
25+ Scoring Performances
Top 5 Scoring Teams
Top 5 Defensive Teams
StandingsKelley-Rex
Davenport
Leading Scorers
Leading Goalies
Only stats submitted in a timely manner to Stoughton head coach Dan Mark or to HockomockSports.com are reflected.
Here are today's games.
Boys Basketball Taunton, 72 vs. New Bedford, 52 - Final - Senior Corey Green led Taunton with 19 points, while sophomore Tommy MacLean added 16 points and classmate EJ Dambreville chipped in with 12 points. Girls Basketball Taunton, 48 @ New Bedford, 36 - Final Girls Hockey Franklin @ Mansfield/Oliver Ames/Foxboro, 6:00 By Josh Perry, Managing Editor
TAUNTON, Mass. - This has been a very long week for the Taunton hockey program. On Wednesday night, the Tigers lost 9-1 to King Philip and following the game an assistant coach was arrested for allegedly assaulting an official in an incident that took place on the ice at the Foxboro Sports Center. The incident has brought unwanted notoriety to the program with media from across the region descending on the school and coming by the rink to film practices. Amidst the turmoil, the Tigers had to prepare for the Bombardiers, to try and end a streak of five losses in the past six games, and to earn their first Hockomock win of the season. Somehow, Taunton set aside the off-ice drama, focused on the task at hand, and rallied for each other to pull out the win. Junior goalie Cam Pitts made 39 saves, junior Tyler Pietrzyk scored a pair of goals, and Taunton overcame six penalties in the third period alone to pull out a 5-3 victory over Attleboro on Saturday afternoon at Alexio Rink, sweeping the season series with the Bombardiers. “It was definitely great to lift the emotions and get everybody feeling good about it and help us bounce back,” said Pitts after the game. Taunton coach Kris Metea reflected, “I’m very proud of the boys. They showed extreme resiliency, extreme mental toughness. They were able to stay very stoic in a situation that not many kids have had to deal with and to respond with an effort…and to pull out a win is a testament to their character.” The first period was mostly even with both teams struggling to consistently create scoring opportunities. Taunton had an early advantage in shots but both teams missed golden chances to take the lead. That changed with 1:12 remaining when Pietrzyk took a pass from Zack Albert and scored from a tight angle to make it 1-0. Attleboro out shot Taunton 8-7 in the opening period and would proceeded to increase that margin significantly over the next 30 minutes. The Bombardiers dominated the second and third periods by a 34-11 shot margin. It was Attleboro's highest shot total in a game this season. Yet, it was Taunton that would extend the lead. Junior forward Nick Croft saw his shot from the left dot bounce off the blocker of Attleboro goalie Tim Gile, sail over the goalie’s head and land just over the line behind him to make it 2-0. With 5:39 remaining in the second, Albert would get a goal from a tight angle on the power play, although it looked as though the net had been dislodged prior to the shot. Albert’s goal was the first power play goal of the season for the Tigers, who would go 3-4 with the extra skater on Saturday. Metea said, “We’ve been really bunkering down and working on it in practice. Thank goodness they finally drove to the net, used one another, and we were able to capitalize.” Just when it looked like the Tigers may cruise to a victory, the Bombardiers showed some resiliency of their own. Luke Chomyszak sent a pass across to Ryan Girouard who was not able to put the puck on net, but he recovered and put the puck in the crease where Chomyszak was able to stuff it into the net. The Bombardiers carried the momentum into the third and totaled 17 shots in the final period alone. Inside the opening two minutes of the third, Chomyszak picked up an assist as his shot from a tight angle rebounded off Pitts and into the path of P.J. Elliott who knocked it home to make it 3-2. “After last game, we kind of juggled some lines and Luke can click with anybody,” said Attleboro coach Mike Cripps. “He just goes 110 miles per hour. The top two lines seemed to really gel today.” Taunton regained the two-goal lead on the power play. Sophomore defenseman Nick Terry slammed home a loose puck in front of the goal with 11:19 to play. Three minutes later and Attleboro was back in it. Again Chomyszak set up the goal with a lay-off to Keagin Larkin who fired a wrister under the bar to make it 4-3. “That’s been the reputation of this group all year,” said Cripps. “They haven’t given up until the final buzzer.” The Tigers would continue to find themselves down a man in the third period with six penalties keeping Attleboro on the front foot. However, Pitts continued to come up with big save after big save and somehow kept the Bombardiers at bay