03/04/201803/05/2018

Foxboro Falls In Close Battle With Hanover

Foxboro boys basketball — Foxboro’s Joe Morrison goes up for a contested layup against Hanover. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)

FOXBORO, Mass. – If there was one play that summed up how Foxboro’s game against Hanover went, look no further than what turned out to be the game-winning bucket for the Indians.

With Foxboro holding a 57-56 lead, the Warriors looked like they got the stop they needed. Hanover’s leading scorer JP Landry (25 points, seven rebounds) drove baseline and went up for his shot, only for Foxboro senior Teddy Maher to make a great play from behind to block the ball.

But the offensive rebound fell into the hands of Hanover’s Matt Delahunt – one of the Indian’s 15 offensive rebounds – and he quickly put it back up and in with a one-handed floater from the middle of the paint.

That bucket — and those offensive rebounds — proved to be the difference as #5 Hanover edged #4 Foxboro, 58-57.

“That summed it up,” said Foxboro head coach Jon Gibbs. “It just wasn’t our night. It seemed like they made some tough shots all night long and the ball just wouldn’t bounce our way. Sometimes that’s how it goes. The game was everything we expected it to be, it was a great high school basketball game down to the wire. Unfortunately, they made one more play than we did.”

Though that basket proved to be the difference, there was plenty of drama over the final 28 seconds. Foxboro had a chance to retake the lead, using the majority of the shot clock before senior Joe Morrison (13 points, four rebounds) found sophomore Brandon Borde (11 points, six rebounds) in the post.

The sophomore made a nice move to create some space, turning into the paint and firing a turnaround jumper. The shot looked good, but was just inches off, hitting the back of the rim and staying out on the bounce. Foxboro immediately fouled, sending Hanover to the line with 4.3 seconds to go.

Hanover missed the first shot, but once again, the Indians made their mark on the offensive glass, hauling in another offensive board. After another foul, Hanover once again missed the front of the bonus and Foxboro called timeout with 2.6 seconds left.

But Foxboro’s last second effort fell short as the inbounds pass was tipped away at midcourt, securing the win for the Indians, the defending MIAA D3 State Champions.

“Hanover is a terrific offensive rebounding team, we knew that coming in,” Gibbs said. Hanover had a 15-2 advantage on offensive rebounds and won the rebounding battle 38-24. “We certainly made rebounding a major point of emphasis but give credit to Hanover, they were relentless on the offensive boards. It just felt like all the biggest plays of the game were Hanover offensive rebounds.

“It seemed like every big momentum swing…we were able to stop them on the first stop but they would get the putback. Those are winning plays, Hanover is obviously a championship type team.”

Foxboro had a strong start to the fourth quarter with a 6-0 spurt over the first two minutes. Borde converted a nice take to the rim, Matt Rongione (14 points) hit a three off of an assist from Devin Hassett, and Anthony Mollica hit one of his free throws to give the Warriors their largest lead, 54-45, with 5:48 to go.

But the Indians refused to fold. The visitor’s battled back with Landry leading the way. He scored four points while the Indians added three from two separate trips from the free throw line to get within two.

The Warriors snapped the run when Borde hit a free throw with 2:20 to go but Hanover came right back down and scored off the hands of Andrew Carroll off a nice feed from Landry to make it a one-point game.

Rongione responded with a strong take to the basket, fighting through contact for two. That gave Foxboro a 57-54 lead with 93 seconds to play, but again the Indians had an answer when Landry hit a tough floater in the lane.

Foxboro came up empty on its trip up the court, and it looked like Hanover did too. Delahunt saw his jumper hit off the side of the rim, and it looked like Foxboro had come down with the rebound. But a nice hustle play from Hanover resulted in a jump ball, giving the Indians possession back. That led to Delahunt’s floater after Maher’s block.

“They’ve been in so many big games and won so many big games together,” Gibbs said. “I’d like to think our team did the same this year. It was a back and forth battle, neither team wanted to go away. They made one more play and we ran out of time.”

Foxboro’s offense got off to a strong start, hitting four three’s in the opening quarter to create a 19-15 lead. Landry came up with a steal in the last second and hit a desperation three while falling to keep Hanover close.

The offense continued to play well with 17 points in the second quarter. Senior Bobby Harrison emerged as a key part of the offense, scoring nine of his 11 points in the frame to put the Warriors up 36-31 lead at half.

Hanover got within three early in the third quarter but Borde responded to push the lead back to five. When Delahunt hit to get the Indians within two, 43-41, Morrison came back the other way and converted to keep the lead. A three point play from Mollica late in the third kept the Warriors up, 48-45, heading into the fourth.

“I felt like we had a couple of chances over the court of the second half to maybe pop it to double figures and we just couldn’t get over the hump,” Gibbs said. “Every time we looked like we were close to blowing the game open, they came back and made a big play.”

Foxboro boys basketball finishes the season 19-5.

03/02/2018

Foxboro Finds Offensive Rhythm To Beat New Mission

FOXBORO, Mass. – Heading into halftime deadlocked in a low scoring affair, Foxboro head coach Jon Gibbs didn’t need to make many tactical adjustments.

The simple truth was the Warriors just needed to convert their opportunities on the offensive end of the floor.

Foxboro’s stout defense got the job done over the first 16 minutes of play, holding #13 New Mission to just 19 points on 36% shooting. But the Warriors’ offense was struggling to establish a rhythm.

The Warriors shot just 24% (6-for-25) from the field in the first half and went over five minutes without any points at one point during the first quarter. And despite open layup chances and open looks from beyond the three-point line, Foxboro didn’t convert back-to-back chances once.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

“We just needed to relax,” Gibbs said. “We were getting all the looks we wanted to get, and I knew we were going to make them at home in the second half. We talked about going strong to the basket, don’t worry about getting your shot blocked. And if you’re open on the perimeter, step into it and knock it down like you do in practice. Unfortunately, I didn’t feel like there were a lot of tactical adjustments to be made at half, felt it was more about just getting [the jitters] out of our system and we’d settled into the game.”

