01/17/2017

Defense Keeps Panthers Rolling Against Attleboro

By Joe Clark, HockomockSports.com Student Reporter

FRANKLIN, Mass. – On Tuesday night at Franklin High, the Panthers took advantage of a balanced scoring attack and a strong defensive effort to defeat the Attleboro Bombardiers, 63-51.

Defense was the name of the game for both sides, as neither team scored three points until the 3:57 mark of the first quarter when Jake Dunkley (18 points, five rebounds) hit a shot to put Attleboro up 3-2.

A 5-0 Franklin run from there put the Panthers up 7-3, but an and-one layup from Lucas Boucicaut (nine points) cut the Franklin lead to one and after baskets from Connor Peterson (10 points), who had four in the first quarter, and freshman Bryant Ciccio (four points), Franklin took a 9-8 lead into the second quarter.

Early in the second, Attleboro took its final lead of the night at 14-12 with 5:12 to play in the half after a basket by Berlyns Abraham (five points) and four points from Boucicaut. From there, Franklin was led by Josh Macchi, who scored 10 of his 18 points in the second quarter to put Franklin up 26-24 at the half.

“Josh was a beast. He’s been really responding, his rebounding has been terrific, especially on the offensive end, he did a great job tonight getting a few extra points for us,” Franklin coach C.J. Neely said about Macchi, who also chipped in seven rebounds.

After a Peterson bucket to start the third quarter, Attleboro senior captain Andrew Milliken (five points) picked up his fourth foul and, while he sat, Franklin stifled the Attleboro offense during a 13-2 run where Attleboro only scored on a bucket from freshman Qualeem Charles (two points, four rebounds) and saw the Panthers take a 39-26 lead.

Once Milliken checked back in, Attleboro scored four straight off of two free throws from Milliken and a layup by Dunkley, but a layup by Paul Mahon (14 points) and one of three three-pointers from Connor Goldstein (nine points) put the Panthers up 44-33 heading into the fourth quarter.

Attleboro started off the fourth with a made three by Milliken, and with 5:25 left to go in the game they cut the Franklin lead to eight at 48-36 following a pair of made free throws from Dunkley, but four straight points from Jalen Samuels, who had six of his 10 points in the fourth quarter, and another bucket by Mahon extended the lead to 14 at 52-38 with 4:05 left to play.

In the final four minutes, senior guard Nate Douglas had five of his six points for Attleboro while Dunkley picked up six more points, but four points from Macchi, three from Goldstein and two each from Mahon and Samuels kept the Franklin lead intact and helped them hold on for the 63-51 victory.

Franklin had four guys in double figures (Macchi, Mahon, Samuels, Peterson) in addition to Goldstein with nine, which speaks to the amount of options Franklin has on the offensive end.

“We don’t have one guy. “Obviously people see CP (Peterson) and think they got to deal with him, but we have so many guys that can give you 8-10 points a night,” Neely added after the win.

The win was also the Panthers’ seventh game, and third in a row, in which they held an opponent to fewer than 55 points.

“Our defensive effort has definitely been what’s carried us over these last three or four games, we’ve definitely made a huge commitment on the defensive side of practice, and the guys have responded,” Neely also added.

Upcoming for Franklin (9-2) is Kelley-Rex foe King Philip (3-6) on Friday. Next up for Attleboro (8-3) is a trip to Taunton on Friday to take on the 6-4 Tigers.

01/14/2017

Panthers’ Defense Takes The Sting Out Of Hornets

Franklin boys basketball — Franklin’s Paul Mahon (left) drives to the basket against Mansfield’s Sam Goldberg in the first half. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)

MANSFIELD, Mass. – Sometimes the numbers don’t always tell the whole story, but you don’t need to look much further than the halftime score between Franklin and Mansfield.

The visiting Panthers held a 24-10 lead over the Hornets. Franklin held the hosts to just four first half field goals (4/26) and used that advantage to pick up a 52-40 win.

“We pride ourselves on the defensive side of the floor, that’s one of our staples,” said Franklin head coach CJ Neely. “Anytime you can hold [Mansfield] to 40 you’re going to be jacked up and excited. You know they can score the ball with the best of them, they were one of, if not the top, scoring team in the league. Usually we try to keep them in the 50s and we know its going to be grind. It was about playing 32 minutes and buying into the scouting report for all 32 minutes. The guys did a great job of focusing on the game plan.

“There were some lapses and Mansfield being Mansfield, pretty much every time we lapsed on the scouting report, they took advantage of it right away. At halftime we talked about just being true to the scouting report, follow the game plan and we’ll be fine and I think that worked out tonight.”

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

Franklin took just 3:14 to build a double-digit lead, racing out to 11-1 lead to start the game. The Panthers immediately went to Connor Peterson on their first post, resulting in two free throws in and the lead. Peterson also added a put back, Paul Mahon converted a layup and freshman Chris Edgehill had five points in the run, including a three pointer to cap the spurt.

Mansfield didn’t register its first field goal until 1:15 left in the quarter when Evan Christo took a bounce pass on a baseline cut for a layup.

John McCoy drained Mansfield’s first three of the game to get within five in the second quarter (13-8) but the Hornets only scored once more in the quarter with Sam Goldberg scoring down low with just over five minutes to play.

Franklin went on to finish the second quarter with a 9-0 run — four straight from Josh Macchi, a three from Connor Goldstein and another layup from Mahon – for a 24-10 advantage at the break.

“They did a good job. Franklin had a great game plan and executed it to a tee,” Mansfield head coach Mike Vaughan said. “They believed…I don’t know how much we believed. CJ did a good job of getting them to buy in. Even on offense when they had opportunities in transition and could have given us more possessions, they were disciplined, they were reversing the ball back out and getting a good quality shot. That’s hard to do as a high school kid, obviously CJ did a good job of getting his guys in position to do that.”

