Tag: Alec Eaton

Wednesday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 02/17/21

Today’s games are listed below.

Boys Basketball
North Attleboro, 61 @ Foxboro, 53 – Final – Click here for a recap and photo gallery of this game.

Sharon, 50 @ Milford, 62 – Final – Six players in a game-changing second quarter as Milford turned a close game into a comfortable lead that it never relinquished. The Hawks had a 10-6 lead after eight minutes before exploding for 24 points in the second quarter with Ben Blanchard scoring seven of his 13 points and Jordan Darling netting seven of his 16 points to help Milford get the win. Wes Solomon and Max Martin each connected from three-point range while Ralph Franklin Jr. and Brady Olson each scored in the second to give the Hawks a 34-15 lead at halftime. Blanchard added two more threes and Darling connected from three in the third as Milford carried a 48-35 lead into the fourth quarter. Sharon had 10 players get into the scoring column as Rohan Prakash came off the bench to tie for a team-high eight points.

Stoughton, 53 @ Oliver Ames, 62 – Final – Click here for a photo gallery of this game. – Oliver Ames overcame a double-digit halftime deficit to pick up a win over Stoughton, clinching sole possession of the Davenport division title. The Black Knights had a great start, putting up 17 points in the first quarter and 19 more in the second to build a 36-26 lead at halftime. But OA’s defense limited the visitors to 13 points in the third and just four in the fourth, and on the offensive end the Tigers cashed in on 23 offensive rebounds to get the win. OA exploded for 26 points in the third to take a 52-49 lead into the fourth. With points hard to come by in the fourth, Stoughton got possession back down 56-53 with 1:35 to play but an issue with the official book resulted in a technical foul on the Black Knights. OA sank both free throws, snapping a 3:30 scoreless drought. OA got a big stop and Amari Brown (23 points) scored in transition to ice the win. Drew Nickla (16 points, 11 rebounds) was the catalyst behind the offensive rebounding surge while Drew Baxter added nine points and six rebounds and Will Whiteside had seven points and 14 rebounds. Stoughton junior KC Ugwuakazi had 16 points and eight rebounds while senior Waseem Sablon added 13 points.

Taunton, 59 @ Attleboro, 56 – Final – Taunton got just enough stops down the stretch, including a go-ahead three-point attempt from Attleboro with five seconds to go, to earn the win on the road and keep its division title hopes alive. Senior Tyler Stewart scored six of his 20 points in the final frame and junior Tristan Herry hit a huge three with just over four minutes to go to put the visitors up 56-54. Attleboro tied the game off a Taunton turnover with senior Justin Daniels, who scored a career-high 29 points, converted a layup with three minutes to go. Stewart put Taunton ahead with a free throw and the Tigers blanked the Bombardiers the rest of the way. Junior Trent Santos added 13 points and junior Faisal Mass had 11 points in the win for the Tigers. Evan Houle and Alec Eaton chipped in with nine points apiece for Attleboro.

Mansfield, 74 vs. Lowell Catholic, 57 – Final – Holding a six-point lead at halftime, Mansfield dropped 21 points in the third quarter to turn its advantage into 57-42 going into the final quarter. Brendan Foley, Jack Colby, and Matt Hyland all hit from three-point range and had five points apiece in the third to help the Hornets pull away for the win. Senior Matt Boen led the offensive charge with 20 points along with nine assists and six rebounds. Hyland finished with a career-high 17 points an eight assists while Foley had 12 points and Colby chipped in with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Girls Basketball
Oliver Ames, 63 @ Stoughton, 15 – Final – Oliver Ames completed a perfect 10-0 season with a win on the road over Stoughton. Caroline Peper led the balanced scoring attack for the Tigers with 12 points while Kelsey Yelle added 10 points and Caroline Flynn chipped in wit nine points. Freshman Jasmyn Cooper finished with eight boards in the win.

Boys Hockey
Foxboro, 5 @ North Attleboro, 6 – Final – Click here for a Recap and Photo Gallery from this game.