With the defense continuing its strong work in the second half, the offense finally settled in. The Warriors scored 41 points in the second half en route to a comfortable 60-43 win over the Titans.

“The first one is always the toughest,” Gibbs said. “We haven’t played in eight days and there’s just a whole different vibe in the state tournament. You have to get used it even if you’re a veteran team like we are. Hopefully, we got it out of our system in the first half and now can go on a run.”

Foxboro didn’t miss many of their open looks in the second or many of their shots at all. The hosts hit 16-of-25 attempts (64%) from the field in the second half, scoring as many points in the third quarter as they did the entire first half (19).

Bobby Harrison (eight points) scored on a nice cut to the basket on the opening play of the quarter, Joe Morrison (20 points, six rebounds, six assists, four steals) drained a three on the next trip up, hit one of two free throws after that to take a 25-21 lead.

New Mission stayed within two thanks to freshman Abukar Aden (eight points) but Foxboro finished the third quarter with an 11-5 run. Morrison scored on one end, drew an offensive charge call on the other, and came back down to hit a three to spark the run.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

Senior Teddy Maher got around his man for an easy layup, Matt Rongione came away with a steal and passed to Morrison for a layup, and junior Anthony Mollica (15 points) scored on a strong take to the basket in the final seconds.

Holding a 38-29 lead going into the fourth quarter, Mollica helped the Warriors put the game to bed. The junior scored half of Foxboro’s 22 fourth quarter points.

“It all starts with our defense,” Mollica said. “Once we got a couple of good looks to go down, we started to click. I had a few easy hoops to start the second half and I was just able to build off of that.”

He connected on Foxboro’s first shot of the quarter — a three off a feed from Morrison — and then scored off the dribble to make it 43-33. Mollica dropped back-to-back baskets and sophomore Brandon Borde (13 points) drove right up the middle for two to put Foxboro up 50-35 with just under four minutes to play.

“Anyone that’s seen us practice over the last month would not be surprised at what Anthony Mollica did tonight,” Gibbs said. “He’s been unbelievable at practice, he’s worked really hard and I’m really happy for him. He’s worked really hard and he’s behind a lot of senior guards but when he gets out there, we have a lot of confidence in him and he’s capable of doing that at any moment. He was huge for us tonight when we needed to get that offense going.”

Foxboro continued its run, rattling off 10 straight points to complete a 16-0 spurt. Morrison and Borde each added four points in the stretch while Mollica had two more.

“As the season has gone on, we’ve seen more and more guys outside of Joe and Brandon step up and produce, which has been great to see that balance come around,” Gibbs said. “We’ve always been an unselfish team but now seeing some of those other guys be more confident and looking for their own offense is great to see and it’s been huge for us, you’re starting to see our offensive production go up.”

Foxboro boys basketball (19-4) advances to the D2 South Quarterfinals and will host #5 Hanover (18-4). The game is currently scheduled for Monday, March 5th at 6:30 but is subject to change.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

02/19/201802/20/2018

Monday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 02/19/18

Today’s games are listed below.

Boys Basketball
Attleboro, 60 @ North Attleboro, 38 – Final – Click here for a recap of this game.

Foxboro, 56 vs. Bishop Feehan, 36 – Final – Foxboro senior Joe Morrison hit three three-pointers in the fourth quarter, helping the Warriors pull away from the visiting Shamrocks. Morrison also scored 12 of his game-high 25 points in the second quarter while the Foxboro defense limited Feehan to just four points in the frame, taking a 27-15 lead at half. Bobby Harrison added 15 points in the win.

Franklin, 76 vs. Tech Boston, 67 – Final – Click here for a recap of this game.

King Philip, 65 vs. Falmouth, 66 – Final (OT)

Mansfield, 69 vs. Brockton, 64 – Final – Mansfield senior Johnny McCoy poured in a career-high 35 points to lead the Hornets to a comeback win against the highly touted Boxers. Brockton held a 37-31 lead at halftime and took a 55-54 advantage into the fourth quarter. Mansfield outscored the Boxers 15-9 in the final frame. McCoy hit four three-pointers and went 13-for-19 from the line with five steals. Justin Vine added eight points while Damani Scott (five rebounds) and Ryan Otto each had seven points.

Milford, 74 vs. Tantasqua, 65 – Final – Milford had a dominant third quarter, pouring in 26 points in the frame to turn a five-point lead at halftime (30-25) into a 56-42 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. Junior Brendan White had a team-high 16 points, senior Zach Tammaro added 12 points and Andrew Fraioli finished with 11 points. Kayden Kelley had a double-double for the Hawks with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Oliver Ames, 57 @ Walpole, 49 – Final – Oliver Ames seniors Jack Spillane and Matt Muir each dropped 23 points to lead the Tigers to the Walpole Hoop Classic Championship. The Tigers built a 32-23 lead at halftime with Muir, who notched a career-high, hitting three triples. Spillane and Noah Fitzgerald were named to the all-tournament team.

Stoughton, 76 vs. Lincoln-Sudbury, 53 – Final – Stoughton senior Cam Andrews dropped 25 points and classmate Colin Sanda added 15 points to lead the Black Knights to a win over Lincoln-Sudbury. The Black Knights will play host Waltham in the final of the Jake n Joe’s Basketball Cup on Tuesday at 7:00.

Girls Basketball
North Attleboro, 44 @ Attleboro, 56 – Final – Sam Pierce led the Bombardiers to the non-league win with a career-high 27 points. Jordyn Lako, Mackenzie Roberts, and Nyah Thomas each pulled down nine rebounds for Attleboro. Julia Santos was North’s top scorer with 12.

Foxboro, 66 vs. Hanover, 59 – Final – Click here for a Recap from this game.