“That’s why this league is great, it’s why this is a great rivalry game…you have to show up to play. You have to make plays, follow game plans and do all the little things. I said a couple of weeks ago the one question mark was can we consistently do the little things and hold each other accountable doing those little things and tonight early, I thought we had some opportunities to score and we passed. Then we start pressing and we start shooting when we should have been passing. We never got the combo right. It’s party execution and its partly Franklin did an excellent job playing defense.”

Peterson scored a team-high 12 points and hauled in 10 rebounds while Mahon and Edgehill each had 11 points. Macchi finished with nine points and seven rebounds.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

“When you have two big guys like Josh and CP, you’d be a fool not to try and get the ball in there as much as possible,” Neely said. “They doubled them and those guys did a nice job of reading the double team and finding open shooters when they did. And when they didn’t, they did a good job attacking the rim and did a real nice job of finishing around the rim.”

Tyler Boulter and Phil Vigeant each finished with 10 points to pace the Hornets.

Mansfield matched its first half scoring in just over six minutes in the third quarter but Franklin matched them nearly bucket for bucket, holding a 33-20 lead after a putback from Christo.

The Hornets went 1/11 from three point in the first half, 1/4 in the third quarter and 1/5 in the final frame.

“You start to overthink the game,” Vaughan said. “Then the next shot becomes the biggest shot in the world because you don’t have a ton of points and the separation that’s created. We never went on a run that we typically go on. We usually find an 8-0 or 10-0 run and we just couldn’t find one and again that’s partly to Franklin doing a great job executing CJ’s game plan and just us being a little more accountable and a little more focused and execute the game plan a little bit better.”

Matt Elias drained a three and Edgehill got a layup to fall to extend Franklin’s lead to 18 with under a minute to play in the third.

The Panthers shot 45% from the field overall, including 50% from two-point range. Mansfield hit just 25% of its shots from the field and just 15% from deep.

“Without giving away the company secrets, our goal is to get them into their second and third options,” Neely said. “They have a lot of really good players that have really good abilities individual. They are like an offensive machine, they work really well when everything is working together. If you can disrupt that machine a little bit and hopefully get guys in spots they aren’t used to being in. They missed a good amount of good looks in the first half. To hold them to 10, they have to miss shots too. You can’t hold a team to 10 without some bad luck for them.”

The teams traded buckets for the first six minutes of the fourth quarter but the Hornets finally clawed within 12 behind a three from Boulter with two minutes to play. Franklin went 10/15 from the free throw line in the final quarter to maintain the advantage built in the first half.

“We’re still in a great position,” Vaughan said. “We just have to figure a way to minimize mistakes and get back to playing the way we play instead of trying to adjust to what they do. Partly that’s on me as well. I have to do a better job of putting us in a better position to win. I thought we had an advantage somewhere and now at the end of the game, I’m not sure that advantage is there. Next time we play, over there, we’ll give them another dog fight, another classic.”

Franklin boys basketball (8-2 overall, 6-0 Hockomock) hosts Attleboro on Tuesday while Mansfield (7-2, 5-1) will try to bounce back when King Philip comes to town on the same day.

Click here for a photo gallery from this game.

01/07/2017

Panthers Clamp Down and Roll to Big Win Over OA

FRANKLIN, Mass. – Oliver Ames came out aggressive, physical, intense, and playing well on the offensive end of the floor. The Tigers trailed by three points at the end of the first quarter in Friday night’s late half of a basketball doubleheader, but the game looked poised to be a four-quarter battle.

Eight minutes later, Franklin was in complete control. Using a 19-0 run to break the game wide open and dominating the paint with junior forward Connor Peterson (16 points), the Panthers turned a close game into a rout and cruised to a 75-42 win over OA in the first divisional meeting between the two teams.

“We started playing defense, got our heads out of our butts and played like we’re capable of playing,” said Franklin coach C.J. Neely about the second quarter turnaround. “I thought OA came in and out-toughed us in the first quarter…I thought we got the ball into CP finally and once we got him the ball and started dominating the inside it opened up the outside. The press helped a little bit too.”

OA coach Don Byron, who celebrated the 400th win of his career in the Tigers’ win over Barnstable, did not pull any of his punches after the game. He said, “We didn’t play in any facet of the game. There’s no other way around it. We didn’t compete, didn’t defend, didn’t rebound, didn’t fight the post, shot selection was bad…we just got beat in every phase.”

Nick Welch (game-high 17 points) sparked the Tigers in the opening quarter as he was able to get into the lane and find shooting space on his pull-up jumpers. He scored 11 of the 17 OA points in the first and Dylan Mahoney chipped in with four.

Against OA’s 2-3 zone, Franklin moved the ball well and stayed close in the first by knocking down shots from beyond the arc. Paul Mahon (11 points) buried three of them in a row for Franklin, two from one corner and then another from the opposite side, which gave the Panthers a 15-13 lead. Connor Goldstein knocked down his only shot of the game to make it 20-17 after one.

“I don’t think we were following the scouts well in the first half,” said Neely. “They were getting blown by to the guy’s strong hand and guys were getting their go-to moves and we talked about taking away their strength and make them go to their weakness.”

That all changed in the second. After the teams traded baskets, Franklin clamped down on the defensive end. The Panthers put pressure on the ball and limited OA from getting into the lane. They held the Tigers scoreless until inside the final two minutes of the half.

Peterson was the primary offensive weapon, as Franklin took advantage of OA missing senior forward Carter Evin and pounded the ball into the post. Peterson scored eight points in the second quarter including an alley-oop dunk off a Goldstein feed that got the crowd roaring.