Friday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 02/12/21

Today’s games are listed below.

Boys Basketball
Canton, 50 @ North Attleboro, 52 – Final (OT) – Click here for a recap and photo gallery of this game.

Oliver Ames, 66 @ Sharon, 47 – Final – After a close first quarter, Oliver Ames broke the game wide open with 22 points in the second frame and never looked back for a win on the road. The Tigers held a slim 11-10 lead after eight minutes of action before winning the second, 22-6. Kevin Duggan scored six of his eight points in the frame, Amari Brown (17 points) and Trey Buggs (career-high 15 points) each had four while Drew Baxter (15 points) and CJ Santos each connected from downtown. OA had a total of nine players reach the scoring column, owning a 33-16 halftime lead and a 49-24 advantage through three quarters. Sophomore Matt Baur led the hosts in scoring with 16 points while junior Sam Cohen added 10 points.

Attleboro, 55 @ Foxboro, 33 – Final – Attleboro used its pressure man-to-man defense to force turnovers and cashed in in transition on its way to a win on the road over Foxboro. The Bombardiers jumped out to a 16-7 lead after a quarter and then had its best offensive period in the second with 21 points. Evan Houle scored 10 of his 13 points in the opening half, Justin Daniels had eight of his nine by the break, and Alec Eaton scored all seven of his points in the first half for Attleboro, who had 10 players get into the scoring column. Junior Dylan Gordon led Foxboro with 13 points while senior Myles Horsley and sophomore Alex Penders each had nine points.

Girls Basketball
North Attleboro, 51 @ Canton, 67 – Final – Canton led by four after one quarter but then went on an 18-8 run to close out the half with a double-digit lead. North tried to rally in the fourth, scoring 23 points in the quarter, but it wasn’t enough to mount a comeback. Amanda Kaiser was the top scorer for the Rocketeers with 16 points, 10 of them in the fourth. Taylor McMath scored 11 and Siobhan Weir added eight in the loss.

Mansfield, 63 @ Notre Dame Academy (Hingham), 60 – Final (OT)

Boys Hockey
Canton, 6 @ Oliver Ames, 0 – Final – Click here for a Photo Gallery from this game.

North Attleboro, 4 @ Stoughton, 0 – Final – Click here for a Photo Gallery from this game. North scored twice in the first and twice more in the third to pick up the road win. Nik Kojoian scored a pair of goals and assisted on another and Brady Sarro found the back of the net twice to lead the Rocketeers. Kyle Gruber had the shutout, including a big stop on a second period breakaway by Joe McNulty. Stoughton/Brockton goalie Ryan Spano (51 saves) had a strong game to keep the Black Knights in the game.

Gymnastics
Canton, 120.55 @ Franklin, 142.25 – Final

Taunton @ Oliver Ames, 8:30

Attleboro Holds On For Close Win Over Franklin

Attleboro boys basketball Evan Houle
Attleboro junior Evan Houle (1) looks to dribble past Franklin senior Zach Harvey. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)
ByRyanLanigan_2016FollowRyanLanigan_2016
 
 
 
 ATTLEBORO, Mass. – In most games, it was a run that normally wouldn’t make headlines.

But in Tuesday night’s contest between Attleboro and Franklin, with points more valuable than GameStop’s stock, an 8-0 run in the fourth quarter from the hosts made all the difference.

Attleboro boys basketball

Attleboro senior Alec Eaton hit back-to-back three-pointers and junior Evan Houle added a jumper as the Bombardiers turned a four-point deficit into a four-point lead in the fourth quarter, an advantage they never relinquished — though it was close — in a 42-40 win over Franklin.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

Franklin made it a one-point game, 39-38, with just under a minute to go before Attleboro senior Justin Daniels (10 points, four rebounds) hit a pair of free throws. The Bombardiers’ edge grew by one, 42-38, after Daniels sank another from the line following a Franklin turnover.