King Philip, 43 vs. Needham, 60 – Final

Mansfield, 60 vs. Marlboro, 21 – Final – The Hornets turned on the defense in the third quarter, holding Marlboro to only three points, and scored 23 points themselves to break the game open. Ann Maher scored 16 points, knocking down five threes, for Mansfield, while Maggie Danehy added 10. Erin Daniel, Meg Hill, Sydney Mulkern, and Kara Bendanillo each added six points apiece for the Hornets. Mansfield will face Lowell in the tournament final after the Red Raiders upset Coyle.

Stoughton, 52 vs. Norwood, 38 – Final – Aliyah Wright scored a game-high 20 points to lead the Black Knights, who closed out the regular season by winning 11 of their final 12 games. Stoughton, which held Norwood to only two points in the first quarter and seven in the opening half, also got 12 points from Val Whalen and nine points and 13 rebounds from Jordan Motley.

Taunton, 56 @ Durfee, 47 – Final – The Tigers closed out the season with a non-league road win, after rallying from a 15-point second half deficit. Kelsey White paced Taunton with 15 points. Jaelyn and Sonya Fernandez each scored 11 for the Tigers, Hannah Moniz added nine, and Lily Patneaude had eight.

Boys Hockey
Foxboro, 2 vs. East Bridgewater, 3 – Final

Franklin, 3 vs. LaSalle Academy, 4 – Final

King Philip, 1 vs. Norwood, 3 – Final

Oliver Ames, 0 vs. North Reading, 5 – Final

Girls Hockey
Canton, 6 vs. Whitman-Hanson/Silver Lake, 2 – Final – Junior Lauren Fitzpatrick recorded four points to held the Bulldogs skate past Whitman-Hanson. Fitzgerald scored hat trick and had one assist in the win.

King Philip, 3 @ Natick, 6 – Final

Stoughton, 0 @ Dover-Sherborn/Hopkinton, 7 – Final

02/17/2018

Foxboro Beats North To Clinch Share of Davenport Title

FOXBORO, Mass. – After falling on the road to Milford last Friday night, the Foxboro boys basketball team fell a game behind in the race for the league’s Davenport division title.

But the Warriors entered this week with control over their destiny, and they didn’t let the opportunity slip away.

Following a big win over Canton on Tuesday evening, Foxboro used a big third quarter surge to create separation and earn a 56-38 win over North Attleboro, clinching a share of the program’s second Davenport title in the past three years.

Foxboro held a five-point lead (13-8) after eight minutes of play and stretched the advantage to seven (30-23) at the halftime break.

North Attleboro’s Josh Montague (10 points) scored at the midway point of the third quarter to keep the deficit at seven, but that’s when Foxboro blew the game open.

The Warriors rattled off a 13-1 run over the final four minutes of the third quarter. Senior Matt Rongione (six points, five rebounds, three assists) started the run with a three in the corner off a feed from senior Teddy Maher, sophomore Brandon Borde (16 points, five rebounds) converted a strong take to the basket and Anthony Mollicaa hit a free throw for a 6-1 run.

Over the final 60 seconds, Foxboro added seven more points. Joe Morrison (19 points, three assists) scored and then set up Borde for another basket. And then just before the buzzer sounded, Borde returned the favor, finding Morrison for a triple at the end of the period.

“I felt like the run was coming all along,” said Foxboro head coach Jon Gibbs. “I felt our defense had been pretty good. At times North made some tough shots and we missed some easy ones. I felt like it was just a matter of time until we made the run and we started finishing pays in transition.

“We have an unbelievable group of seniors, it’s the biggest senior class I’ve had. They have so much character, grit, and toughness. Their leadership has been unbelievable. Both games this week they came with incredible focus, effort and energy and they weren’t going to be denied. I’m really happy for them.”

The run gave the hosts a 51-32 advantage heading into the final period.

“The trademark of this team has been to win with defense,” Gibbs said. “I think that’s what you saw tonight. Our offense was somewhat inconsistent early in the game but we kept defending and getting stops. And eventually, we put enough baskets in the hoop to get the separation.”

Despite limiting Foxboro to just five points in the final frame, North Attleboro was unable to mount a comeback attempt as the Rocketeers scored just six points in the final eight minutes.

“I thought we worked hard, that’s been true most of the year,” said North Attleboro coach Sean Mulkerrins, “We had a couple of breakdowns, we let Morrison get way more touches than we wanted. Give them a lot of credit, their back cuts hurt us in the first half and we weren’t able to react or adjust enough.

“On the offensive side it’s frustrating but I give our kids a lot of credit because we started to get the shots we like and as a coach that’s what you want. You just have to make more than we did tonight.”

Foxboro’s defense helped build the lead early on. Despite North shooting 50% from the field in the opening quarter, the Rocketeers had eight turnovers in eight minutes. The Warriors capitalized with senior Bobby Harrison (11 points) accounting for nearly half of the first quarter points with six.

Both offenses came alive in the second quarter. Foxboro led by seven twice early on in the quarter, while the Rocketeers cut it down to three two times. Morrison’s traditional three-point play made it 19-12 but a three from Nate Gonsalves and back-to-back baskets from Jake Petersen (10 points, five rebounds) and Montague brought the visitors within three.

Chad Peterson kept it a three-point game with a nice pull-up but consecutive triples from Harrison and Morrison gave Foxboro a 30-21 lead with just over a minute left.

“They are well coached, they make good reads,” Mulkerrins said of Foxboro. “That’s the toughest thing to defend because it’s not a set thing. Our kids were working hard but we aren’t as experienced as they are and that showed tonight. When teams make runs we need someone to step up and tonight, I appreciate the guys trying, we just didn’t make the shot or get the stop or get the call.

“Hats off to Foxboro for the league title. That’s a team that’s really good defensively and [coming into the season] had some questions about offense but Jon and his staff did a fantastic job, they should be proud of themselves.”

Foxboro boys basketball (12-4 Hockomock, 16-4 overall) will close out the regular season with a pair of non-league games starting on Monday with a visit from Bishop Feehan. anorth Attkbopp(6-10, 8-10) needs to win both of its remaining games to earn a playoff berth. The Rocketeers will host rival Attleboro on Monday at 6:30.