“He’s one of five on the floor at any one time,” said Byron about Evin. “We’ve done better even when he isn’t around. He hasn’t been around for a couple now and I thought we could compensate a little for that but it’s just not good enough plain and simple.”

Matt Elias scored five and Chris Edgehillburied a deep three and senior forward Josh Macchi scored seven of his 15 points and pulled in seven first half rebounds.

Macchi continued to play well in the third, adding another six points and being an energy player in all phases of the game. Neely said, “I said to him as we walked out, you’re the dirty work guy. You don’t get all the pub that everyone else gets but you do all those little things, rebound, screen…He’s playing very well for us and when CP is in there it really opens up things for him.”

Mahon went backdoor for a layup off a feed from Edgehill to make it 57-28 and that prompted both teams to turn to the benches with still nearly 12 minutes remaining in the game. Alex Klowan got the crowd going again for the Panthers with nine points in the final 1-1/2 quarters and Jack Rodgers had a pair of impressive blocks.

OA scored 17 points in the opening quarter but only managed 25 over the final 24 minutes. It was a performance that left Byron shaking his head on the Tigers bench.

When asked how the team bounces back from this setback, Byron said, “We come back Sunday and we’ll treat it like it’s an aberration but we have to prove it is an aberration to come out and have a performance like we did tonight.”

Franklin (6-2) will continue in division play over the next 11 days when it faces Taunton, Mansfield, and Attleboro. Oliver Ames (4-3) will try to turn things around quickly with a trip to King Philip on Tuesday.

12/13/2016

Franklin Rides Defense Past North Attleboro

FRANKLIN, Mass. – High pressure defense has been a staple for Franklin over the past two years and if Tuesday night is any indication, you can expect more of the same this year.

The Panthers used a full court press and a handful of traps to force 21 turnovers and come away with a 72-51 win over North Attleboro in both teams’ season opener.

“I thought defensively we did a pretty good job,” Franklin head coach CJ Neely said. “I thought we were taking too many chances a little bit. Even though we were pressing and we wanted to create a crazy environment, I think one of the reasons [North Attleboro] had a high scoring percentage is because we were taking a lot of chances. Once we got it down, we were able to turn them over and get some stops.”

Franklin outscored the visitors 16-12 in the first quarter while forcing eight turnovers in just the opening frame. By halftime, the Panthers opened up a near double-digit lead, heading into the locker room up 30-21.

Big Red cut the deficit to four late in the second quarter but junior Matt Elias hit a three and freshman Chris Edgehill rattled off five straight points to give the Panthers the nine point lead at the break.

“With any freshman or first year guy, you take the good with the bad sometimes,” Neely said. “Chris had some really good stretches, he plays confident. There were some errors too but that was part of being young. He gave us a lift when we needed it.”

But North Attleboro had a strong start to the second half, opening the third quarter with a 9-2 run. North Attleboro’s Jonny Friberg (12 points, eight rebounds) and Franklin’s Josh Macchi traded baskets before the Rocketeers rattled off seven straight. Kyle McCarthy (eight points) drained a three off a turnover and Brent Doherty (16 points, four rebounds, three assists) and Chad Peterson (four points, four rebounds) converted back to back buckets to get within two and force a timeout.

Franklin responded as Connor Peterson (13 points, five rebounds) buried a put back and then a pair of turnovers led to a jumper from Connor Goldstein and then a three point Paul Mahon, who scored a career-high 23 points to pace the Panthers offense, to restore Franklin’s nine point edge.

“We had individual meetings and I told Paul he needed to look to score more,” Neely said. ”He’s passing to everyone and giving up shots. I love his unselfishness but when you’re open, we need him to shoot. He gets the assists, gets the rebounds, covers the other team’s best defenders but he can score and we need that. I’m happy for him because he deserves it, he works hard.”

Tom Reynolds converted a breakaway layup to bring the Rocketeers within eight at 53-45 with five minutes to go but Franklin answered right away with Mahon draining one of his four three pointers. Macchi added another put back and Jack Rodgers converted a three point play with just under four minutes to play to put Franklin up 61-45.

The Panthers were able to sustain that lead, even stretching it to 23 (72-49) on another offensive rebound and put back by Peterson.

“Franklin was getting shots off turnovers, they were getting second chance points,” North Attleboro head coach Sean Mulkerrins said. “We weren’t getting the ball more than the one shot, the one possession. They certainly had a lot more possessions overall. The other thing was back breaking threes. I give CJ a lot of credit, they shared the ball and reversed the ball really well.

“We talk about being resilient but its tough when you fight for 20-25 seconds and then one defensive breakdown, or a loose ball goes to them. And they have so many weapons out there. They have so many parts that are equal so it’s hard to handle. On our end, 72 points is way too much but I thought the heart, the effort and the senior leadership was great. If we can just finish possessions, play four quarters then I’ll take that effort every night.”

North Attleboro (0-1, 0-1) will host Taunton (1-0, 1-0) on the same night.

“This was a big win,” Neely said. “Doherty is a great player and Friberg is a problem on the inside but the other guys around them are good too. Guys like [Chad] Peterson and McCarthy can make shots. When we lost them, they made us pay. It’s good to get a good win against a team that has aspirations to be the Davenport champ.”