despite a series of chances from right on the doorstep. “He made a few second saves but for the most part he made the big first saves and really controlled his rebounds,” explained Metea. “He’s got great movement and takes away that first shot opportunity.” Cripps added, “The goalie stole the game for them. I thought we controlled the second and third period but the goaltender came up with some huge stops.” Taunton held on right to the end. With 4.3 seconds left, the Tigers got a power play opportunity that forced Gile back into the Attleboro goal for a face-off to his left. Pietrzyk won the faceoff and fired a shot from the circle that just slipped past the goalie to wrap it up as the final buzzer sounded. “Our kids did everything we asked them to do today,” said Cripps. “I’m proud of the effort but sometimes you come up on the wrong end of things.” Pitts said, “We never got down on ourselves when we got scored on…we just went right back out there and kept playing hard… I would say it was a good game from everyone.” When asked what this win meant to the team after the week that the Tigers have had, Metea took a long moment before answering. He simply responded, “It’s been an exhausting week, so it’s unbelievable.” Taunton (4-5-1) will try to continue the momentum when it plays host to Durfee on Monday afternoon. Attleboro (3-8-1) will look to bounce back against KP at the Foxboro Sports Center on Monday. Josh Perry can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10. Here are today's games.
Boys Hockey Taunton, 5 @ Attleboro, 3 - Final - Junior goalie Cam Pitts made 39 saves, including 15 in the final period, to preserve the lead for the Tigers despite six Taunton penalties in the period. Tyler Pietrzyk scored with a minute remaining in the first period and Nick Croft and Zack Albert added goals in the second period to give Taunton a 3-0 lead. Luke Chomyszak got Attleboro on the board late in the second and then assisted on a goal by PJ Elliott early in the third. Nick Terry scored a power play goal to make it 4-2 before Chomyszak picked up an assist on a goal by Keagin Larkin that made it 4-3. Pietrzyk scored a second just before the final buzzer sounded. Attleboro out shot Taunton 42-18 in the game. Foxboro, 0 @ Canton, 11 - Final King Philip, 0 @ Franklin, 10 - Final Milford, 3 @ Stoughton, 1 - Final - Aidan Wilde tied the game in the second period, Nick Mobilia tipped in a shot from Sam Croteau and Pete Schuler scored on a rebound, all in the second period, to lift the Scarlet Hawks. Adam Potter gave Stoughton the lead in the first period on a power play. Gymnastics Canton, 122.7 @ Mansfield, 136.9 - Final Oliver Ames, 133.95 @ King Philip, 135.75 - Final Sharon @ Shrewsbury, 11:00AM Swimming Boys Foxboro, 40 @ Sharon, 140 - Final Girls Foxboro, 79.5 @ Sharon, 89.5 - Final Girls Hockey Canton, 3 vs. Sandwich, 1 - Final Below are our staff's predictions for this Saturday's Hockomock league hockey games.
By Ryan Lanigan, Editor-in-Chief
FOXBORO, Mass. - It was no secret how much the game between Foxboro and Oliver Ames meant, especially in the Davenport Division title race. Although it’s just mid-January, the Warriors and Tigers are now tied atop the division standings after Foxboro used a second half surge to beat OA, 63-60. Oliver Ames had a double-digit lead at halftime, up 40-29, but Foxboro had a huge third quarter, including a 19-2 run to close the period to erase a 13-point deficit and take a 52-48 lead into the final frame. “It’s huge,” first-year Foxboro head coach Jon Gibbs said. “We didn’t avoid that topic, we talked about it openly. One of this team’s goals is to win the Davenport Division. They knew if they wanted to have a legitimate chance, they had to win tonight. We didn’t shy away from that, we knew that was the reality and the kids came out and played with a lot of passion. It would have been easy to give up when we were down but we hung in there and stayed with it.” Junior Alex DuBrow was the catalyst in Foxboro’s comeback, scoring a team-high 21 points (10 in the second half) with six assists and three steals. A free-throw from Chris Kyne put OA up 46-33 but two buckets from Robby Lowey and another Mark Clagg was followed by a big three from DuBrow to make it 48-42. After two defensive stops, DuBrow came up with the play of the game, using a no-look, backwards pass over his head to find Derek Gilreath for an easy two. DuBrow added another basket and Gilreath grabbed an offensive board and outback to tie things at 48 with 1:29 left in the third. Another field goal from DuBrow was followed by a jumper from Austin Ryan and Foxboro had a 52-48 lead. “We really felt at halftime that our defensive game plan was working, but OA had just made some tough shots,” Gibbs said. “I told the guys to just stay with the game plan and trust it and to continue to close down the