02/14/201802/14/2018

Foxboro Grinds Out Win Over Canton To Pull Even

FOXBORO, Mass. – For nearly nine minutes in the second half, Foxboro’s offense was stifled by Canton’s 1-3-1 zone defense.

It was just the latest move in a chess game between the Warriors and the Bulldogs.

During that span, Canton cut the 10-point deficit down to just three, 29-26, with five minutes to play. Out of a timeout, Foxboro responded with its move, adjusting its offense to get the ball into the post.

The adjustment resulted in a 6-0 spurt over a two-minute span, helping the Warriors hold on for a 39-34 win over the Bulldogs, putting the teams into a first-place tie atop the Davenport division with just one game left.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

“What you saw tonight was two evenly matched teams and two teams that were very well prepared for each other,” said Foxboro head coach Jon Gibbs. “Once you get to this point in the season, teams know each other so well and they’re going to take away what teams want to do. I thought you saw two teams tonight that played really well on defense and took away some of the top options on both sides. I’m just really proud of our guys the way we came out defensively with such energy.

“Obviously Canton is a team that can put up a lot of points, [Devin] Foster and [Tony] Harris are both phenomenal offensive players that are really difficult to stop. I thought Joe [Morrison] and Brandon [Borde] were outstanding with their effort.”

Over its scoreless span, the Warriors tried to shoot out of the zone but went 0-for-9 from three-point range, 0-for-1 from two-point range and had one turnover. But out of the timeout with five minutes to go, Gibbs had the offense focus on getting the ball inside.

Matt Rongione (eight rebounds, five assists) executed the game plan, finding Borde (seven points, four rebounds) on the baseline with a bounce pass for an easy two. On the next trip up, Rongione hooked up with Borde once again down low for another two. Canton came out of the zone and Borde was able to track down a miss, leading to two free throws from Anthony Mollica, giving Foxboro a 35-26 lead.

“We definitely knew the 1-3-1 was a possibility so we spent some time over the past two days and had a couple of different packages,” Gibbs said. “Early on we were taking a lot of jumpers, and I thought they were good looks, but unfortunately none of them were going in. So at some point, you have to make an adjustment so we went with another look that got us some more paint touches and we were able to get free down low for a couple of layups and that forced them to come out of it.

“Canton’s 1-3-1 is really difficult to simulate in practice because they do it so well so I was really proud of our execution with some of that stuff.”

Canton made one more push as Foster (13 points) drilled a three with two minutes to go and Austin Maffie converted a putback with 1:25 to go, bringing the deficit to four at 35-31.

But Borde hit a free throw on the other end, Canton had a three rim out, and Rongione came down with the defensive board. Bobby Harrison (eight points) hit three of four free throw attempts in the final minute to ice the game.

“I feel like both teams know each other so well, each team knew what the other team was running, we all know each other’s strengths and weaknesses,” said Canton head coach Ryan Gordy. “I just thought it came down to a couple possessions here and there where there was a tip or a deflection, all of those little things add up. I thought the first game when we beat them we made more of those plays and this game I thought Foxboro made more of those, so hats off to Foxboro.”

Foxboro created its largest lead between the end of the second and early in the third. Harrison drove to the basket for two, Morrison (14 points) drained a three on a feed from Rongione, and Rongione converted at the rim himself to give Foxboro a 22-15 lead.

To start the third, Rongione hit a free throw, Borde hulled in an offensive rebound for put it back in for two, Morrison scored after a steal from Teddy Maher, and then Maher scored again after another steal of his own to make it 29-19.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

“We talked a lot about winning plays and hustle plays because the first time I thought Canton made all those plays down the stretch,” Gibbs said. “There were so many times where they won the 50/50 plays, they got the offensive rebounds, the loose balls, all that stuff. I challenged our guys to be that team tonight and I thought we were. Some of the biggest plays we had were either offensive rebounds or diving on loose balls. We got two over the back calls because we boxed out so well.”

Canton then made the switch to the zone, which afforded its offense some time to get back into the game. Foster scored on a feed from Verille off an inbounds play and Foster hit two free-throws to get within five (29-24) at the end of three. Harris (nine points, eight rebounds) scored in transition on a pass from Foster to make it a one-possession game with 6:25 to play.

It took over three minutes for the teams to open the scoring in the first quarter. Foxboro led by as much as five on a Maher three, but Canton outscored the hosts 7-2 over the final two minutes, including a coast-to-coast layup by Harris at the buzzer to put the Dogs ahead, 11-10.

Foxboro boys basketball (11-4 Hockomock, 15-4 overall) pulls into a tie atop the Davenport alongside Canton with the win. The Warriors have a chance to win at least a share of the division title if they can beat North Attleboro on Friday. Canton (11-4, 15-4) is in the same boat and will have another shot at winning the division when it hosts Stoughton on the same day.

02/05/201802/07/2018

Tuesday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 02/06/18

Today’s games are listed below.

Boys Basketball
Attleboro, 46 @ Mansfield, 64 – Final

Canton, 44 @ Milford, 45 – Final – Milford junior Brendan White hit a three with 0.4 seconds left while being fouled, elevating the Hawks to a win after a wild final minute. Milford had a 42-40 lead with under 30 seconds to play and even got a stop but a jump ball gave Canton the ball back. Devin Foster (17 points) hit three free throws after being fouled to take a 43-42 lead, and after a Milford turnover, Foster hit another free throw to give the Dogs a 44-42 lead. But White took a pass from Kayden Kelley (10 points, 10 rebounds) and hit the winning shot while being fouled. Andrew Fraioli added 11 points and 12 rebounds for Milford while Tony Harris had 16 points for Canton.