03/06/2016

Franklin Dominates Flyers To Reach Sectional Final

WORCESTER, Mass. – There was no second half drama this time around.
After nearly blowing a double-digit cushion in the opening round of the playoffs, Franklin raced out to a huge first half lead and never looked back with a 73-36 rout of 7th seeded Framingham.
With the win, the Panthers return to the D1 Central Final for the second time in three years.
“I’m extremely happy,” Franklin head CJ Neely said of his team’s first half dominance. “I think they did an awesome job following our scouting report. We talked over the past few days about being better at engaging in the scouting report, knowing what their strengths are. They have two legitimate scorers on that team and we did a good job of taking them out and getting them out of their strengths. They missed some shots early and we rebounded pretty well and that kind of spurned us on to a nice run and gave us a cushion.”
It didn’t take long for Franklin to establish its dominance, forcing a turnover on Framingham’s first possession and getting stops on the next four. On the other end, Paul Mahon’s second make of the game, this one a three, capped a 9-0 start over the first two minutes of play.
Freshman Jay Dieterle pumped in nine of his team-high 15 points in the first quarter to give the Panthers a 20-5 edge at the end of eight minutes.
It was more of the same in the second quarter. Sophomore Connor Peterson was a force in the paint, scoring nine of Franklin’s first 11 points in the quarter. Defensively, the Panthers forced four turnovers in the first five minutes of the second quarter and forced the Flyers to go 0/7 from the floor in that stretch.
Framingham hit a pair of free throws in the quarter but did not connect on a field goal in the second. Josh Macchi scored inside and Mahon drained another three late in the quarter, giving Franklin a commanding 36-7 lead at the break.
“Tim [Prunier] actually brought that up right off the bat when we walked into the locker room at halftime.” Neely said about the team’s second half against Westford Academy, in which a 15 point lead evaporated in the second half. “He was reminding the guys about last game and talking about we needed to keep the pressure up. That was definitely an emphasis at halftime. We didn’t have to adjust a lot at halftime. We just wanted to stay with the plan, share the ball and execute.”
The Panthers got a good start to the second half as Dieterle sank a three, Prunier hit a pair of free throws and Mahon drove to the basket for two more to create a 43-7 lead.
Midway through the quarter, the Panthers were able to rest their starters. Senior Patrick Rodgers, sophomore Connor Goldstein and freshman Jalen Samuels all netted six points off the bench in the second half and junior Ryan Hodgkins added five points.
Dieterle added six rebounds to his 15 points while Peterson had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Mahon, a sophomore, was third in scoring with 10 points.
“I’ve told those guys they are varsity players, doesn’t matter if you’re a freshman or a sophomore, once you’re here you’re a varsity player and you have to go out and be a varsity guy,” Neely said. “When Peterson is being aggressive he can be a dominate force in there and Jay, you would never know he was a freshman unless you looked at the roster.”
With the starters on the floor in the first half, Franklin’s defense was tenacious and the Flyers shot just 2/25 from the floor.
“Over the past four or so games, it’s something we’ve really been harping on, ” Neely said of the defense. “We were really upset with that five game skid, we felt like we left a couple on the table and it left us with a sour taste in our mouth. We’ve really been working hard on the defensive end, as hard as we ever have, and we’ve seen some improvement in the last two weeks.”
Franklin boys basketball (17-5) will now play top-seeded St. John’s Shrewsbury in the D1 Central Final on Wednesday, March 9th at 7:00, back at WPI. SJS (21-1) beat Wachusett in the other semifinal.
Ryan Lanigan can be contacted at RyanLanigan@hockomocksports.com and followed on Twitter at @R_Lanigan.

02/15/2016

Franklin’s Multiple Comeback Attempts Come Up Short

WOBURN, Mass. – First it was overcoming a 14-0 hole to start the game.
Then it was battling all the way back with a huge second quarter to get within four at halftime.
Then it was clawing back from a double-digit deficit in the second half to get within two points in the fourth quarter.
Despite multiple comeback runs, the Panthers could never equal Everett, dropping their third straight by the score of 80-71.
Saying it was a slow start for Franklin would be an understatement as the Panthers mixed in misses of open looks and contested ones while the Crimson Tide raced out to a double digit lead. Franklin started 0/8 from the floor while Everett, taking advantage of some second opportunities, went 4/7 and lead 14-0 halfway through the first.
Although there were spurts from both sides, it was essentially even the rest of the way. In fact, Franklin outscored Everett over the remaining 28 minutes of game play.
“Everett is a tough team, their length is tough to deal with,” Franklin head coach CJ Neely said. “We’re a little shorthanded with our bigs and they were able to get their hands on a lot of balls and get some extra possessions. And in the end that proved to be a difference.”
After the 14-0 start, Franklin and Everett finished the first quarter 6-6 but the Panthers first real push came in the second quarter.
Tim Prunier scored five straight points but the Crimson Tide pushed the lead right back to 16. With just under four minutes to play in the half, Connor Goldstein connected on a three to make it a 12 point game and freshman Jay Dieterle drove to the rim to cut it to 10. Everett’s Ghared Boyce (30 points) drained a three but Franklin close the half on an 11-4 run.
“After the first quarter I thought it was pretty evenly played, back and forth,” Neely said. Their #2, Boyce, we knew he was a good player but he was ridiculous. He was burying shots and making plays right when we’d cut it close. Off of nothing too, and that can be frustrating. You’re working so hard and you score but then he comes down and has one quick move and scores. I thought our guys worked hard on him, he’s just a really good player.”
Five points from Josh Macchi, four from Goldstein and two apiece from Dieterle and Prunier, the latter being a drive to the rim before the buzzer, pulled the Panthers within striking distance at 40-36 at the break.
Franklin had a bright start to the second quarter with Dieterle draining a three to get within one but a 15-6 run from Everett restored a double-digit lead halfway through the quarter. The lead grew to as much as 13 but another 11-4 run to close the quarter brought the Panthers right back in it.
Dieterle’s traditional three point play started the run and then Prunier followed with a three. Macchi, who notched a career-high 15 points off the bench, hauled in an offensive rebound and finished plus the harm and once again Prunier beat the buzzer by slicing through the defense to make it 65-59 after three quarters.
Macchi started the fourth with four straight points to bring the Panthers within two (65-63) with just under seven seconds to go but Franklin’s shooting went cold. Franklin went 0/9 from the floor over the next six minutes, including five three point attempts. In that time span the Panthers were able to add three points via free throws but Everett assumed a nine point lead.
Prunier hit a three to break the cold stretch and get within six but a three point play from Boyce sealed the game.
“When you play a team like that, you can’t score six points in a quarter,” Neely said. “You can’t come out like that and expect to win. We cut it to four at halftime and we felt like it was a new game but they had a run to start the second half and we’re in a hole a game. We just had to battle and grind the whole game. We just couldn’t get over the hump.”
Prunier finished with a career-high 25 points along with four rebounds and three assists. Macchi added eight rebounds to go along with his 15 points, Dieterle had 11 points and five rebounds an both Goldstein and Paul Mahon had nine points.
Franklin boys basketball (14-4) will play in the consolation of the Comcast/Arbella tournament at Woburn High on Monday at 1:00 against Brighton.
Ryan Lanigan can be contacted at RyanLanigan@hockomocksports.com and followed on Twitter at @R_Lanigan.

