Double Game of the Week
Sharon vs. Attleboro
Boys & Girls Basketball
Boys: Attleboro (10-5) @ Sharon (11-3)
In a huge cross division match up, Sharon (11-3) will play hosts to the Bombardiers of Attleboro (10-5) at 6:30. The Eagles clinched a postseason berth last week while Attleboro is just one win away from doing so going into Friday night's game. The Eagles have won two straight after dropping a double-digit loss on the road to Taunton, and have won three of their last four. After taking a thumping from Franklin, Attleboro has really turned it on, wining three straight games - the first over previously undefeated Mansfield and the next two by an average margin of nearly 20 points.
Both teams still have a chance at their respective divisional titles, with Sharon in the drivers seat in the Davenport and Attleboro sitting in fourth in the Kelley-Rex (tied for second, tie breaking loss to Franklin, a game in hand on Taunton). Sharon has double the amount of wins as the next team in the Davenport but all six teams still have a chance at least share. With it being a close race in the K-R and with anybody having a chance in the Davenport, every game is vital going forward.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Sharon
When the season started, Sharon boasted arguably the top guard duo with Brian Mukasa and Jimmy Fritzson. Now, over halfway through, there have been plenty of other names that have stepped up. Obviously Fritzson - the league's leading scorer heading into this week's games - and Mukasa, a top ten scorer, are a huge part of this teams success. They feed off one another but also have the ability to pick up the slack if either is having an off game. They force defenses to stay honest and it's difficult to set traps against them.
If both of them somehow go cold and defenses are working against them, sophomore Jordan Mello-Klein has been a huge help on the offense. As coaches in the league will tell you, it's tough enough to guard two guards that are of the caliber of Mukasa and Frtizson, but now you add another solid guard in Mello-Klein and they become very hard to guard. Big man Earl Dessasaure is working to become a consistent threat for the Eagles, and when he's on, he's a force on the boards and for opposing defenses. Add in the likes of Mike Zola, Matt Lowerre, and now sophomore David Roelke and Sharon boasts a strong hand of weapons.
Attleboro
It all starts with Tim Walsh for Attleboro but this year, the depth behind him has been incredibly important to the Bombardiers success. Walsh is without a doubt one of the top players in the league and night-in and night-out he garners the special treatment of opposing defenses. He's able to drive to the basket and is also a strong shooter, keeping defenders off balance. Big man EJ Santarpio was going to be heavily relied upon this season and he's come through big time lately. He had a monster effort against Mansfield and that's the kind of performance - save the 35-plus three footer - that Attleboro is going to come to expect from him.
Guard Stanley Beaubrun has emerged as a real solid option for coach Mark Houle this season. Beaubrun is capable of hitting big shots and also can control the game nicely, both offensively and defensively. He has a strong work ethic and is one of the more underrated defensive players in the league. Players like Brandon Clark, Shawn Reardon and Kyle Murphy are becoming known names around the league and it's that depth that has really helped the Bombardiers this season.
Both teams still have a chance at their respective divisional titles, with Sharon in the drivers seat in the Davenport and Attleboro sitting in fourth in the Kelley-Rex (tied for second, tie breaking loss to Franklin, a game in hand on Taunton). Sharon has double the amount of wins as the next team in the Davenport but all six teams still have a chance at least share. With it being a close race in the K-R and with anybody having a chance in the Davenport, every game is vital going forward.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Sharon
When the season started, Sharon boasted arguably the top guard duo with Brian Mukasa and Jimmy Fritzson. Now, over halfway through, there have been plenty of other names that have stepped up. Obviously Fritzson - the league's leading scorer heading into this week's games - and Mukasa, a top ten scorer, are a huge part of this teams success. They feed off one another but also have the ability to pick up the slack if either is having an off game. They force defenses to stay honest and it's difficult to set traps against them.
If both of them somehow go cold and defenses are working against them, sophomore Jordan Mello-Klein has been a huge help on the offense. As coaches in the league will tell you, it's tough enough to guard two guards that are of the caliber of Mukasa and Frtizson, but now you add another solid guard in Mello-Klein and they become very hard to guard. Big man Earl Dessasaure is working to become a consistent threat for the Eagles, and when he's on, he's a force on the boards and for opposing defenses. Add in the likes of Mike Zola, Matt Lowerre, and now sophomore David Roelke and Sharon boasts a strong hand of weapons.