Franklin got a second chance after a miss when Zach Harvey grabbed an offensive rebound and kicked it to Andrew Byfield (12 points) for a long two (his foot was on the line) to make it 42-40 but there was just 3.4 seconds left.

The Bombardiers tried to kill the clock with a long pass down court but the ball slipped and went out of bounds, giving the Panthers one final chance. Without a timeout, Franklin ran a play for a contested three that was just off the mark and the off-balance putback attempt also missed as Attleboro held on.

“I think the message is that every possession matters in a game like that,” said Attleboro head coach Mark Houle. “We had a couple of executions of plays and some good finishes we had in the second half and I think that was the difference.

Attleboro boys basketball

“[The 8-0 run] was the turning point when Alec his those two threes. That gave us the lead that we able to hold onto for the rest of the game.”










A back-and-forth first quarter saw the Bombardiers and Panthers combine for 30 points, the latter holding a slim 16-14 lead through eight minutes. With a total of seven three-pointers, it looked like the table was set for a barn-burner type game.

But instead, it was the total opposite. From the start of the second quarter, it turned into a game of stops instead of runs.

Defense shined in the middle quarters for both teams. A clean look at the basket became harder to come by than predicting the snow total from a New England winter storm. The teams combined for a total of just six points in the second quarter, going a combined 3-for-24 from the floor.

“Extremely frustrating,” said Franklin head coach CJ Neely. “I thought we had a lot of really good looks. To score 40 points and feel like you got a lot of good looks is a weird thing to say but it felt like we had our opportunities to extend our lead or make some shots that could have put us in a good position to win the game but unfortunately, we just didn’t finish. I know our shooting percentage wasn’t pretty. [Attleboro] played hard, they did a good job, they are a physical team that plays really hard. Hopefully we can make more looks on Thursday.”

While each offense found a little bit more rhythm in the third, both sides were limited to single-digit scoring once again. Byfield had half of the Panthers’ eight points, including a breakaway left-handed slam after a steal near midcourt. Attleboro’s Evan Houle (10 points) hit a three with less than a minute to bring his team within one, 26-25, going into the fourth. It was the first made three from either team since the first quarter.

Attleboro boys basketball

“We know [Franklin] is going to come in here and defend,” Houle said. “That’s a well-coached team and they are going to be tough on defense from start to finish. I thought we matched them on defense for a little while too. I give my guys credits for defending tonight, there were some times we had some lapses on some slips where they got some good looks that we have to work on. But I thought we battled hard on the inside. I thought both Jake Struminski and Chris Holcomb came in and played well for us. Those two guys played hard and made an impact in the game.”




Franklin seemed to grab the momentum to start the fourth, scoring on back-to-back possessions as Jake O’Brien (13 points, 10 rebounds) converted a pass from Ben Harvey, and senior Declan Walmsley (15 points, nine rebounds) knocked down a three. Two plays later, Harvey came up with a steal and O’Brien converted a putback, and the Panthers, who didn’t attempt a free throw in the game, had the momentum and a 33-29 lead.

After a timeout, the Bombardiers came out and hit the most important shot of the game. A skip pass from Houle found Eaton alone in the corner and he buried a three to make it a one-point game. Struminski gobbled up a rebound after a Franklin miss and this time Eaton took a nice pass from Alvin Harrison and drained another three, this from the opposite corner.

The Bombardiers got a stop after the Panthers used up nearly the entire shot clock. On the other end, Houle drove to his left and pulled up for a 10-footer with four seconds on the shot clock to make it 37-33 with three minutes to play.

“It doesn’t seem like much at first but that’s a lot in a game like this,” Neely said of the 8-0 run. “We helped off of a shooter when I didn’t think we needed to and credit to them, they did a good job skipping it over the top finding him and he made them.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

“I think the frustration built a little bit inside the guys. Instead of moving on to the next play, it seemed like they were worried about the last miss they had instead of making the next shot. We have to be tougher than that mentally and be better than that.”