space. Eventually they started missing some shots and we were able to get rebounds and build momentum off our defense. Offensively I thought we were patient and worked for good shots. We’ve been emphasizing good shot selection and I thought they were tremendous on being patient.” Foxboro kept its four point lead for the first half of the final quarter and even extended the lead to six but back to back baskets from OA’s Brendan Flynn - a put back and then a corner three - cut the lead to one at 58-57 with three minutes to play. Gilreath put Foxboro back up three but Ryan Carney (game-high 29 points) drained a three to tie the game with 1:53 left. With 24.1 seconds left and the game still tied at 60, DuBrow drove trough the lane to the basket and was able to draw the foul. He calmly sank both free throws to make it 62-60 Foxboro. Oliver Ames missed on the other end and fouled DuBrow to send him to the line again. He hit the front end but missed the second. As OA advanced the ball, a kick ball gave the Tigers an inbounds play right over half with just two seconds left on the clock. After a timeout, Sam Kelley hit Carney in the corner on the inbounds but Gilreath was able to get a piece on Carney’s shot. “He’s always been a clutch player, he’s never been afraid of the big moment,” Gibbs said about DuBrow. “I have complete trust in him at the end of the game. There’s no doubt we want the ball in his hands and he showed again why tonight.” Oliver Ames, who shot well over 50% in the second quarter, hit four three’s in the quarter that helped give them an 11-point lead, something OA coach Don Byron didn’t feel was indicative of how close the game actually was. “We hit shots in the second quarter and it was a little bit of fool’s gold as a result of that,” Byron said. “We went in 11 points up largely because we hit a couple threes. I don’t think we were by any means outplaying them to the tune of 11 points after two periods and that probably wasn’t helpful. It wasn’t representative of how that game was going. All indications were that they were going to come back because they had done it a couple times in the first half. We went through a stretch there where we couldn’t have done more wrong in terms of their offensive rebounds, not identifying their two primary scorers, and a rough patch on offense.” Oliver Ames drops to 7-3 while Foxboro improves to 6-3 and both teams sit in first place in the Davenport Division at 5-3. Foxboro will try to make it two in a row on Tuesday when they take a trip to Kelley-Rex leader Mansfield while OA will look to bounce back with a trip to North Attleboro. Ryan Lanigan can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @R_Lanigan. By Jarett Leonard, HockomockSports.com Contributor
NORTH EASTON, Mass. – The top two teams in the Davenport division went back and forth for much of their meeting on Friday night, but a trio of baskets from Foxboro’s Kat Tamulionis late in the contest lifted the Warriors over Oliver Ames 47-40. Tamulionis’s first three gave Foxboro a 40-36 lead with three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. A pair of free throws from Shannon Holleran and a basket from Mackenzie Webster tied the game at 40-40, but Tamulionis would answer again for the Warriors. She scored five straight points, a three and a two on consecutive possessions, while two free throws from Caroline Rathgeb sealed the victory for Foxboro. “That’s her, that’s Kat,” Foxboro head coach Lisa Downs said. “They were playing great defense on her and the zone they were playing was really limiting her in being able to drive toward the basket and giving her too many outside looks. But then she took charge in that fourth quarter and she did what she always does.” Oliver Ames was able to fight their way back from a separate deficit earlier in the final quarter. Down 37-30 with 5:30 left, Webster and Meg Hurley lead the Tigers on a 6-0 run to pull within one before Tamulionis extended the lead again. OA tried to feed Webster in the paint for much of the game, and it was finally successful in time to stage a late run. “We’ve depended on our senior leadership all season long,” Oliver Ames head coach Elaine Clement-Holbrook said. “In that instance, we felt like we had a little bit of a size advantage where we wanted to see if we could get the ball inside. Mackenzie and Meg did a real good job with that. I think we had a hard time, at least initially, in trying to find them but we made a couple of adjustments.” Both teams came out slow to start the game, the first point not coming until 3:37 of the opening quarter. A full court press from Foxboro forced Oliver Ames to turn the ball over on 19 occasions, eight in the first quarter alone. “We had tons of turnovers,” Clement-Holbrook said. “We weren’t giving ourselves good spacing and I was really disappointed in our timing. Once