Foxboro, 59 @ Stoughton, 53 – Final – Foxboro hit six three-pointers in a 30-point third quarter, turning a 32-16 deficit at halftime into a 46-46 tie heading into the fourth quarter. Bobby Harrison scored five of his team-high 15 points in the fourth quarter while Joe Morrison added 12 points and Matt Rongione had 11 points, including three triples in the third. Anthony Mollica added five of his eight points in the fourth quarter for Foxboro. Stoughton senior Cam Andrews had a team-high 18 points while senior Steevens Phelimond had a career-high 16 points for the Knights.

Franklin, 63 @ Taunton, 51 – Final – Click here for a recap of this game.

Oliver Ames, 60 @ King Philip, 68 – Final

Sharon, 45 @ North Attleboro, 58 – Final – North Attleboro senior Chad Peterson returned from injury and scored a career-high 23 points, draining seven three-pointers to lead the Rocketeers to a win over Sharon. Peterson hit four triples in the opening quarter, two more in the second and another in the fourth. North led 34-27 at halftime and 43-38 at the end of three. The Rocketeers clinched the game with a 15-7 fourth quarter. Josh Montague added 11 points for Big Red while Jacob Petersen finished with eight points. Sharon’s Malik Lorquet had 19 points, 10 rebounds, and nine blocks while Alex Kaufmann added 14 points.

Girls Basketball
Mansfield, 58 @ Attleboro, 40 – Final – Meg Hill had her 12th double-double of the season with 21 points and 12 rebounds and she also added four blocks. Hill is now seven points shy of 1,000 for her career. Ann Maher and Sydney Mulkern each added nine points for the Hornets. Sam Pierce paced Attleboro with 11 points and Liv McCall added eight.

Milford, 42 @ Canton, 38 – Final

Stoughton, 19 @ Foxboro, 74 – Final – Foxboro went on a 17-0 run after the opening basket by Stoughton to take control and added a 10-0 run to close out the first half. Ashley Sampson was the game’s top scorer with 18 points, while Grace Tamulionis added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors. Foxboro also got 12 points from Lily Sykes and nine points from Abby Hassman. Val Whalen led the Black Knights with six.

Taunton, 42 @ Franklin, 69 – Final

King Philip, 45 @ Oliver Ames, 61 – Final – Oliver Ames senior Kayla Raymond continued her stellar play this season, scoring 31 points and hauling in 10 rebounds to led the Tigers to a win at home. Alex Sheldon added nine points and 14 rebounds while Erin Holmberg chipped in with eight points.

North Attleboro, 47 @ Sharon, 24 – Final

Gymnastics
Mansfield, 146.8 @ Oliver Ames, 142.1 – Final

01/31/2018

Foxboro Holds Off Late Surge To Beat Attleboro

ATTLEBORO, Mass. – Attleboro used its defense to get back into the game, but Foxboro used its defense to slam the door shut on the Bombardiers’ comeback.

Trailing 58-52 with just over two minutes left in the game, Attleboro applied a full court pressure. The result was back-to-back steals from senior Nathan Douglas (12 points), the first Douglas scored on himself, the second turning into a layup from Elvin Sam.

After Foxboro called timeout, Attleboro’s defense once again came up with a big play. Sam and junior Mason Houle jumped onto a loose ball, forcing a jump ball and giving possession to the hosts, down two, with a minute to go.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

But before Attleboro could set its play in motion, Foxboro senior Teddy Maher came up with a huge steal in a one-on-one situation. The Warriors used nearly the entire play clock before sophomore Brandon Borde (10 points, four rebounds) drove through traffic converted at the rim for a 60-56 lead with 22 seconds to play.

The Bombardiers called timeout and executed right away as sophomore Qualeem Charles (career-high 28 points, 12 rebounds) quickly scored down low to get the deficit back to two with 12 seconds to go.

Foxboro senior Joe Morrison (19 points) got the inbounds, was fouled, and iced the game with a pair of free throws, giving the Warriors a hard-fought 62-58 win over Attleboro in a very entertaining contest.

“I thought we showed incredible poise,” said Foxboro head coach Jon Gibbs. “They threw that press on us and we weren’t really ready for it, and they got two quick steals. The momentum was completely in Attleboro’s favor…we’re on the road, the crowd is getting louder. It would have been really easy for us to fold but Teddy made a senior play. Teddy’s a phenomenal defender, he gives us a lot of intangibles, he gives a lot of things that don’t really show up in the box score but that’s what seniors do this time of year. They make winning plays.

“I thought it showed a lot of character and a lot of poise, instead of us folding mentally, we showed some true toughness and came up with a big stop when things weren’t going our way.”

“It was a good fight by us to get back in it, to get it within two,” said Attleboro head coach Mark Houle. “We didn’t execute towards the end, we wanted to go inside but you never know what could have happened. Foxboro does a nice job and makes you work for everything you get.”

It was the second time Attleboro rallied in the second half, only for Foxboro to regain its footing late. The Warriors led by 10 (36-26) at halftime, but the Bombardiers executed their game plan nearly flawlessly early in the third to get back into it.

Houle (four points, six assists) drove to the basket for two, Dom Victor hit back-to-back shots in the paint, Charles converted a pair of putbacks and then completed a traditional three-point play after a feed from Houle, giving Attleboro a 39-38 lead on the back of a 13-2 run over the first four minutes of the third.

Foxboro regained the lead when senior Matt Rongione (14 points) knocked down his fourth three-pointer of the game and Maher converted a layup after an Attleboro turnover. But the Bombardiers went to work down low again, with Charles hitting two free throws after being fouled in the paint, and Victor again converting close to the basket.

“In the third quarter we came out and we did a nice job of really going high low with our bigs,” Mark Houle said. “We got a lot of paint touches and got Dom going down low. When they started overplaying our guards we had some good layup opportunities. I think we got back in it going inside, which is our strength, but Foxboro’s defense is obviously good. The outside looks we got were contested and we didn’t hit the outside shots that you’d like to be able to knock down.”

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

Morrison took over for the final 90 seconds of the third. He came up with a steal and went the distance for a layup. After a steal fromDevin Hassett, Morrison drained a three-pointer to put the Warriors up five. And then the senior hit a technical free throw with 7.8 seconds left to give Foxboro a 49-43 lead entering the fourth.

