RANDOLPH, Mass. - Randolph's Bryant Brezil wasn't named the Blue Devils Holiday Classic MVP or even to the All-Tournament team, but there was no doubt who the difference maker was in the fourth quarter of the finals.
Brezil scored 12 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter and Randolph rallied from a nine-point deficit to beat Stoughton 51-45 and capture the 2013 Blue Devils Holiday Classic Championship.
The senior big man saw limited minutes through the first three quarters but was a force in the final frame, picking up four offensive rebounds that resulted in a 45-42 Randolph lead and then a 47-45 Blue Devil lead.
"I think eight of his 12 fourth quarter points were on missed box outs," said Stoughton head coach John Gallivan. "We're not good enough to allow that to happens. He was great - he was a big presence out there. You have your hands full with Fritz [Oslyn] and [Fred] Epps and to throw that in there, that was the tipping point."
The Black Knights held a 34-25 lead after the first three quarters but Randolph opened the fourth quarter on a 13-2 run, the go ahead bucket coming from Brezil with 4:20 left and the Blue Devils never surrendered that lead.
"We were searching for anything," said Randolph head coach Kalon Jenkins. "They were stymying us, they did a terrific job defensively. Bryant had a medical scare just a couple weeks ago and he came out and played big and we needed him. He stepped up and gave us some points in the paint."
Neither team was able to get into a consistent offensive rhythm, as they were tied 12-12 after the first quarter and the Black Knights led 22-16 at half. Both coaches looked at Randolph's defensive pressure as a point that limited Stoughton's offense.
"It wasn't even the full court press, they just do a great job with their half court pressure," Gallivan added. "Nothing is ever comfortable. With the exception of Joey Wilder, a lot of our guys were backing away from it instead of fighting pressure with pressure and ripping through. That's to their credit, Kalon has them playing a brand that's very suited to their athleticism."
Their athleticism was capped with an explanation mark after Brezil put Randolph up 47-45. It looked as thought Stoughton was going to tie the game with an easy bucket down low, but Randolph's Matt Brown came flying in with a huge block to preserve the league.
"We scored 25 points in the first three quarters and we scored 26 points in the last one," Jenkins added. "It was a terrific job by the kids, it was a real gut-check, toughness victory. All credit goes to the kids and the way they fought through."
Stoughton was helped big time offensive by Joe Wilder, who had a game-high 22 points. Wilder had six points in the first half but added nine points in the third quarter that helped Stoughton to a nine-point lead after three and then scored 7 of Stoughton's 11 points in the fourth quarter. Wilder, along with Mike Gallagher (four points, eight rebounds), was named to the All-Tournament team.
"The whole game felt like a trip to the dentist," Gallivan said. "Even when we had the lead, it wasn't going well. We had so many empty trips. You get about 100 possessions in a game and if you're not getting shots on 30% of them, something is going to go wrong in the end and obviously it did."
Dennis Rebelo added six points and four rebounds, Mike Manning had five points and eight rebounds, and Stanley Sajous had five points and six rebounds. Randolph captain Fred Epps scored 19 points and was named tournament MVP.
"When we play with grit and hustle, we're a pretty good team," Jenkins said.
Stoughton will return to Hockomock action on Friday when they travel to Franklin.
Ryan Lanigan can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @R_Lanigan.