Farrell, Milford Hang On For Win At North Attleboro

Milford boys basketball CJ Farrell
Milford freshman CJ Farrell, who scored a career-high 26 points, pulls up for a three-pointer in the first half at North Attleboro. (Ryan Lanigan/HockomockSports.com)
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 NORTH ATTLEBORO, Mass. — Milford’s CJ Farrell might only be a freshman, but 18 games into his very young career, he’s starting to play like a seasoned veteran.

Farrell dropped a career-high 26 points to go along with eight rebounds, seven steals, and four assists to lead the Scarlet Hawks to a 63-56 win on the road over North Attleboro.

The win pulls Milford’s record to an even 9-9 (8-9 for MIAA tournament purposes) with five games to go.

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“There’s an adjustment for everyone when you get to the varsity level, much less a freshman and he’s come right in and asserted himself as a leader on this team both vocally and how he plays on the floor,” said Milford interim head coach Chris Trafecante, who is filling in while head coach Paul Seaver is on medical leave. Seaver is set to return in the coming week.

“[CJ’s] a special kid and he wants to win in Milford. He backs it up with how hard he works and we’re very fortunate to have him.”

Farrell came out of the gates flying, putting up 11 points in the opening quarter and his three steals helped spark an 11-0 run to close the quarter that put Milford ahead 17-11. The Scarlet Hawks never trailed the rest of the way.

Although the visitors held the lead throughout the final three quarters, the Rocketeers refused to go quietly and used a late rally to make a game of it.

The Hawks staked a 51-38 lead going into the fourth quarter but North had its best quarter of the game offensively and cut the deficit all the way down to one possession, 59-56, with a minute to go.

Sophomore Ryan Bannon hauled in an offensive board and found senior Givany Carney (career-high 21 points) for three at the midway point of the fourth to bring the hosts within single digits at 56-48. North freshman Jake Peckham (nine points, four assists) and Milford sophomore Andrew Rivera (15 points) traded free throws, North sophomore Austin Clemente sank two from the free throw line, and then Carney turned a steal at halfcourt into a layup to make it 57-54.

Milford sophomore Tyler Ballard answered seconds later off a good feed from Rivera but Peckham used a nice fake on the other end to create space for a layup to make it 59-56 with a minute to go.

“Defensively I think we were a little tighter, a little better in the fourth quarter,” said North Attleboro head coach Sean Mulkerrins said of the fourth quarter comeback. “At halftime, we talked about how they had made some baskets but we were also breaking some of our defensive rules. That combined with some good shooting from Milford was a recipe for giving up too many points. I thought in the fourth we locked in and offensively, we saw the ball go in and felt better about ourselves.”

Sophomore Jack Buckley hit two from the line for the Hawks and then hauled in a defensive board after North was off the mark from three-point territory. Buckley added one more free throw, and after North was off the mark on two chances from deep, Rivera tacked on one more free throw to seal the win.

“When this group gets stops, they are tough to beat,” Trafecante said, “It’s the lapses defensively that kind of give us some problems. And when there are lapses defensively, there are lapses offensively as well. We were able to get some stops and rebound the ball at the end.

Chris Hanewich (nine points) and Derek Maceda had early buckets to give North an 11-6 lead but Farrell turned a steal into a traditional three-point play and then tied the game on a contested shot in close. Another Farrell steal resulted in a three from Luca Testa and then Jake Soares hauled in an offensive rebound and dished to Farrell for a three just before the buzzer to give Milford a 17-11 lead after one.

North made a push to start the second as Carney had five straight but Farrell also had five early on to cancel it out. Ayden Delaney drove to the rim for two and Chase Frisoli (eight points, five rebounds) drained a three to get North within a bucket at 27-24 but Milford closed the second strong. Soares converted a tough layup, Rivera had a steal and layup, Nick Araujo came up with a steal and found Rivera for a traditional three-point play, and Wyatt Zagami finished at the rim after another forced turnover from Farrell.

Milford forced 13 first half turnovers and five more in the third while the Rocketeers had just one turnover in the fourth quarter.

“Anytime you can get easy baskets, you’ll take them,” Trafecante said. “We just have to continue to play disciplined on the defensive end and stay in front of guys. We play a pretty quick pace and we try to speed teams up, and when you can do that you can cause teams to make mistakes.”

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“Those live ball turnovers kill us,” Mulkerrins said. “It’s so hard to get back and then your defense has to be perfect. And that leaks into the offense, we tend to play a little tighter. It’s a credit to our kids that we are able to get back into these games but we just dug ourselves too big of a hole. These kids don’t quit and I’m proud of them for that.”