Morrison also had five points in the fourth quarter, including an early three that put Foxboro up nine, an assist on Borde’s alley-layup at the midway point that kept Foxboro ahead by seven, and his game-clinching free throws.

“That’s Joe…it seems like its that way in every game that in the second half, in the fourth quarter, coming down the stretch when we need big plays, Joe is the one who is right there to make it, whether its on the offensive end or the defensive end,” Gibbs said. “He’s incredible, he’s without a doubt the best pure winner and pure competitor I’ve ever coached. He just has the knack for the big play, whatever we need. We’re so lucky to have him, he’s a once in a lifetime player for me as a coach. He’s the ultimate winner and you saw it tonight.”

The first half was highlighted by mismatches on both sides of the court. Charles was Attleboro’s focus early on, scoring eight points and hauling in five rebounds in the first quarter. Douglas hit both of the Bombardiers’ three-pointers of the game in the opening frame, helping Big Blue take a 16-14 lead after one.

While Charles gave Attleboro an advantage down low on the offensive end, Foxboro’s ability to spread the floor and shoot from distance gave the Warriors a leg up, especially in the second quarter.

Foxboro hit five three-pointers in the second quarter to surge past Attleboro. Senior Bobby Harrison (career-high 15 points) was responsible for four of those triples, taking advantage of his matchup. With Charles defending the hoop in the paint, Harrison was left open and converted his chances. Rongione also hit a three in the period, helping the Warriors seize a 36-26 lead at the break.

“Obviously [Charles] presents a huge mismatch for us when they are on offense because we don’t have anyone to match his size inside,” Gibbs said. “But we were also hoping we could do the same when we had the ball and use our perimeter to cause some mismatches for them. We talked to Bobby a lot about setting ball screens on the perimeter and pulling out to either shoot or drive.

“Bobby was able to get some open looks and to his credit, he stepped up and knocked them down. He caused Attleboro some problems, I assume they don’t want [Charles] out on the perimeter chasing guys around, and he was forced to come out because Bobby made some threes.”

Foxboro finished 10-for-19 from three-point and 23-for-47 from the field overall.

“Foxboro is a talented team, and Borde and Morrison are very good off the dribble,” Houle said. “We really wanted to use Qualeem as much as we could inside to sag the middle. I think the first quarter we were able to get away with it but once Harrison hit one, we had more of a soft close out, then he hit two, then hit the third one which was a dagger. Then we had to open up more and get out and cover him. That was big because we were hoping to be able to sag more inside and not allow that ball penetration.”

Foxboro boys basketball (8-3 Hockomock, 12-3 overall) begins its second go through of the Davenport schedule on Friday when it hosts Sharon at 6:30. Attleboro (6-5, 9-6) will try to bounce back when it travels to take on King Philip on Friday at 7:00.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

01/17/201801/17/2018

Canton Pulls Away From Foxboro In Fourth Quarter

Canton boys basketball — Canton’s Devin Foster drives to the basket in the first half against Foxboro. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)

CANTON, Mass. – In a game when points are at a premium, even the smallest of runs can make the biggest difference.

After six lead changes in the third quarter alone, Canton rattled off an 8-0 burst over a two-minute span to give the Bulldogs their largest lead of the game. The hosts never looked back from there, earning a key 61-48 win over Foxboro to give the Bulldogs sole possession of first place in the Davenport.

“That was just a great basketball game,” said Canton head coach Ryan Gordy. “The score says it was a 13 point game but it really wasn’t, free throws extended it at the end, it really could have gone either way. Two teams that play really hard-nosed basketball, I thought the stars were stars…[Devin] Foster and [Tony] Harris for us, [Brandon] Borde and [Joe] Morrison for them. Both teams have really solid role players…just a really awesome high school basketball game. And my hat’s off to Foxboro, they do a really good job with their guys, they’re always well coached and well prepared.”

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

Canton junior Devin Foster (24 points, five rebounds) banked in a step-back three-pointer at the buzzer of the third quarter to give the Bulldogs a 44-43 lead, and arguably, more importantly, the momentum heading into the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs led by one (10-9) at the end of the first and a late three from Foxboro senior Teddy Maher sent the teams into the locker rooms tied 26-26. Neither side led by more than six points through three-quarters of play.

After Foxboro scored the first basket of the fourth to retake the lead, 45-44, the Warriors’ offense went quiet. Canton’s Tony Harris (23 points, six rebounds) started the run with a pair of free throws, Foster drained a deep three from straight away, and after a steal from Ryan Lentol, Harris hit a trey of his own to give the Dogs its largest lead at 52-45 with 3:32 to play.

The Warriors couldn’t answer as they had a turnover on the ensuing possession and then three straight misses. With just over a minute left and the shot clock winding down, Foster took his man baseline and finished at the rim for a 54-45 lead.

Foxboro finally broke its scoreless streak (spanning 6:20) when sophomore Brandon Borde (17 points, seven rebounds) hit a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to seven, but Canton hit seven of nine free throw attempts in the final minute while the Warriors went without a field goal.

Canton outscored Foxboro 17-5 in the final frame.

“Foster’s three at the end of the third quarter I think really changed the momentum of the game,” said Foxboro head coach Jon Gibbs. “I think it gave Canton a big boost and kind of sucked away some of our energy, unfortunately. Canton was obviously very well prepared and they were prepared to take away some of the things we like to do offensively and they were able to make things really difficult on us. Give Canton credit for their defense. I think it had to do with their defense more than anything else.

“Foster and Harris were tremendous, it seemed every time we started to build momentum, one of those two hit a big shot. They hit huge shots time and again, and they were really clutch. They did what big-time players do and really carried Canton. We’ll have to figure out how to do a better job next time around.”