01/22/2016

Taking Stock of the Hock: Boys Basketball 2015-16

Taunton senior Jose Merardo dribbles around a defender in the first half against Mansfield. (Tom Madigan/Photo).

With nearly half of the games gone for all of the Hockomock teams, our editors Ryan Lanigan and Josh Perry take a look at where things currently stand for boys basketball.

Who is the midseason boys’ basketball Player of the Year?

Ryan Lanigan – As of the midpoint of the season, I’d say Taunton senior forward Jose Mercado is the current Player of the Year. He came into this week averaging 16.2 points per game and dropped a game-high 24 points in a comeback win over Milford. There were a lot of questions about the Tigers when some pieces from last year graduated or transferred. So far this year, Taunton has answered those questions so far this season with roads wins at Franklin and Mansfield. As one league coach told me, when Mercado is playing at his best that he’s “a man among boys.” He can score literally from anywhere, he’s a solid shooter from deep, can take the ball to the basket strong and has no fear with some midrange shots. Two other names to keep your eye on for the rest of the season are North Attleboro’s Brenty Doherty and Stoughton’s Brandon Teixeira.

Josh Perry – Player of the Year is as always a tough race to call at the midway point, especially with the league title races as close as they are. Franklin entered the season as one of the favorites in the Kelley-Rex and so far has lived up to that potential through the opening 10 games, which has included wins over Catholic Memorial, Foxboro and Mansfield. One of the main reasons for the Panthers success this year has been the play of senior guard Tim Prunier, who provides a steady hand in the backcourt as well as nearly 16 points per game. For a team that seems to have a different player stepping up every game, Prunier has been the consistent driving force this season and has the Panthers once again in the thick of the title race.

Who is the midseason boys’ basketball Underclassman of the Year?

Lanigan – I can’t remember the last time I wrote out the list of possible candidates for our UCOTY award and had so many possible candidates. There were nearly 10 names I came up with right off the top of my head but the one that stuck out the most was Franklin freshman Jay Dieterle. I remember the first game I saw the Panthers this year (against CM), I asked two former players if Dieterle saw much time. In about 30 seconds, he was in the game and drained a pair of three pointers. It’s one thing to be just a good shooter but Dieterle has already proven he has no fear taking the ball to the basket, taking a big shot in crunch time and he’s also a very strong rebounder. There’s still plenty of games to go but right now, Dieterle is already one of the better freshman I’ve seen in this league.
Perry – My pick for Underclassman of the Year has a familiar name to fans of the Hockomock. The Layman family has had quite an impact on the King Philip program and this season a new face has emerged in freshman forward Kyle Layman. The 6-foot-3 rookie has made an immediate impression with his ability to control the glass and as a defensive weapon in the middle of the zone. He has also shown a nice touch around the basket. He is a different player than his brother Jake, who is currently building his draft stock at Maryland, but he has the potential to be an important piece for the Warriors for the next four years.

Midseason First Team

Lanigan
G – Brent Doherty, North Attleboro
G – Alex DuBrow, Foxboro
G – Tim Prunier, Franklin
F – Brandon Teixeira, Stoughton
F – Jose Mercado, Taunton

Perry
F – Brandon Teixeira, Stoughton
F – Jose Mercado, Taunton
G – Alex DuBrow, Foxboro
G – Brent Doherty, North Attleboro
G – Tim Prunier, Franklin

What has been the biggest surprise this season?
Lanigan – Franklin graduated four of their five starters from last season – three of them that played at an All Star level – and graduated a good handful of depth players as well. I remember going to a preseason tournament and seeing the Panthers and barely recognizing anyone. Now they sit tied atop the Kelley-Rex division and look poised for a deep playoff run. Tim Prunier has been strong but it’s the supporting cast that has really been impressive. Obviously freshman Jay Dieterle has been a big boost but sophomore Paul Mahon has also been a huge asset while classmate Connor Peterson certainly looks like he has taken a big step. Kevin Gill has been a steady starter while Josh Macchi, Tom Houlihan and Connor Goldstein have all provided sparks off the bench. While some thought this could have been a rebuilding year for the Panthers, it’s looking like it could be a banner year.

Perry – The biggest surprise for me this season has been Taunton’s place at the top of the Kelley-Rex division at the midway point. The Tigers returned important pieces including Jose Mercado and Tommy MacLean, but the loss of E.J. Dambreville has not had nearly the impact that had been anticipated. Even without a couple of important transfers, Taunton just came through a week in which it beat both Franklin and Mansfield and it sits tied with the Panthers atop the standings. The surprise is not that Taunton is good, there was plenty of talent on the roster coming in, but to see Taunton right there with a shot at it first league title, with the second best offense in the Hock (64.2 ppg) and the third best defense (51.6 ppg), has been surprising.