Walmsley made his second three of the quarter to make it a one-point game with just under two minutes to go. Daniels hit two from the line but O’Brien drove to the rim to make it 39-38, setting up the frantic finish.

Franklin (4-5 Kelley-Rex, 4-5 overall) will try to snap its current skid when it hosts the Bombardiers (5-2, 7-2) in a rematch on Thursday.

Attleboro boys basketball

Hornets Pick Up The Pace, Run Past Bombardiers

Mansfield boys basketball Matt Boen
Mansfield senior Matt Boen goes up for a layup against Attleboro in the second half. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)
ByRyanLanigan_2016FollowRyanLanigan_2016
 
 
 ATTLEBORO, Mass. – For nearly the entire first half, the young, inexperienced Bombardiers of Attleboro High not only just keeping pace with the visitors from Mansfield, they were going toe-to-toe with the Hornets.

Mansfield boys basketball

But if you give these Hornets an inch, they’ll take a mile — and in a blink of an eye too.

First, it was a short burst from the Hornets in the final moments of the first quarter that prevented the hosts from boasting a surprising lead through eight minutes.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

And then when it looked like it would be a close game going into the halftime break, the Hornets stung the Bombardiers with a game-changing run that led to an advantage that never went below double digits the rest of the way.

In the end, Mansfield left with an 80-58 decision over Attleboro in the first matchup between the two teams this week.

“I thought the pace of play started to lean in our direction,” offered Mansfield head coach Mike Vaughan, in the midst of his 17th year at the helm of the Hornets.

Mansfield erased a five-point second quarter deficit to pull even with the hosts, entering the final two-plus minutes knotted at 29-29. With the pace of play in their control, the Hornets closed the quarter with a 14-2 run.

Senior Matt Boen was once again a handful on the offensive end (30 points) and on the boards (six of his 10 rebounds coming on the offensive glass), and was the catalyst for the run. It was his steal and fast-break layup that got things started. He scored six straight to start the run, getting assists from Brian See (12 points) and Matt Hyland (12 points, seven rebounds, four assists) with the latter a traditional three-point play.










Brendan Foley hustled to track down his own miss, finding Hyland for a key three in the final minute, and Hyland returned the favor by hitting Foley on the break to cap the 14-2 run and give Mansfield a 43-31 lead at halftime.

“They missed a couple of easy ones, had some turnovers, and we came down and made some shots,” Vaughan said. “I thought Attleboro handled our pressure well so we went back to our base defense because I felt like we were giving up too many baskets without scoring. Once we got into more of our staple defense, we got the stops we needed and turned those into baskets.”

Mansfield boys basketball

Attleboro senior Justin Daniels (16 points) played a big role in helping his squad get off to a strong start, hitting a pair of threes in the opening quarter and adding another in the second. In the second, the Bombardiers showed no fear attacking the basket as sophomore Trevor White (13 rebounds, four assists, four blocks) scored seven of his 13 points, Alvin Harrison (six boards) had six of his 11 points, and Joe Francois-Annevil added two more with a strong take to the rim, his bucket making it 29-29 late in the second.

“I saw them play their two games against Milford and I came away thinking that team could beat anyone on any given night,” Vaughan said. “They have guys that can shoot, they have good guard play. The big kid [White] is impressive, he must have had five or six blocks, all of which looked like uncontested layups and he came out of nowhere. And he blocks to keep it in bounds so it’s almost like a block and a steal at the same time. They have some good pieces.”

Mansfield picked up the second half where it left off at the break. See sank a triple and sophomore Chris Hill took a freed from Hyland and drained one from downtown. Despite missing a three, Boen followed his shot came flying in for the offensive board, and converted the putback while being fouled for a three-point play, and a 53-34 lead.

On top of it all, the Hornets created the separation without their second-leading scorer in TJ Guy, who went out in the second quarter with an existing injury.




