WRENTHAM, Mass. - King Philip used a run at the end of the third quarter to gain some breathing room, but Milton refused to go away in the fourth quarter.
The Warriors needed a dagger.
Enter Jorge Casado.
With 1:38 left and the Warriors lead down to seven, Casado stepped into a three and drained it to push King Philip’s lead back to double digits and the Warriors held on for a 70-58 win.
“Jorge has done a very good job of understanding what I want and what my expectations are and he’s really bought into what I’m selling,” first year head coach Matt Coute said. “He’s a confident kid, he’s confident in his abilities and that was a clear sign. A minute and thirty to go, it was just kind of a dagger. When he hit that sot, their guys kind of put their heads down and they knew that shot kind of sealed it. He’s a good kid and he deserves it so it’s great to see him come through.”
Milton tied the game at 35-35 with 4:35 left in the third quarter but that’s when the Warriors put their foot on the gas offensively. A jump shot from Ryan Layman (tied for a game-high 19 points, five rebounds) was followed a big three pointer from senior Nick Dumont.
On the other end. Erich Ryan came up with one of his six blocks and Casado buried a put back to make it 42-35. Another empty trip for Milton resulted in Casado draining a three to make it 45-37 and then James O’Brien (tied for a game-high 19 points, four rebounds) came up with a loose ball and raced down for his third two handed slam of the game to make it 47-37 at the end of the third quarter.
“It was huge,” Coute said of the third quarter run. “I told them the third quarter usually makes or breaks games. You never want to call the first timeout of the half because halftime is a timeout. Third quarters you want to take advantage. A lot of teams don’t think we can shoot the three but if you look at our percentages.”
The Wildcats came within seven on five occasions during the final quarter but the last would be before Casado’s second three pointer to extend the lead back to 10.
King Philip started the first quarter with a lead before Milton took a 13-11 advantage and took a 15-13 lead after the first. The second quarter played similarly with the teams trading baskets but the Warriors finished the half with a 15-7 run to take a 28-26 lead into halftime.
Overall, the Warriors were out rebounded by Milton 29-23, something that Coute has concern about going forward.
“It’s been a problem we’ve had all year,” Coute said. “Despite our size, we’re kind of getting beat on the boards, especially on the defensive boards. That’s something we have to correct, there’s no excuse. Erich Ryan is doing fine but he can’t do itself.”
Beyond Layman and O’Brien’s 19 points apiece, Casado finished with 10 points, four rebounds and three assists while Dumont finished with 11 points. Ryan had five points, eight rebounds and six blocks.
King Philip (3-1) will get back into league action when they take on undefeated Taunton (5-0) on Friday in the HockomockSports.com Game of the Week.
Ryan Lanigan can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @R_Lanigan.