Attleboro
It all starts with Tim Walsh for Attleboro but this year, the depth behind him has been incredibly important to the Bombardiers success. Walsh is without a doubt one of the top players in the league and night-in and night-out he garners the special treatment of opposing defenses. He's able to drive to the basket and is also a strong shooter, keeping defenders off balance. Big man EJ Santarpio was going to be heavily relied upon this season and he's come through big time lately. He had a monster effort against Mansfield and that's the kind of performance - save the 35-plus three footer - that Attleboro is going to come to expect from him.
Guard Stanley Beaubrun has emerged as a real solid option for coach Mark Houle this season. Beaubrun is capable of hitting big shots and also can control the game nicely, both offensively and defensively. He has a strong work ethic and is one of the more underrated defensive players in the league. Players like Brandon Clark, Shawn Reardon and Kyle Murphy are becoming known names around the league and it's that depth that has really helped the Bombardiers this season.
Girls: Sharon (8-2) @ Attleboro (11-4)
On Friday night, Davenport leader Sharon (8-2) will make the trip to Attleboro High to take on the streaking Bombardiers (11-4). Attleboro clinched it tournament berth with a win over North Attleboro on Tuesday and has now won nine of its last 10 games with its only loss being by two points to Kelley-Rex division leader Franklin. The Eagles have won three in a row since a two-game slide in the middle of January when both point guard Lily Abarbanel and Player of the Year candidate Karlie O’Driscoll were missing.
This opens up a difficult stretch of games for Sharon, which will face its five remaining Kelley-Rex division opponents in the final few weeks of the regular season as well as a trip to rival Oliver Ames. Coming off a close win over Foxboro on Tuesday, the Eagles have control of the division lead, but need to keep up momentum to secure a league title.
Attleboro needed to wait until game No. 20 last year before clinching a tournament spot, but the Bombardiers are in and can now work improving their seeding so they won’t be one and done again. Now that a spot in the postseason is wrapped up, Attleboro can also set its sights on league leader Franklin and the Bombardiers will need to beat Sharon to try and keep pace -- and make the rematch with Franklin on Valentine’s Day even more interesting.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Sharon
The Eagles Players to Watch are obvious. There are few teams in the league that can boast a top three as talented as Karlie O’Driscoll, Lily Abarbanel, and Andrea Bender, but Sharon has missed one or all of them at various points in the season. O’Driscoll is the star forward and is a match-up nightmare for opponents, who have to try and compete with her strength on the post and her ability to step back and shoot the jumpshot. Bender will stretch the defense, if she is able to go. The senior has been battling a back injury for the better part of two seasons and it limits her mobility, although not necessarily her jump shot.
Outside of the top three players, Sharon will look to get rebounding and interior defense from Alyssa Piazza, who can get some points in the lane when she is aggressive on the offensive side of the floor. Fellow sophomore Ashley Mukasa has also given Sharon some much needed scoring off the bench and has been improving as the season moves along.
Attleboro
The Bombardiers are led by point guard Kerri Beland, who continues to grow as the primary ball-handler and has shown an improved three-point shot this season as well. Her quickness and ability to get into the lane poses problems to opposing defenses. She has also shown a deft touch to finish near the rim even from strange angles. Sophomore Emily Houle has also been a mainstay on the perimeter for Attleboro with her three-point shooting and especially her ability to defend against the opponent’s top outside threat. Kimi Runey is the third perimeter player in the starting line-up and is also a spot-up threat when Beland gets in the lane and a solid rebounder from the guard position.
Attleboro has plenty of experience on the post with senior forwards Beth Clifton and Bri Laplume. What the duo lacks in height, they make up for in effort, positioning, and strength. There are not many frontlines in the Hock that match the pair in terms of effort on the glass. Freshman forward Sarah Deyo has also given the Bombardiers a lift for short bursts. She is still developing as a big-minute threat but can come off the bench to provide a spark as a shooter and to give the Bombardiers some height on the post.
This opens up a difficult stretch of games for Sharon, which will face its five remaining Kelley-Rex division opponents in the final few weeks of the regular season as well as a trip to rival Oliver Ames. Coming off a close win over Foxboro on Tuesday, the Eagles have control of the division lead, but need to keep up momentum to secure a league title.