At this point, which team will be going furthest in the tournament?

Lanigan – This is always one of the hardest questions that we do for the midseason report. Franklin has a strong shot at making a deep run in the Central but inexperience will be the question as they approach the postseason. Taunton has been terrific this season and have a lot of guys that can hurt you on any given night but depth could become an issue down the stretch. Mansfield is still a strong team and when they get going, they will be a team no one wants to see in D1 South.

But my pick is Foxboro. The Warriors showed this past Friday night just how good they can be when they have Alex DuBrow, Jason Procaccini and Rob Lowey all clicking offensively. On top of that, role players like Jonathan Carnino, Andrew Block, Mark Clagg and Joe Morrison have all shown they can hit a big shot when needed. The big challenge will be on the defensive end if they can clamp down and keep their heads in the game. I said it in the preseason and I’m sticking with it now: I think we’ll see the Warriors in the sectional finals.

Perry – Picking who will go furthest in the tournament is a fun exercise because it is impossible to know the match-ups. If I had to pick one team right now, it would be Franklin. The Central has plenty of tough teams, but to get to the sectional final, the Panthers could realistically only have to win two games, which makes the path to the final considerably shorter in not necessarily easier than that of the likes of Foxboro, Mansfield, and Taunton. All of these teams have the chance to make noise this year but in terms of who will get the furthest I’m leaning towards the Panthers.

01/13/2016

Gill Sparks Franklin’s Comeback Win Over Foxboro

Franklin senior Kevin Gill hit a trio of three pointers between the fourth quarter and overtime. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)

By Ryan Lanigan, Editor-in-Chief
FRANKLIN, Mass. – Franklin starting guard Kevin Gill picked a pretty good time to hit his first three of the season.
With the Panthers trailing 52-44 with just over two minutes to play, Gill took a feed from Josh Macchi and drained the triple from the right side to get within two possessions.
After Franklin’s defense forced a turnover on the other end, Gill picked an even better time to hit his second three of the season. Once again it was Macchi playing the role of playmaker, finding Gill wide open in the corner and he drained it.
And then after neither team could hit a go-ahead basket, the teams headed to overtime. That was the best time for Gill to hit his third three of the 2015-2016 campaign. Franklin’s lead was just one as time ticked under a minute in the extra period when Gill found himself in the corner — this time the left side — and hit nothing but net to give the Panthers the lead for good.
Gill helped Franklin cap a big comeback and score a 65-60 win over Foxboro in overtime.
“I knew we needed a big shot and I just happened to be the right place,” Gill said. “I got the ball off of a drive and I just let it go and it felt good when it went in. Making the first one boosted my confidence a lot. I missed one in the first half and I kind of faded out a little bit.
“We knew we just had to make the run first and strike first in overtime and not look back. Foxboro’s a great team but we were able to overcome their runs.”
Macchi got into it himself in the overtime period, hitting an open three to open up the scoring and put Franklin up 55-52. Two free throws from Jason Procaccini (17 points) brought Foxboro within one before Gill’s third triple of the night.
“If he’s shooting the ball, we’ll have four guys in the starting line up that can shoot threes and that will be a problem [for opponents] and then [Peterson] and Macchi will have the inside,” Franklin coach CJ Neely said. “We’ve been encouraging [Gill], we’ve been telling him you have to be able to shoot. You can’t allow teams to sit in the paint, you have to take a couple just to keep them honest. I’m really, really happy for him.”
After freshman Jay Dieterle finished at the rim to expand Franklin’s lead to six with 37 seconds to go, Foxboro suddenly go within two points. Mark Clagg hit the front end of a one and one and then after Foxboro kept possession, Clagg drained a deep three to cut it to 60-58.
Gill knocked down a free throw at the other end but missed the second. Clagg had another go at a deep three that was halfway down, but rimmed out. The Panthers hit their last four free throws to seal the win.
It was all about runs early for the visiting Warriors. Back to back three’s from Andrew Block and Procaccini and layups from Joe Morrison and Robby Lowey (12 points) capped a 10-0 run for Foxboro to end the first quarter, giving the Warriors a 17-10 edge.
Defensive stops at the end of the second quarter helped the Warriors keep a seven point cushion heading into halftime (30-23). Another 10-0 run, with four points from Procaccini and Mark Clagg (11 points) each and two from Alex DuBrow, suddenly the Warriors held a 17 point edge (40-23) over Franklin.
“We knew it was going to be a game of runs,” Foxboro head coach Jon Gibbs said. “Both teams have a lot of offensive talent, I think we were the two leading scoring teams in the league coming in. We knew both teams would go on some hot streaks. When we jumped out to that big lead, we certainly knew it wasn’t over, we knew they had a run in them.”
Over the final five minutes of the third and the final eight minutes of the game, Franklin slowly chipped away. To finish the third quarter, the Panthers had a 12-2 run to get within single digits. Macchi had six of the points while Sam Harrell, Tim Prunier and Dieterle each added two apiece.
“[Foxboro] came right and kicked our butts right out of the locker room to start the second half,” Neely said. “I thought we were panicking a little, throwing jump passes, we were on our heels which is totally uncharacteristic for us.
“It was about getting back to who we are. It’s toughness, it’s defense, it’s getting stops at big times and amping up the pace a little bit. Jon [Gibbs] does such a good job, those guys execute so well. It’s like a quarterback sitting in the pocket, when DuBrow is able to sit back there and see everything he’s one of the best players in the league if not the area. I think we had to get up on them and make it difficult for them. I think we sped them up a little bit and made them make decisions a little bit faster.”
Franklin got within four (44-40) behind a three from Dieterle and a pair of free throws to start the fourth but with 3:30 to play, a circus layup from DuBrow put Foxboro back ahead by 10.
Out of a timeout, Prunier got to the basket for two and after Foxboro came up short on the other end, that’s when Gill’s heroics were set in motion.
With 20 seconds left and the game tied at 52-52, Neely elected for a timeout. With just 11 seconds on the shot clock, the Panthers were unable to get a shot up after a pass was fumbled. With just five seconds to go, Foxboro ran a nice double screen to get DuBrow the ball and he drove along the baseline, sucking in the defense and he dished to Lowey but Macchi came from behind with help defense and blocked the last second shot attempt to send the game to overtime.
“We said we needed to get back to basics and get back to who we are,” Neely said of overcoming the 17 point deficit. “When we were down [by 17], we started to call a couple of sets, I told Timmy [Prunier] to be a little more aggressive. When he’s move aggressive then other guys get open. [Connor] Goldstein kind of goes under the radar but he spaces the floor and it opened a lot up, and got us some offensive boards. We got [Josh] Macchi in there to try and get us some offensive rebounds and he played his best game of the season by far.”
“After they made their run I was proud of the way we hung in there,” Gibbs said. “I thought we did a good job of fighting through the adversity, which was something we did a poor job of against Taunton. I thought tonight we responded well, we took the punch and hung in there but we just couldn’t hold on. Coming down the stretch, Franklin just made a couple more plays and shots than we did. I’m so proud of the way that our guys battled, they played their guts out and gave everything. Sometimes it just comes down to whether the ball goes in the basket but give credit to Franklin, they made a couple more plays than we did down the stretch.”
Prunier’s 18 points and four rebounds led the Panthers while Dieterle had 13 points and four rebounds and Gill had 12 points, five rebounds and four assists. Macchi had 11 points, eight rebounds and two [vital] assists.
Procaccini had seven rebounds to go with his 17 points, Lowey had six boards along with 12 points and DuBrow finished with eight points, seven assists, and six rebounds.
Franklin held a slim 30-28 edge in rebounding and had made 13/15 of its free throws compared to 8/12 for Foxboro. The Warriors were just 1/11 in the second half and overtime from three point range while Franklin was 5/14 in the second half and overtime.
The Panthers (7-1, 5-1) remain in a three way tie for first place in the Kelley-Rex but something will have to change when they travel to rival Mansfield (6-1, 5-1) on Friday for a 6:30 tip. Foxboro (6-2, 4-2) still remains atop the Davenport and will take a trip to Oliver Ames on the same day and time.
Ryan Lanigan can be contacted at RyanLanigan@hockomocksports.com and followed on Twitter at @R_Lanigan.