“Their transition game really took over,” said Attleboro head coach Mark Houle, a 26-year veteran on the Bombardier bench. “That’s one thing when you play against them, you have to be careful to not get into too much of a transition game. You have to take your opportunities when you get them, but you can’t let them get out and run. They can spread you out and they can shoot the ball. Matty [Boen] had a terrific game. They rallied around TJ when he went down.

“Their defense in the second quarter, the pressure…they decided to run and jump a little bit in the half court. It’s tough to simulate that in practice and that kind of put us a little bit on our heels.”

While it looked like the game was out of reach, the Bombardiers never quite quit and clawed their way back into the game over the next eight minutes. Helped along by a couple of big blocks from White on the defensive end, Francois-Anvil scored on the other end, and a breakaway dunk from White kept the hosts around.

Evan Houle hit two free throws and White completed a traditional three-point play at the buzzer of the third quarter to keep things interesting with Mansfield holding a 62-49 lead going into the fourth.

The Bombardiers were in the bonus for the entire fourth and free throws from Daniels and Alec Eaton early followed by a corner three from Chris Holcomb made it 66-56 with just over five minutes to play.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

But instead of getting any closer, Mansfield slammed the door shut with yet another 14-2 run to close the game. Boen hit a pair of three-pointers while See and Hyland converted at the rim with Attleboro bringing double teams. The Bombardiers were held without a field goal the rest of the way.

“It’s a great challenge to play in this league and play against teams like Mansfield,” Houle said. “We’ve been successful recently and it’s because we play hard. I thought our effort was there tonight, we just made too many mistakes collectively.”

Attleboro (2-1, 2-1) on Thursday night at 7:00.

Mansfield boys basketball

Thursday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 01/14/21

Today’s games are listed below.

Boys Basketball
Milford, 38 @ Attleboro, 47 – Final – Attleboro staked a lead through a quarter of action and overcame a poor free throw shooting night (10/24) to earn a win. Senior Justin Daniels netted nine of his team-high 14 points in the opening quarter to help the Bombardiers get off to a strong start. The Bombardiers got key three-pointers in each quarter to help key the Hawks at bay. Sophomore Trevor White (10 points) in the second, Evan Houle (eight points) and Alec Eaton (six points) in the third, and Houle again in the fourth. White added six points in the final frame for Attleboro, who led 21-16 at halftime and 32-24 after three quarters. Milford senior Ben Blanchard scored all of his team-high eight points in the first half.

Sharon, 50 @ Canton, 49 – Final – Sharon junior Will Hippler stepped in and drew a charge with 0.3 seconds left to secure a win on the road for the Eagles. Senior Matt Baskin sank a pair of free throws with 7.5 seconds left to put Sharon ahead. Canton had to go the length of the court but Hippler helped off his man, got into position and drew the charge to win the game. The Eagles built a double-digit lead by halftime (22-11) but Canton had a big third quarter, sparked by eight points from Lanse Dorcelus (11 points) and seven points from Steve Burbank (11 points) to get within three, 38-35, going into the fourth. Eric Mischler scored six of his team-high 15 points in the fourth to help Canton seize a lead, going up 48-45 late after a pair of free throws. Hippler also hit a key three in the fourth quarter while Baskin finished with a season-high 20 points, including 13 in the second half. Kiran Chandrasekaran chipped in with 11 points for the Eagles.

Stoughton, 36 @ North Attleboro, 61 – Final – Click here for a recap and photo gallery of this game.




Girls Basketball
Attleboro, 55 @ Milford, 33 – Final – The Bombardiers pulled away in the fourth quarter, outscoring Milford 19-9 in the frame, to secure a second straight win over the Hawks to open the season. Meghan Gordon followed up her career-high on Tuesday with 19 points to pace Attleboro. Gabby Bosh also hit double digits, scoring 11, and Emma Reilly added nine points. Kayla Goldrick chipped in with eight. Attleboro coach Marty Crowley said, “It was great to go on the road and pick up a win.” Emma Lawrence led Milford with eight points and Brooke Ferreira and Emily Croteau each had six for Milford, which kept the game close through three quarter on senior night.