they started to turn the ball over, I think they got a little bit anxious and they didn’t make the best possible decision that they could have under that pressure. We kept coming closer and closer to the end line instead of trying to create space and get the ball into openings. That was great defense by Foxboro.” Foxboro shot just 3 of 16 in the first quarter, the cause of their slow start. The Warriors were getting open looks, they just could not get the ball to fall early on. “We had one shot and we were limited in getting that second or third opportunity,” Downs said. “Unfortunately, we weren’t shooting lights out tonight. We knew the shots were going to start falling so we didn’t want to discourage them from taking them but we just weren’t shooting with confidence in the beginning of the game.” Oliver Ames finished the night with a shooting percentage ten points higher than Foxboro, but the Warriors knocked down five threes compared to none for the Tigers. Tamulionis finished as the game’s leading scorer with 13 points and five rebounds. Ashley Sampson added 11 points while Kristen Bortolotti recorded 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals. “What we concentrate on all year is our defense and our offense will be generated from good defense and I thought our man defense worked very well against them,” Downs said. “We were making it very difficult for the guards to find open looks to some of their players, we were taking away a lot of passing lanes. We started to liven up a little bit after halftime, our shots were starting to fall a little bit more, but we kicked it up on defense and started rebounding a little bit better in the second half, and then Kat sparked a lot of our offense in the fourth quarter.” Webster finished with 12 points and nine rebounds for the Tigers while Meg Hurley also had 12 points and six rebounds. Holleran was a key distributor for OA late in the game, and she finished with five assists. “Mackenzie played a great game,” Clement-Holbrook said. “I was really proud of her, she played a terrific game.” Foxboro improves to 9-1, 7-1 in the league, and will be back in action on Tuesday night when they host Mansfield. Oliver Ames, now 6-4 and 5-3 in the league, will host North Attleboro the same night. By Anthony Rinaldi, HockomockSports.com Student Reporter
NORTH ATTLEBORO, Mass.- The King Philip boys basketball team never trailed as they improved to 6-3 with a 60-48 win over North Attleboro on Friday night at Kenneth G. Pickering gym. After a hot start, KP finally did the most damage in the third quarter. The Warriors turned an eight point lead at the break into a 25 point lead heading into the fourth quarter. KP led 28-20 to open the third. Though North got within seven, the Warriors went on a 16-0 run lead by five points from Erich Ryan and four points from Ryan Layman and finished off by a dunk from James O’Brien to extend the Warrior lead to 21 (48-27). After a three from Chad Peterson for North, a 7-0 run from King Philip extended their lead to 25 (55-30) heading into the final frame. “Our defense has been solid all year long and our rebounding is getting better,” King Philip head coach Matt Coute said about the third quarter. “Our spacing was good and we got to the ball to the baseline, a lot of high lows, we got the ball where we wanted to get it”. The Warriors started off the game hot with a 9-0 run, led by four points from senior captain O’Brien. North Attleboro then cut into the Warrior lead to make it 11-4 off of layups from Brent Doherty and Ridge Olsen. Four straight points from Layman put the Warrior lead back at nine. A mini 5-0 run from North, which included a Conor Carmichael three, cut the Warrior's lead to six to end the frame. “We started out nice and strong,” Coute said. “Our starters did a nice job jump starting us." In the second quarter midway King Philip extended its lead to 13 off of five points from Erich Ryan. North then went on a 7-0 run capped off by a three Peterson to cut the King Philip lead to six. Layman then added another layup to extend the KP lead to eight heading into halftime. In the fourth quarter North Attleboro cut the King Philip lead to 13. Layman then added four straight points to put KP back up 18. North then finished off the game with six straight points to make the final score 60-48. For King Philip, Layman was the team and game high scorer with 20 points. Erich Ryan closely followed with 14, Nick Dumont added eight and James O’Brien followed with seven. For North Attleboro, Brent Doherty lead the team with 13. Olsen, Reynolds, and Peterson all added eight. King Philip (6-3) looks to extend their winning streak to three as they take on Brookline in a non-league contest at home Monday. North Attleboro (4-6) takes on Oliver Ames at home Tuesday night. |
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