12/29/2015

Tuesday’s Schedule & Scoreboard – 12/29/15

Today’s games are listed below.
Boys Basketball
Foxboro, 65 vs. Walpole, 50 – Final – Foxboro’s Alex DuBrow scored 16 of his team-high 20 points in the second half. Jason Procaccini added 15 points and Rob Lowey chipped in with 13 points. Foxboro will take on Westwood in the finals of the Westwood 2015 Holiday Invitational on Wednesday at 2:00.

Franklin, 77 @ Algonquin, 72 – Final – For the second straight game, freshman Jay Dieterle led the Panthers in scoring with 22 points. Franklin had five players reach double figures with Connor Goldstein adding 15 points, Paul Mahon scoring 12 points and Kevin Gill and Josh Macchi each scoring 10 points.
Sharon, 61 vs. Tewksbury, 63 – Final – The Eagles were unable to convert the game-tying shot at the buzzer in a close game with a favorite in D2 North. Mitchell Sirota had a team-high 16 points, Matt Lowerre had 13 points and Ricardo Ripley scored 12 points. Lowerre and Tyler Smith were named tournament all stars.
Girls Basketball
Mansfield, 33 vs. Shenendehowa, 69 – Final – The Hornets split the two games in New York. On Tuesday, they were led by Caroline Maher with 10 points (all in the second half) and Juliana Newell with 8. Mansfield coach Mike Redding called Shenendehowa “the top team in New York.”

Oliver Ames, 47 vs. Needham, 39 – Final – Needham rallied from a 14 point halftime deficit to get within two late in the fourth quarter by free throws from Kaitlyn McCarthy and Kayla Raymond sealed the win for the Tigers. Junior Francesca Calabraro had a team-high 13 points for OA.
Sharon, 49 vs. Holliston, 35 – Final – The Eagles were led by senior Alyssa Piazza and freshman Emma Eberhardt who each scored 12 points. Sharon advances to the final of the Davenport Tournament to face Sandwich. The game will also be the final night for the team’s Coaches vs. Cancer event, which is raising money for the American Cancer Society. The Eagles have raised $300 so far.