Canton, 62 @ Sharon, 19 – Final – The Bulldogs jumped out to a 20-1 lead after one quarter and extended the lead to 27 by halftime, rolling to a third win of the season behind a strong defensive performance. Kiara Cerruti powered Canton to its early lead, scoring 11 of her game-high 19 points and knocking down three of her five three-pointers in the first. Sydney Gallery scored 13 and Fay Gallery added 10. Tayla DeGraw chipped in with eight points for the Bulldogs. Sharon was led by Trinity Payne’s seven points.

Oliver Ames, 51 @ Foxboro, 47 – Final – Click here for a Recap and Photo Gallery from this game.

King Philip, 31 @ Franklin, 66 – Final – Franklin picked up a big win over one of the contenders for the Kelley-Rex crown. Olivia Quinn scored in double digits for the third straight game, finishing with a game-high 18. Kayleigh Houlihan and Brigid Earley each had a dozen points in the win. Jackie Bonner scored 10 points and Cat Spellman added eight points for KP.

North Attleboro, 50 @ Stoughton, 17 – Final – For the second night in a row North got off to a great start and earned a sweep of Stoughto. After scoring the first 23 points on Wednesday, the Rocketeers went into halftime on Thursday leading 28-3 thanks to its high pressure defense. Eleven players scored for North. Amanda Kaiser and Summer Doherty both scored 14 points and Kaiser added 11 rebounds. Taylor McMath had a solid game on the block, scoring six points and grabbing eight boards.

Swimming
Sharon vs. Canton, 3:30

Tuesday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 01/12/21

Today’s games are listed below.

Boys Basketball
Attleboro, 60 @ Milford, 52 – Final – Attleboro opened its season with a win on the road, edging out the Scarlet Hawks in a close contest. With the gamed tied 51-51, senior Alec Eaton drained a three with just under a minute to give the Bombardiers the lead for good. The visitors led at halftime (31-25) but Milford rallied to take a 40-39 lead into the fourth. Eaton (10 points) had two threes in the fourth while Justin Daniels hit another and went a perfect 8-for-8 from the line in the final frame to help Attleboro secure the win. Daniels finished with a career-high 16 points while junior Evan Houle led the way for the Bombardiers with a career-high 17 points. Milford senior Jordan Darling had a game-high 18 points.

Canton, 45 @ Sharon, 42 – Final – Click here for a photo gallery of this game. Canton’s Ryan Connerney scored eight of his career-high 13 points in the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs held off a late charge from the Eagles to move to 3-0. After a slow first half from both sides, Canton’s offense got into enough of a groove to take a 10-point lead with three minutes to go. But the Eagles continued to claw back into it, getting back-to-back threes from Sam Cohen (11 points). Seven straight points from junior John Baez cut the deficit to just two, 42-40, with 25 seconds to go. Connerney, who went 6/7 from the line in the fourth, hit two more and then came up with a steal on the final inbounds play in secure the win. Eric Mischler added 12 points and six rebounds for the Bulldogs while Matt Baskin had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Eagles.

North Attleboro, 50 @ Stoughton, 42 – Final – North Attleboro took the lead after eight minutes of action and never surrendered the lead, keeping the Black Knights at arm’s length throughout the contest. The Rocketeers extended their lead each quarter, taking a 15-11 lead after one and a 29-23 advantage at halftime. North pushed the lead to 38-31 through three quarters before an improved defensive effort helped the Rocketeers slam the door shut. Senior George Ladd had a game-high 19 points, going 5-for-5 from the line in the fourth to help ice the win. Brody Rosenberg added 13 points and Casey Poirier finished with eight points for North. Waseem Sablon led the Black Knights with 11 points.