After a bucket from Rivera with five minutes to go in the third, Farrell scored eight straight as Milford’s lead peaked at 49-33. Peckham had a key three for North to snap the run and keep the Rocketeers within striking distance going into the fourth.

Milford boys basketball is back on the road on Friday with a trip to King Philip while North Attleboro is on the road for a pair of games to end the week, first at Bishop Feehan and then at Franklin.

North Attleboro Rallies in Fourth to Beat Milford

North Attleboro girls basketball
Sophomore Sam Sweeney (21) drives to the basket for two of her game-high 16 points, helping North Attleboro come from behind to beat Milford. (Josh Perry/HockomockSports.com)

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MILFORD, Mass. – Milford finally connected on some shots, making as many field goals in the final minute of the third quarter as the Hawks knocked down in the entire first half. The 14-1 run completed a comeback from 13 points down and gave the hosts a five-point cushion in the fourth quarter, their largest lead of Tuesday night’s game.

North Attleboro could’ve let down and allowed the night to continue getting away, but for the second straight game the Rocketeers found a second wind in the final minutes. The visitors answered with a 10-0 run of their own, regaining the lead and the momentum.

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Sparked by a seven-point fourth quarter from senior Ava McKeon, North was able to get the stops it needed and made several clutch shots for a come-from-behind 47-43 victory and a sweep of the season series.

“We tend to have that one quarter where become cold and we can’t hit,” explained North coach Nikki Correia. “What I’m proud of them about is that we’re starting to learn you can get down, basketball is a game of runs, and we talked in the locker room about how we need to keep our heads up and play tough and play strong and they played through that. I thought we did a good job rebounding at halftime.”

It certainly didn’t look like North would need a comeback of any kind after the first quarter. Milford was held to just three free throws and fell behind 16-3.

North went 8-for-10 at the line in a foul-filled opening quarter that saw both teams reach the bonus. Sam Sweeney (game-high 16 points, eight rebounds, and four steals) provided an early boost for North offensively, scoring off an offensive rebound and taking a nice pass from Katie Corsetti (12 points, six rebounds, and six steals) for a layup. Corsetti also hit a short jumper after a steal for one of North’s four made baskets in the first.

Correia said, “To start the season, if we did have a lead, then to break the press we thought if someone is ahead we have to throw it up, but we said we don’t have to force it. Sam Sweeney’s gotten better at being able to read that. Let’s just set up the offense, calm it down, and finding nice sweet spots for her.”

The second quarter was almost a mirror image of the first. This time it was the North offense that stalled, as Sweeney’s jumper was the lone basket for the visitors, who also went just 1-for-6 from the line.

“Recently we’ve dug ourselves into big holes to start games and unfortunately we’re not, typically, built offensively to come back from a 16-3 deficit,” said Milford coach TJ Dolliver. “We did it tonight and we mostly did that by getting stops and getting good looks. Turnovers was mainly what the 16-3 lead was from and sometimes it takes us a while to settle in. Once we did, we came back strong.”

Milford finally found its footing on offense. Erin Michelson (seven points and six rebounds) leaked out in transition and scored off a long pass from Brooke Ferreira (seven points, six rebounds, and four assists). The Hawks were 6-for-12 at the line in the second (as the teams combined for 24 fouls in the first half) to climb back into the game.

After Ferreira drove through the lane for a bucket, Aliza Syed (eight points) drilled one from beyond the arc to cut the North lead to three at the break.

Dolliver said, “We made it ball game and that’s a testament to the girls. We go down like that and it’s easy to roll over and just give up but the girls don’t do that and that’s important.”

North started the second half quickly to extend the lead back to as many as six points (28-22). Sweeney knocked down a jumper and turned a steal into a layup. Khatrina Leger answered with four straight points for the Hawks, but Corsetti got a steal and short jumper and Maryellen Charette, who battled foul trouble in the first half, scored on a put-back.

Suddenly, Milford found another gear on offense. After scoring only 16 points in the first half, the Hawks matched that total in the third quarter alone. Milford also got contributions throughout the roster, as 10 different players got on the score sheet even without key forward Emily Croteau.

Ava Baglione started the comeback with a runner on the baseline. Syed got free from straightaway and buried her second three-pointer to cut North’s lead to just 29-27. With close to 30 seconds remaining in the third, Cae Pellegrini let fly from a step behind the line and her straightaway three banked in to put Milford in front for the first time in the game. Freshman Katelyn Kearnan then made a nice cut and got a pass from Ferreira for a layup to make it 32-29 after three quarters.