Attleboro needed to wait until game No. 20 last year before clinching a tournament spot, but the Bombardiers are in and can now work improving their seeding so they won’t be one and done again. Now that a spot in the postseason is wrapped up, Attleboro can also set its sights on league leader Franklin and the Bombardiers will need to beat Sharon to try and keep pace -- and make the rematch with Franklin on Valentine’s Day even more interesting.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Sharon
The Eagles Players to Watch are obvious. There are few teams in the league that can boast a top three as talented as Karlie O’Driscoll, Lily Abarbanel, and Andrea Bender, but Sharon has missed one or all of them at various points in the season. O’Driscoll is the star forward and is a match-up nightmare for opponents, who have to try and compete with her strength on the post and her ability to step back and shoot the jumpshot. Bender will stretch the defense, if she is able to go. The senior has been battling a back injury for the better part of two seasons and it limits her mobility, although not necessarily her jump shot.
Outside of the top three players, Sharon will look to get rebounding and interior defense from Alyssa Piazza, who can get some points in the lane when she is aggressive on the offensive side of the floor. Fellow sophomore Ashley Mukasa has also given Sharon some much needed scoring off the bench and has been improving as the season moves along.
Attleboro
The Bombardiers are led by point guard Kerri Beland, who continues to grow as the primary ball-handler and has shown an improved three-point shot this season as well. Her quickness and ability to get into the lane poses problems to opposing defenses. She has also shown a deft touch to finish near the rim even from strange angles. Sophomore Emily Houle has also been a mainstay on the perimeter for Attleboro with her three-point shooting and especially her ability to defend against the opponent’s top outside threat. Kimi Runey is the third perimeter player in the starting line-up and is also a spot-up threat when Beland gets in the lane and a solid rebounder from the guard position.
Attleboro has plenty of experience on the post with senior forwards Beth Clifton and Bri Laplume. What the duo lacks in height, they make up for in effort, positioning, and strength. There are not many frontlines in the Hock that match the pair in terms of effort on the glass. Freshman forward Sarah Deyo has also given the Bombardiers a lift for short bursts. She is still developing as a big-minute threat but can come off the bench to provide a spark as a shooter and to give the Bombardiers some height on the post.
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Game of the Week - The Pick
| HockomockSports.com Boys Basketball Picks | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ryan Lanigan |
Josh Perry |
Michael Antonellis |
Cameron Merritt |
Jeff Pickette |
Chris McDaniel |
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| Hockomock Sports |
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Stoughton Media Access |
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| Attleboro @ Sharon Friday, 6:30 |
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| North Attleboro @ Canton Friday, 6:30 |
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| Mansfield @ Foxboro Friday, 6:30 |
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| Franklin @ Milford Friday, 6:30 |
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| King Philip @ Stoughton Friday, 6:30 |
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| Taunton @ Oliver Ames Friday, 6:30 |
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| Total | Lanigan 20-6 |
Perry 20-6 |
Antonellis 18-8 |
Merritt 16-10 |
Pickette 17-9 |
McDaniel 18-8 |
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| HockomockSports.com Girls Basketball Picks | ||||||||||
| Ryan Lanigan |
Josh Perry |
Michael Antonellis |
Cameron Merritt |
Jeff Pickette |
Chris McDaniel |
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| Hockomock Sports |
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Stoughton Media Access |
The Enterprise |
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| Sharon @ Attleboro Friday, 6:40 |
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| Canton @ North Attleboro Friday, 6:30 |
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| Foxboro @ Mansfield Friday, 6:30 |
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| Milford @ Franklin Friday, 6:30 |
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| Stoughton @ King Philip Friday, 6:30 |
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| Oliver Ames @ Taunton Friday, 6:30 |
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| Total | Lanigan 20-4 |
Perry 23-1 |
Antonellis 10-14 |
Merritt 13-11 |
Pickette 13-11 |
McDaniel 13-11 |
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| HockomockSports.com Hockey Picks | ||||||||||
| Ryan Lanigan |
Josh Perry |
Michael Antonellis |
Cameron Merritt |
Jeff Pickette |
Chris McDaniel |
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| Hockomock Sports |
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Hockomock Sports |
Stoughton Media Access |
The Enterprise |
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| Attleboro @ Oliver Ames Saturday, 8:10 |
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| Taunton @ Canton Saturday, 4:00 |
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| Franklin @ Foxboro Saturday, 6:50 |
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| King Philip @ Stoughton Saturday, 6:10 |
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| North Attleboro @ Milford Saturday, 7:00 |
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| Total | Lanigan 12-4-3 |
Perry 14-2-3 |
Antonellis 12-4-3 |
Merritt 8-8-3 |
Pickette 10-6-3 |
McDaniel 11-5-3 |
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