Girls Basketball
Milford, 39 @ Attleboro, 71 – Final – Attleboro had to wait a week before tipping off this season, but the Bombardiers put together a strong performance to open with a win. It was a two-point game (13-11) after one quarter but Attleboro pushed the lead to double digits by halftime and then broke the game wide open, as Meghan Gordon and Narissa Smith combined for 19 points in the quarter. Gordon finished with a career-high 24 points and Smith added 16 in her varsity debut. Head coach Marty Crowley praised his team’s defensive effort and a balanced attack on offense. Milford was led by Emma Lawrence with 13 points and Ashanty Barreto.

Sharon, 23 @ Canton, 54 – Final – The Bulldogs jumped out to a 20-point lead by halftime and never looked back, cruising to a second win of the season. Fay Gallery followed up her 22 points in the opener with 19 points against the Eagles, including 16 in the first half. She knocked down five three-pointers in the game. Sydney Gallery added 14 for the Bulldogs, nine in the second half, and Kiara Cerruti scored eight points. Canton had eight players score in the win. Gaby Cabral led the Eagles with seven points and Trinity Payne chipped in with six.

Foxboro, 48 @ Oliver Ames, 59 – Final – The Tigers outscored visiting Foxboro by 10 in the fourth quarter to pull out the win in their opener and hand the Warriors their first loss of the season. The Warriors took the lead early in the fourth but the Tigers won the final frame 15-5 to get the win. Senior Kelsey Yelle led the Tigers with 12 points and 12 rebounds while junior Caroline Peper added 10. OA head coach Laney Holbrook praised the effort of seniors Jess Erlich and Caroline Flynn. Sophomore Maddie Homer chipped in with nine points and tough defense. Katelyn Mollica scored 18 in the loss and Foxboro also got a strong performance from its freshmen, as Camryn Collins scored 11 points and Erin Foley added nine.

Boys Swimming
Franklin, 82 @ King Philip, 62 – Final

Girls Swimming
Franklin, 93 @ King Philip, 75 – Final

Charles Hits 1,000, Ignites Bombardiers Past Panthers

Attleboro boys basketball Qualeem Charles
Attleboro senior Qualeem Charles (35) celebrates in front of the home crowd after scoring his 1,000th career point. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)
ByRyanLanigan_2016FollowRyanLanigan_2016
 
 
 
ATTLEBORO, Mass. – Attleboro High School had 1,000 point fever, and the only prescription was more ‘Q.’

‘Q’ being senior Qualeem Charles, the 6’5, 290-pound center and four-year starter for the Bombardiers, who went a perfect 11-for-11 from the floor, the last bucket giving him his 1,000th career point. Charles is the second Bombardier to reach the milestone in the past nine days, joining classmate Bryant Ciccio.

Behind Charles’ 27 points, 18 coming in the second half, Attleboro grinded out a 62-56 win over a hot-shooting Franklin squad, giving the Bombardiers a season sweep of the Panthers for the first time since joining the Hockomock League.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

“I was aiming for 15 in the first half, but I wasn’t mad it didn’t happen, it was a close game and Franklin is a tough team,” Charles said. “I came out hot in the third quarter and the team kept feeding me. I’ve been a pass-first guy but all of my teammates keep rooting me on to shoot it, even if I miss, they want me to keep shooting. My teammates were patient in getting me the ball.

“It’s crazy to get the sweep over Franklin, the first time [Attleboro] has done that. Ever since we were in fifth grade, this is all me and Bryant have talked about so it’s crazy to both get it.”

An even, back-and-forth first half had the teams tied at 28-28 through two quarters. And from Attleboro’s first possession of the second half, it was clear the emphasis would be on getting Charles the ball.

Nick McMahon (10 points, seven rebounds, six assists) found the big man for a traditional three-point play, and while it was close and even tied at points through the rest of the game, the Bombardiers never trailed.

Q sank a pair from the line, two more down low on an entry pass from Tim Callahan, and another three-point play gave Attleboro a 38-35 near the midway point of the third. Callahan accounted for four straight points before Charles got back into the scoring column. Justin Daniels hit his second three of the game as Attleboro held a 47-42 lead after three. After scoring nine points in the opening half, Charles scored 12 in the third.