Kearnan would get a steal and a layup to start the fourth as well, completing the 14-1 run and giving Milford its largest lead of the night. North needed a spark and McKeon (nine points, eight rebounds, and five steals), who was frustrated by fouls in the first half, gave the Rocketeers a lift with a big put-back.

Sweeney would knock down a pair of jumpers from the right corner to put North quickly back in front 35-34. Corsetti then made a nice move on the right block and finished at the rim and Charette (seven points and six rebounds) got a layup off a McKeon dish. After Michelson got free on an inbounds play, McKeon responded with a tough, baseline drive to restore the five-point lead.

“They all work hard, but she’s somebody who can keep her composure and realize that she needs to a leader,” Correia said about McKeon. “She said to me on the sideline, ‘I got this coach’ and I just said, ‘Settle down, watch the reaching, and play your game.’ When she plays her game, she plays under control and takes what they give her.”

Olivia Baglione got two points back with a good rebound and finish in traffic, but McKeon sliced through the lane for two more to keep the Hawks at arm’s length. Ferreira tried to give the hosts hope with a lefty drive that made it 45-40 with 30 seconds left, but North twice made one-of-two at the line and Michelson’s three at the buzzer was mere consolation.

“It was a last-minute thing yesterday that Emily was sick,” Dolliver said. I told the girls before the game, Emily plays pretty much 30 minutes a game and that production needs to be brought up by someone else and they did it. Second and third quarters we played great, but we need to find a way to sustain that for all four quarters.”

North Attleboro (5-12) will host division-leading Franklin on Friday, looking to pull an upset and have a say in the league title race. Milford (4-12) hosts Hopedale on Thursday before a visit from King Philip one night later.

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Hockomock Girls Swim Championships – 2023 Results

Hockomock girls swim

Below are the full team results and the top six finishes from each individual race.

Hockomock girls swim

Click here for a photo gallery of over 200 photos from this event.

Team Results

1. Franklin – 406
2. Attleboro – 252
3. Canton – 240
4. King Philip – 215
5. Foxboro – 212
6. Taunton – 163
7. Sharon – 142
8. Mansfield – 129
9. Milford – 102
10. North Attleboro – 101
11. Oliver Ames – 92

Race Results

200 Yard Medley Relay
1. Franklin (Harikalal Birali, Christine Tang, Hope Xayveth, Emma Ferreira) – 1:53.78**
2. Canton (Kelley Harney, Shauna Harney, Annie McLean, Olivia Hickey) – 1:59.77
3. Attleboro (Zuri Ferguson, Abbigael Rodrigues, Sydney Dorval, Carolien Lynch-Bartek) – 2:00.63
4. Foxboro (Megan Lathrop, Abby Gallagher, Ava Gallagher, Molly Lockwood) – 2:04.94
5. King Philip (Madelyn Cleasby, Flannery Miller, Rachel Bailer, Lauren Klein) – 2:05.14
6. Sharon (Molly Angaian, Avital Gerts, Feining Huang, Kat Chavez) – 2:09.14

200 Yard Free
1. Zuri Ferguson, Attleboro – 1:54.22**
2. Addison MacDonald, Mansfield – 2:00.79
3. Sydney Bourgeois, Franklin – 2:05.90
4. Abby Gallagher, Foxboro – 2:06.12
5. Keeley Harney, Canton – 2:07.92
6. Ashley Desroches, Franklin – 2:09.26

200 Yard IM
1. Shauna Harvey, Canton – 2:15.01
2. Christine Tang, Franklin – 2:16.42
3. Flannery Miller, King Philip – 2:19.35
4. Megan Lathrop, Foxboro – 2:19.61
5. Feining Huang, Sharon – 2:20.35
6. Ava Gallagher, Foxboro – 2:27.29

50 Yard Free
1. Annie McLean, Canton – 25.87
2. Emma Ferreira, Franklin – 26.52
3. Abigail Fernandes, Taunton – 27.77
4. Sarah Wengal, Milford – 27.89
5. Caroline Clifford, Franklin – 28.14
6. Lauren Klein, King Philip – 28.53

100 Yard Butterfly
1. Hope Xayaveth, Franklin – 57.14**
2. Megan Lathrop, Foxboro – 1:02.39
3. Annie McLean, Canton – 1:02.46
4. Feining Huang, Sharon – 1:02.54
5. Ava Gallagher, Foxboro – 1:06.40
6. Keegan Wright, Franklin 1:09.41

Click here for a photo gallery of over 200 photos from this event.