Taunton, 34 vs. Durfee, 40 – Final
Hockey
Franklin, 1 @ Mount Saint Charles, 0 – Final – Jeremy Miller scored with 35 seconds left in overtime to give the Panthers the win. Franklin will play St. Joseph Collegiate (NY) on Wednesday in the championships game of the Mount St. Charles Holiday Faceoff.
Wrestling
Lowell Tournament (Canton, Foxboro, Franklin) – Foxboro’s Matt Kelley lost a close 1-0 decision in the finals at 126. Franklin’s John Miller was 4th at 220.
Framingham Tournament (Milford) – Milford came in 6th with 125 points.Nick Johnson won the 195 bracket, Nick Marcolini finished 2nd at 106, Brett Kimball was 3rd at 132, Ryan Gray was 3rd at 182, Carlos Terrinha wrestled to a 5th place finish at 113, Ryan Nesta was 6th at 170, Ian Lataille was 7th at 160 and Stan Demko finished 7th at 220. For team scores, Foxboro finished 29th with 72.5 points, Franklin finished 32nd with 68.5 points, Stoughton was 52nd with 43 points and Canton was 55th with 41 points.
Gymnastics
Attleboro, 134.15 @ North Attleboro, 130.20 – Final
Girls Hockey
Mansfield/Oliver Ames, 4 @ Quincy/North Quincy, 4 – Final

12/24/2015

Franklin’s Superb Shooting Delivers Upset of CM

Franklin reacts after upsetting top-ranked Catholic Memorial on Wednesday night. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)

By Ryan Lanigan, Editor-in-Chief
FRANKLIN, Mass. – Franklin typically likes to hangs its hat on defense.
But for at least one night, the Panthers relied on their offense to get the job done.
Franklin shot 50% from beyond the arc, connecting on 17 three pointers and never trailed in the second half in a 92-87 upset of Catholic Memorial, the defending D1 State Champions and the top ranked team in the state.
The Knights are ranked #1 by both ESPNBoston and The Boston Herald.
Freshman Jay Dieterle scored 16 of his team-high 24 points in the second half and sophomore Paul Mahon scored all 18 of his points in the second half to pace the Panthers.
“Taking them, making them, all of that’s kind of ridiculous and I think you need stuff like that to beat a team like CM,” Franklin head coach CJ Neely said of the team’s shooting from deep. “[CM’s] firepower is unbelievable. I think we held them to eight in the first quarter and they still put up 87 points. We usually pride ourselves on defense but this was a credit to our guys. I challenged them in the offseason to make 100 shots a day and they took it to heart and you can see the benefit of the guys who put in the work in the offseason.”
For the first quarter, it was Franklin’s defense that worked. The Panthers limited the Knights to just eight points while picking up a seven point cushion — a lead they would rely on for the rest of the game.
The second quarter is when the Panthers started to connect from deep. Tom Houlihan (16 points) connected on three of the team’s six three pointers in the second quarter. The Panthers then shot 10/18 from deep (5/11 in the third, 5/7 in the fourth) in the second half.
“It felt like we couldn’t hit a shot on Monday, we did a ton of shooting yesterday [in practice],” Neely said. “We had to have a light practice because we knew this one would be up and down. OA, they played us so hard so we had to go light so we took a lot of shots in practice and working on beating pressure. We were able to knock some down finally.”
Catholic Memorial was able to turn a five point deficit at halftime into a tie game early in the second half. Using a 12-5 run, the Knights tied the game 49-49 with a chance for a lead with an and-one free throw attempt. Instead, the shot rimmed out and Franklin’s Mahon hit a three on the other end.
The Knights refused to go away despite Franklin’s sharpshooting. A basket from CM’s Brandon Twitty (game-high 27 points) brought the Knights within seven in the fourth quarter at 68-61 with just over five minutes to play.
That’s when Dieterle really stood out. On Franklin’s ensuing trip up court. the freshman drained a wide open three pointer. As CM tried to push the pace and respond, Dieterle was able to get to the floor and take the loose ball. Eventually Franklin got possession of it and once again, Dieterle drained a three, extending the Panther’s lead to 74-61 with just over five minutes to play.
“I was just getting to the hoop more and more as the game went on and I just got more comfortable out there,” Dieterle said. “We all just put in work over the summer, we all got our shots a day…100 makes a day and it’s showing right now. This was amazing.”
After a timeout, the Knights rattled off nine straight points to make it a four point game but Dieterle took the ball to the rim for a finish plus the harm for a three point play. When CM got within five again, Houlihan hit his fifth three of the game to push the lead back to eight. Mahon then hit another three to make it an 11 point lead with two minutes to play.
“We’ve got a freshman out there playing like a senior, we’ve got Mahon burying shots, [Connor] Goldstein, Houlihan too” Neely said. “I mean all of those guys bought into making the 100 shots a day and that changes the way you can play the game when you have shooters that can space it like that.”
Despite fouling, Franklin kept its lead by going 11/13 from the free throw line in the second half. The Knights were 13/22 from the free throw line but just 4/11 in the second half.
“All credit to them, Franklin shots lights out,” CM head coach Denis Tobin said. “I said to our guys that we probably won’t play a team that will shoot this well the entire season. But Franklin made them, good for them they deserved it.”
Sam Harrell chipped in with six points, seven rebounds and five assists, Josh Macchi had 10 points, Kevin Gill scored six points, had seven assists and six rebounds and Tim Prunier had nine points. Prunier, who has been one of the top players in the Hockomock League, was limited because of foul trouble. He had two early in the second quarter and a charge early in the third quarter force him to the bench.
When asked what he would say if he was told before the game that the Panthers would score over 90 points and beat CM with Prunier scoring just nine, Neely said, “I would have been surprised. He’s obviously the leader of our team and he’s a great player but it goes to show that we’re not about one guy, we’ve got a whole team full of guys ready to play. They’ve played without Tim before, he’s been in foul trouble in basically every game we’ve played so far, so they’re used to it now. We have plenty of guys willing to step up and take shots. That was the message going in, to play with confidence and be aggressive. Right before we went out there I said play with an exclamation point.”
“It’s definitely hard having our leader out on the bench but he was great when he was on and everyone had to step up and everyone did,” Dieterle added.
Franklin (4-0) will have some time to rest now as they will be off until December 29th when they take on Algonquin in a non-league contest.
Ryan Lanigan can be contacted at RyanLanigan@hockomocksports.com and followed on Twitter at @R_Lanigan.