By Justin A. Rice
Meanwhile, the Brockton boys didn’t swagger onto the court to a thunderous applause for their own sectional final against the Tigers for about another 15 minutes.
Making good on a promise to their female counterparts, the Boxer boys watched the entire girls game in street clothes before holding up their end of the bargain by beating Newton North, 67-54.
The wins marked the first time both Brockton teams advanced to the EMass. finals in the same year since 2001, which was the last time the girls won the state championship and the last time the boys won the South Sectional title.
Not a lot of teams win the South Sectionals at all so to do it at the same time would be very special, said Boxers senior forward Louis Montes after scoring 14 points against the Tigers.
“They always come out to support us so we had to do the same,” Montes said. “We told them we were gonna stay and watch the game, regardless of what happened. They’re still over there supporting us right now.”
And while the top-seeded Brockton boys (23-0) have not won a state title since 1985, winning one this year would only be part of their legacy.
They took another step towards becoming the first basketball team in school history with an undefeated record in the regular season and in the tournament.
“We’re side-by-side in the gym,” Brockton girls coach Eric DeBiase said between games. “We support the boys and the boys support the girls.
“Its been a lot of fun and its easy to support each other when both teams have that much talent.
Montes, the Boxers’ leading scorer this season, averaging 16.5 points per game, only had nine points in the first quarter Saturday night as Brockton only led, 15-10, after the opening stanza.
But they managed to pull away a bit in the second quarter with a 7-0 run that gave them a 24-13 edge with 4:53 left in the half.
After Geoffery Woodberry, who scored a team-high 14 points for Newton North (20-5), picked up his third foul, Brockton ended up with a 36-22 advantage at the break.
Last year, Brockton lost the Div. 1 South Sectional final to BC High. After racing to a 42-30 halftime lead, the Boxers were outscored, 44-21, over the second half before losing, 74-63.
This time, with a 14-point halftime lead, Boen said he figured some folks were whispering about an upset in the crowd.
“Then we came out and got it up to 20 where we wanted it to be,” Boen said, “but then we relaxed and started showboating a bit and they got back in the game.”
It also didn’t help matters that Montes didn’t score a point in the second half.
Seniors Shawn Yard and Jarrad DeVaughn picked up the slack by finishing with game-highs of 15 points apiece after only scoring four and two points, respectively, in the first half.
“It’s good to know I don’t have that much pressure on my shoulders,” said Montes.
DeVaughn said he felt more comfortable in the second half after having an injured finger taped.
“Plus, I was just happy to be out there, he said. It just clicked in that this might be the last time Ill be out here so I should make the best of it.”
He opened the final two quarters with 3-pointers. The first one put the Boxers up, 41-22. But after Michael Nuefville added a bucket for Brockton, Newton North managed a 6-0 run that cut the score to, 41-29, and forced Brockton to call time with about five to play in the quarter.
About 30 seconds later, Yard ended the drought with a field goal and DeVaughn scored off a back-door pass to put the Boxers up, 47-29, with 3:35 to play in the third. The Tigers then cut into Brocktons lead a bit to trail, 52-37, after three quarters.
That’s when DeVaughn hit another 3-pointer to open the final quarter. Shortly afterwards, Yard converted an acrobatic layup, giving Brockton its biggest lead of the night at 57-37 with 6:53 to play.
Newton North ran off a 14-1 run that cut the lead to 58-51 with 2:38 to play, but Brockton’s cushion was ultimately too padded. Yard, who scored nine points in the final quarter, converted a 3-point play with 2:20 to go to go up, 62-51.
“Coach has a lot of trust in me and knows I’m a senior and one of the captains,” Yard said. “I’m the point guard, it’s my job to get the ball to the other players but if see I can penetrate and kick (out the ball), I do what I can to help win the game.”
Winning the game earned the Boxers the chance to play tonight’s winner of defending Div. 1 champions Central Catholic and Lynn English in the EMass final at 8 on Tuesday night, a night after the Brockton girls grace the parquet floor.
Boen probably feels it’s a shame that he can’t sacrifice a little more practice time to watch the girls play the night before his guys hit the court.
“I think seeing that the girls are going to the Garden really had us flying,” Boen said.
No comments:
Post a Comment