Canton built a 10-4 lead through the first seven minutes of the first quarter, holding the Warriors to just 1-for-11 shooting. But after hauling in an offensive rebound, Joe Morrison (17 points, seven rebounds) drained a three and Borde scored on a layup on the next possession to bring Foxboro within one after eight minutes.

The Bulldogs never trailed in the second period either, but couldn’t pull away thanks to Foxboro’s work on the offensive glass. Harris had a three erased when Borde answered off of Morrison’s offensive rebound.

Jake Verille gave Canton its largest lead of the first half with a layup (19-13) but Borde converted at the rim, later hit a free throw and Morrison hit a pair of free throws to get Foxboro within one. Harris finished a traditional three-point play only for Borde to keep Foxboro close with a triple. Foster and Bobby Harrison traded baskets, Austin Maffie then put Canton up three, but Maher’s triple tied the game.

“A game that tight, every possession is so valuable that they really stick out…an offensive rebound really sticks out cause its an extra possession,” Gordy said. “That game came down to who was able to execute and grind out stops. Any offensive board or tip we got or they got, it just seemed huge.”

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

In the third quarter, Morrison hit a three to put Foxboro up 29-28, only for Foster to convert to give Canton the lead back. Morrison drained another triple but four straight from Foster put Canton ahead again. Matt Rongione went on a personal 5-0 run and two free throws from Borde gave Foxboro its biggest lead (40-35) with 2:30 in the third.

“Devin was just feeling it in that quarter,” Gordy said. “He had 11 in the quarter and it felt like he got hot at the right time, he put us on his back for a quarter and we were able to come out and play better team basketball in the fourth to put it away.”

Kyle Fitzgerald and Lentol scored back-to-back but a three from Anthony Mollica kept Foxboro up four. Harris brought Canton within two before Fitzgerald’s offensive rebound set Foster up for his buzzer beater.

“Kyle Fitzgerald, all that kid does it make toughness plays,” Gordy said. “He’s undersized but he plays big. He’s our catalyst, he does so much for us. He’s a spark plug off the bench and his contributions tonight should absolutely be noted.”

“I thought in the second half they started to get more of those 50-50 balls, more of the loose balls, more of the rebounds in the paint on both ends,” Gibbs said. “Those plays add up and can make a huge difference over the course of a game. Especially these grind-it-out Davenport games, every possession matters. If you can get your team an extra shot or extra possession, it’s huge. I thought Canton was really hungry in the second half…that huge three by Foster at the end of the third was off an offensive rebound. And we weren’t able to get enough of those for us in the second half.”

Canton boys basketball (6-1 Hockomock, 8-1 overall) moves into sole possession of first place of the Davenport and will be in action again on Friday at Stoughton. Foxboro (5-2, 9-2) will look to bounce back the same night when it travels to North Attleboro.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

01/12/201801/13/2018

Morrison, Harrison Help Foxboro Seal Comeback Win

Foxboro’s Devin Hassett goes up for a shot in the second half. (Danny Emerman/HockomockSports.com)

By Danny Emerman, HockomockSports.com Contributor

FOXBORO, Mass. – Foul shots had plagued Foxboro all night. As a team, the Warriors hit just 18-of-30 (60%) freebies.

But when senior Bobby Harrison stepped to the line with his team up three points with 20 seconds left, he delivered. Twelve seconds later, after a wild step-back three from Milford’s Cam Falcon brought the visitors within two, he iced the game with two more to give Foxboro a 55-51 win over Milford.

“Over the course of the season, you have games like that where there’s a lid on the hoop and you’re missing shots you normally make, including free throws,” said Foxboro head coach Jon Gibbs. “You have to be able to win ugly sometimes and I’m really proud we were able to grind through with our ‘D.’”

Harrison had the opportunity to ice the game thanks to senior captain Joe Morrison’s fourth-quarter takeover. Morrison scored 15 of his game-high 22 points in the fourth, including a deep, stare-down trey after a jab step to give the Warriors a 48-41 lead.
“Joe Morrison stepped up and hit a couple huge threes for us. He does it all for us, he’s incredibly clutch, he’s an unbelievable winner,” Gibbs said.

Although he recorded a game-high 22 points, Morrison went scoreless in the first and third quarters.

“Even though he struggled offensively at times, he made big shots,” Gibbs said.

In those same quarters, Foxboro scored just seven and nine points respectively. They went over two minutes without a point to start the second half.

Milford led for most of the game, but couldn’t extend the advantage more than six points. Neither team could find the offense to pull away, as there were five lead changes in the last two and half minutes of the first half.

Milford received 28 of its 51 points from the starting frontcourt of Kayden Kelley (16 points) and Andrew Fraioli (12 points). Defensively, the duo protected the rim throughout the game and made it tough for Foxboro in the paint.

“We really struggled to finish,” Gibbs said. “We missed a lot of layups and shots in the paint we usually make. Sometimes that happens on any given night, but I thought their length had a lot to do with it.”

Kelley especially dominated on both ends, altering shots at the rim and showing impressive inside-out skill on offense, controlling the glass as well.

“We were driving the ball to the lane, and they have a lot of big, long guys rotating over and changing some of those shots, making those shots difficult,” Gibbs said. “I think their length affected us on both ends,”

Milford’s team defense locked in especially in the second half. They held the Warriors to six points in the third quarter before Morrison exploded in the fourth. By rotating over on the weak side on Foxboro slashes, Milford took four charges in the second half, three from guard Joey DeMarco.

Milford carried a lead into the fourth quarter and appeared to be in position to upset the Warriors, who entered the game at 8-1.
Momentum shifted after the Scarlet Hawks were hit with a pair of technical fouls. Morrison drilled all four technical free throws and then a three-pointer on the ensuing possession to cap a seven-point possession, swinging a two-point deficit into a five-point lead. Foxboro held on from there.

To negate Milford’s size, Foxboro played full-court, man-to-man defense throughout the whole game. Senior Teddy Maher harassed the ball-handler and forced several turnovers. His “disruptive” play from 90 feet away from the basket wore down opposing guards, Gibbs said.