100 Yard Free
1. Harikalal Birali, Franklin – 56.13
2. Keeley Harney, Canton – 56.28
3. Emma Ferreira, Franklin – 57.35
4. Madelyn Cleasby, King Philip – 1:00.53
5. Kat Chavez, Sharon – 1:00.67
6. Caroline Lynch-Bartek, Attleboro – 1:01.44

500 Yard Free
1. Addison MacDonald, Mansfield – 5:21.67
2. Sydney Bourgeois, Franklin – 5:33.91
3. Abby Gallagher, Foxboro – 5:34.45
4. Ashely Desroches, Franklin – 5:42.36
5. Molly Lockwood, Foxboro – 5:48.05
6. Avital Gerts, Sharon – 5:50.38

200 Yard Free Relay
1. Attleboro (Caroline Lynch-Bartek, Sydney Dorval, Ava Dougherty, Zuri Ferguson) – 1:49.98
2. Franklin (Caroline Clifford, Ashley Desroches, Christine Tang, Sydney Bourgeois) – 1:50.50
3. Taunton (Abigail Fernandes, Mile Dafov, Megan Viveiros, Tiffany Ye) – 1:55.00
4. North Attleboro (Cassie Hobson, Megan Atwood, Mallory Burns, Sophia Roukhadze) – 2:02.63
5. Milford (Sarah Wengal, Brighid Howland, Madelyn Stochaj, Vedi Raval) – 2:04.09
6. Oliver Ames (Paige Gray, Olivia Poliseno, Addison McDonough, Ashley Powers) – 2:04.22

100 Yard Backstroke
1. Zuri Ferguson, Attleboro – 55.60**
2. Harikalal Birali, Franklin – 1:00.56
3. Shauna Harney, Catnon – 1:02.63
4. Tiffany Ye, Taunton – 1:05.29
5. Madelyn Cleasby, King Philip – 1:06.94
6. Atina Lee, Canton – 1:07.88

100 Yard Breaststroke
1. Hope Xavayeth, Franklin – 1:09.03
2. Flannery Miller, King Philip – 1:11.49
3. Christine Tang, Franklin – 1:12.76
4. Avital Gerts, Sharon – 1:19.67
5. Madison Lawlor, Franklin – 1:20.58
6. Abbigael Rodrigues, Attleboro – 1:21.52

400 Yard Free Relay
1. Franklin (Harikalal Birali, Sydney Bourgeois, Emma Ferreira, Hope Xavayeth) – 3:48.89
2. Foxboro (Darrah Bertumen, Abby Gallagher, Megan Lathrop, Ava Gallagher) – 4:04.19
3. King Philip (Rachel Bailer, Madelyn Cleasby, Lauren Klein, Flannery Miller) – 4:07.70
4. Sharon (Kat Chavez, Sophia Scott, Avital Gers, Feining Huang) – 4:12.18
5. Canton (Caitlyn Reynolds, Tema Mazonson, Julianne Gilchrist, Atina Lee) – 4:15.10
6. Attleboro (Natalie Kotnisz, Genny Chace, Abbigael Rodrigues, Ava Dougherty) – 4:17.70

Click here for a photo gallery of over 200 photos from this event.

Hockomock Boys Swim Championships – 2023 Results

Hockomock boys swim

Below are the full team results and the top six finishes from each individual race.

Hockomock boys swim

Click here for a photo gallery of over 200 photos from this event.

Team Results

1. Sharon – 376
2. Attleboro – 357
3. Milford – 249
4. Canton – 246.5
5. Franklin – 187
6. Foxboro – 155
7. Mansfield – 118
8. Taunton – 115
9. Oliver Ames – 97.5
10. North Attleboro – 88
11. Stoughton – 63
12. King Philip – 1

Race Results

200 Yard Medley Relay
1. Attleboro (Connor Coleman, Ben Connors, Ryan Connors, Angad Ahluwalia) – 1:43.41
2. Sharon (David Bai, Ray Luo, Michael Wang, Brac Buffa) – 1:47.93
3. Milford (Corey Rattray, Ben Pezza, Josh Anderson, Aaron McIsaac) – 1:51.17
4. Canton (Hunter Rice, Matthew Hart, Charlie Smith, Talis Veidis) – 1:54.54
5. Foxboro (Bennett Franciosi, Matthew Rochford, Evan Stein, Joshua Nelson) – 2:00.48
6. Mansfield (Xavier Gwynne, Cornelius Dalpe, Jack Friedman, Trevor Schwartz) – 2:03.49