“He’s a very unselfish player, we had to tell him to shoot more,” said Attleboro coach Mark Houle, who has coached a pair of 1,000-point scorers for the second time in his career. “About six weeks ago, we told him if he gets the ball inside you have to put it up. It helps our team when he shoots. He’s been doing it more the last month and that’s helped us be a better team.”

While Attleboro had plenty of success down low, the Panthers were keeping pace because of their outside shooting. The Panthers hit six three-pointers in the opening half while Jack Rudolph, Steven Karayan, and Andrew Byfield (13 points, four rebounds, four assists) each connected from downtown to keep Franklin in the game.

With Charles having the hot hand, and just six points away from the milestone, the Bombardiers continued to find ways to get him the ball. A patient approach that often featured more than a half dozen passes before getting a look into the paint to Charles helped open lanes.

“We had to work hard for everything,” Houle said. “I think the best thing about tonight was we trusted our motion offense more than we have all year. I thought our kids executed very well, we made the extra pass…and it was everyone, kids came off the bench like Alec [Eaton] and Justin [Daniels]…and that opened up the offense. We hit the right guys.

“And I don’t think that we forced the ball inside, I think it came within the flow of the offense. I was proud of the way we played. And we defended better tonight. Hard to say that with them hitting 13 three-pointers but we defended better than the past two games and that’s a step in the right direction for us.”

Charles scored Attleboro’s first bucket of the quarter on a feed from Callahan, repeated that feat on the next trip, and did the same exact thing on the third possession of the quarter, the last one giving him his 1,000th point.

“It’s hard to help off on him, you’re trying to pick your poison where it’s coming from,” said Franklin head coach CJ Neely. “Last game we helped off a ton and Weir got loose for a big game, Ciccio had over 20. We were trying to flip the script a little bit, change it up and see what we can do without over helping. They did a really good job of moving the ball and being patient. They switched sides a couple of times and made us work, and I thought our guys played hard, it’s just such a tough matchup.”




The big bucket pushed Attleboro’s lead to 53-45 with 6:11 to go but Franklin got a big response on a three from Rudolph but a mid-range baseline jumper from Jason Weir and a three from McMahon gave the hosts a 58-50 lead with three minutes to play.

Franklin missed on a three but Brayden Sullivan (nine points) came up with the Panthers’ fifth offensive rebound and found Chris Edgehill (17 points, four rebounds) for a three. After another stop. Edgehill returned the favor and Sullivan sank a three to make it 58-56 with 1:31 to play.

The Panthers had a strong defensive possession but McMahon was able to get the ball on his right and got around a defender for a layup just before the shot clock to push the lead back to four. Franklin, which finished 13-for-30 from three-point, was off the mark from three.

“Shooting is obviously one of our strengths but at the same time, we would have liked to get to the rim a little bit more,” Neely said. Franklin had a total of 16 attempts from inside the three-point line. “I didn’t think we made Q defend enough on the ball screen, which was part of the game plan, and we got away from it early. I thought overall our offense was pretty good, we got some good looks down the stretch but credit [Attleboro], that matchup was tough for us.”

Ciccio came up with a steal on Franklin’s next possession and went in for an easy two to help seal the win.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

“Just so proud of this senior group and all the work they put in,” Houle said. “And they work hard for each other, they work hard for each other. I’m proud of seeing Bryant and Q being able to enjoy this at home with the Attleboro fans, a pretty special moment for them.

“This group really wants to pull for each other. That’s that part you don’t see on a scoreboard or in stats. You see it in practice, you see it after wins, you see it more so after losses. And they came together and played tougher tonight, that comes from them playing for each other.”

Attleboro boys basketball (12-4 Hockomock, 14-5 overall) is back in action on Sunday at the Comcast Tournament at Woburn High, taking on Newton North at 6:30. Franklin (11-5, 14-5) travels to Weston on Thursday at 1:00.