“A big part of our game plan tonight was to put pressure on their guards at the point of attack and try to disrupt their offensive flow. We didn’t want them to just come down and be comfortable running their offense and be comfortable throwing it into the post against us. So we really wanted to put a lot of pressure on the ball.”

By staving off Milford’s effort, Foxboro improves to 5-1 in the Hockomock, 9-1 overall. The Warriors will entertain Canton on Tuesday in a battle for first place in the Davenport division. Milford (2-4, 3-4) will look to bounce back when it travels to North Attleboro on the same day.

01/08/201801/10/2018

Tuesday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 01/08/18

Today’s games are listed below.

Boys Basketball
Mansfield, 64 @ Attleboro, 51 – Final – Mansfield opened the second half with a 12-2 surge, turning a deficit into an eight-point lead and never looked back. Attleboro held a 30-28 lead at the break but Mansfield took control of the game by outscoring the Bombardiers 22-8 in the frame. Mansfield senior John McCoy dropped a career-high 24 points, hauled in nine rebounds, had five assists and four steals to lead the Hornets, who totaled 10 steals as a team. Damani Scott tied a career-high with 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds while Ryan Otto chipped in with 10 points. Attleboro sophomore Bryant Ciccio tied a career-high with 17 points.

Milford, 51 @ Canton, 61 – Final – Canton connected on 14 three-pointers as a team, jumping out to a 19-5 lead at the end of the first quarter, and a 30-17 lead at the break. The Bulldogs furthered the lead with a 21-12 third quarter. Senior Tony Harris led the way with 18 points while classmate Austin Maffie netted 17 points for the Bulldogs. Milford junior Brendan White led the Hawks with 14 points.

Stoughton, 41 @ Foxboro, 54 – Final – Foxboro increased its lead after each of the first three quarters to beat the visiting Black Knights. The Warriors led 16-11 after one, 31-20 at the halftime break, and 43-29 heading into the final quarter. Sophomore Brandon Borde led the way offensively with a game-high 19 points while senior Bobby Harrison added 14 points and senior Joe Morrison chipped in with 13 points. Stoughton head coach John Gallivan noted that Alex Sjoquist played well defensively for the Black Knights.

Taunton, 60 @ Franklin, 72 – Final – Click here for a recap of this game.

King Philip, 53 @ Oliver Ames, 51 – Final – King Philip outscored Oliver Ames 21-14 in the third quarter to take a lead and held off a late comeback attempt from OA to earn the win. The Warriors had eight players get on the score sheet, led by Brendan King’s 11 points. Both Pharoah Davis and Tom Madden added nine points while Tim Nault chipped in with seven points. Jack Spillane led Oliver Ames with 23 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter, while junior Ethan Eckstrom scored 11 points.

North Attleboro, 67 @ Sharon, 61 – Final – North Attleboro overcame an early 16-2 deficit with a strong second half to earn the win. Sharon led 16-7 after the first quarter and 27-20 at the halftime break. Big Red came out with a huge third quarter, outscoring the Eagles 18-7 to seize a lead, and then built a 62-47 lead with just under two minutes to play. North senior Chad Peterson came off the bench, hitting three triples in the second half on his way to a game-high 15 points. Josh Montague added 13 points, Ethan Friberg scored a career-high 11 points (10 in the second half) and junior Jake Petersen had eight points. Sharon senior Malik Lorquet had a game-high 17 points and 12 rebounds while Alex Kaufmann added 16 points and Jimmy Fitzhenry had 11 points and three steals.

Girls Basketball
Attleboro, 31 @ Mansfield, 52 – Final – Mansfield opened a one-game lead on Attleboro in the league standings with the win. Meg Hill scored 15 points, had 11 boards, and blocked three shots for the Hornets, who also got 11 points from Erin Daniel, eight points and six assists from Mady Bendanillo, and eight points and nine rebounds from Maggie Danehy. Attleboro got 10 points from Sam Pierce and eight points from Liv McCall in the loss.

Canton, 38 @ Milford, 49 – Final – Click here for a Recap and Photo Gallery from this game.

Foxboro, 74 @ Stoughton, 46 – Final – Ashley Sampson scored 23 points to lead the Warriors to a seventh straight win, six of which were by double digits. Lily Sykes added 15, Shannon Smally had 13, and Grace Tamulionis had 10 points for Foxboro. Stoughton sophomore Shyanne Trinh led the Black Knights with 10 points.

Franklin, 55 @ Taunton, 41 – Final – Sophomore center Ali Brigham recorded a triple-double to help the Panthers earn the road win and stay within a game of first place Mansfield. Brigham scored 15 points, recorded 13 rebounds, and had 10 blocks on the night.

Oliver Ames, 47 @ King Philip, 34 – Final – Leading 32-28 with four minutes to play, Oliver Ames closed the game with a 15-6 run to put the game away and earn the win. Senior Kayla Raymond had a monster night with 30 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks to lead the way for the Tigers, who trailed KP 16-14 at the half. Alex Sheldon added 10 points and eight rebounds in the win for OA.

Sharon, 51 @ North Attleboro, 49 – Final – Telishya Herbert led the way with 17 points for the Eagles, who earned their first league win of the season. Emma Eberhardt added 13 points in the win.

Boys Swimming
Franklin, 126 @ Attleboro, 45 – Final

Girls Swimming
Franklin, 103 @ Attleboro, 67 – Final

Gymnastics
Attleboro, 134 @ Sharon, 127.6 – Final

Franklin, 130.85 @ Oliver Ames, 136.6 – Final – Franklin junior Mia Lizotte won the all-around for the third straight meet with a 35.95, edging out Oliver Ames’ Hannah Moynihan (35.5). Lizotte earned an 8.85 on beam, an 8.7 on bars and a 9.2 on both vault and floor. Franklin senior Liz Traphagen was second for the Panthers on the vault (8.2) and the floor (9.0). Junior Sadie Rondeau was second for the Panthers on both the bars and the beam.