200 Yard Free
1. Ryan Connors, Attleboro – 1:53.21
2. Ben Pezza, Milford – 2:00.14
3. Oliver McCarthy, Franklin – 2:02.35
4. Josh Anderson, Milford – 2:05.75
5. Justin Hsu, Sharon – 2:09.25
6. Howell Braillard, North Attleboro – 2:11.08

200 Yard IM
1. Ben Connors, Attleboro – 2:05.77
2. Gerald Grealish, Taunton – 2:09.91
3. Michael Wang, Sharon – 2:10.64
4. Evan Stein, Foxboro – 2:12.86
5. Bennett Franciosi, Foxboro – 2:17.08
6. Ethan Fielder, Milford – 2:20.45

50 Yard Free
1. David Bai, Sharon – 21.67**
2. Talis Veidis, Catnon – 23.37
3. Angad Ahluwalia, Attleboro – 23.59
4. Aaron McIsaac, Milford – 24.55
5. Ray Luo, Sharon – 25.17
6. Arthur Do, Sharon – 25.22

100 Yard Butterfly
1. Ryan Connors, Attleboro – 53.13**
2. Michael Wang, Sharon – 57.52
3. Brac Buffa, Sharon – 59.57
4. Xavier Gwynne, Mansfield – 1:01.39
5. S. Miller Wasif, Franklin – 1:01.81
6. Aaron McIsaac, Milford – 1:03.09

Click here for a photo gallery of over 200 photos from this event.

100 Yard Free
1. Talis Veidis, Canton – 51.89
2. Evan Stein, Foxboro – 51.97
3. Angad Ahluwalia, Attleboro – 52.49
4. Brian Wang, Oliver Ames – 52.58
5. Corey Rattray, Milford – 54.45
6. Andrew Raynus, Sharon – 54.96

500 Yard Free
1. Brac Buffa, Sharon – 5:23.02
2. Connor Coleman, Attleboro – 5:23.69
3. Bennett Franciosi, Foxboro – 5:35.11
4. Josh Anderson, Milford – 5:41.84
5. Hunter Rice, Canton – 5:51.55
6. Oliver McCarthy, Franklin – 5:56.56

200 Yard Free Relay
1. Canton (Jonathan He, Daniel Bui, Matthew Hart, Talis Veidis) – 1:40.60
2. Sharon (Ray Luo, Henry Do, Brac Buffa, Arthur Do) – 1:41.45
3. Attleboro (John Wheaton, Andrew Collins, Matthew Brewster, Cooper Johnson) – 1:43.01
4. Franklin (Rowan O’Rourke, Luke Tulloch, S. Milelr Wasik, Oliver McCarthy) – 1:45.47
5. Mansfield (Cornelius Dalpe, Trevor Schwartz, Jack Friedman, Xavier Gwynne) – 1:48.30
6. Milford (Ethan Fielder, Oskar Khoury, Eli DeBarros, Miles Lentendre) – 1:48.35

100 Yard Backstroke
1. David Bai, Sharon – 55.60
2. Brian Wang, Oliver Ames – 1:01.07
3. Connor Coleman, Attleboro – 1:01.56
4. Corey Rattray, Milford – 1:01.73
5. Xavier Gwynne, Mansfield – 1:04.85
6. Andrew Raynus, Sharon – 1:04.89

100 Yard Breaststroke
1. Ben Connors, Attleboro – 1:03.24
2. Gerald Grealish, Taunton – 1:04.06
3. Ben Pezza, Milford – 1:10.30
4. Ray Luo, Sharon – 1:12.41
5. Oskar Khoury, Milford – 1:12.69
6. Matthew Hart, Canton – 1:14.24

400 Yard Free Relay
1. Attleboro (Angad Ahluwalia, Connor Coleman, Ryan Connors, Ben Connors) – 3:29.46
2. Sharon (Andrew Raynus, Arthur Do, Michael Wang, David Bai) – 3:35.17
3. Milford (Corey Rattray, Ben Pezza, Josh Anderson, Aaron McIsaac) – 3:38.10
4. Canton (Daniel Bui, Charlie Smith, Ryan Hickey, Hunter Rice) – 3:52.24
5. Franklin (Oliver McCarthy, Arsh Tyagi, Luke Tulloch, S. Miller Wasik) – 3:53.37
6. Foxboro (Bennett Franciosi, Dylan Kelley, Joshua Netson, Evan Stein) – 3:57.12

Click here for a photo gallery of over 200 photos from this event.