Bench delivers for Franklin
The shots started falling and the defensive stops piled up, and all of a sudden, a capacity Franklin High gymnasium became loud and raucous Saturday.
For three quarters, the Franklin boys’ basketball team struggled to gain separation from BC High in their Division 1 quarterfinal showdown. But once Bradley Herndon splashed a 3-pointer and Sean O’Leary followed with another, the Panthers fed off their home crowd and never looked back.
Franklin embarked on a decisive 15-2 fourth-quarter run to pull away from BC High, 66-49. The third-seeded Panthers (24-1) remained undefeated against in-state competition and advanced to a semifinal against No. 2 Catholic Memorial on Tuesday at Taunton High at 7:30 p.m.
“We stayed together,” said O’Leary. “When we started to pull away, it was a great feeling. We stayed positive and just kept it going. It’s a special feeling to make the Final Four.”
After splashing nine 3-pointers in the first half of Wednesday’s 81-55 rout of Putnam, the Panthers went ice cold from deep for most of Saturday’s matchup, missing 21 of their first 26 attempts.
Meanwhile, O’Leary, the twotime Hockomock League MVP, entered the fourth quarter with just 2 points and was battling foul trouble. Typically, that would be a recipe for disaster. But Franklin entered the final frame ahead 42-39, after Hansy Jacques (14 points), Justice Samuels (6), and Andrew Benoit (3) provided 23 massive points off the bench.
“Coach [CJ Neely] always tells our bench guys to stay ready before the game,” said O’Leary. “All three of them stepped up big for us in different ways. It changed the game for us.”
With Franklin leading, 51-47, midway through the fourth, the starters took over. O’Leary drained his straightaway triple for his first field goal since the opening quarter.
Caden Sullivan followed with a soaring layup before O’Leary caught a pass at the right elbow, spun to the hoop, and finished off glass for a 3-point play. Sullivan added four free throws for a 63-49 lead that all but sealed it.
“We have a lot of good players,” said Neely. “It’s a special group and we rely on our depth. A lot of those guys who don’t play a ton would be someone else’s best player or second-best player. They stepped up tonight.”
Division 2 State
Sharon 58, Scituate 54 — Jacob McLoughlin scored on a traditional 3-point play to retake the lead for good, made two free throws to ice it, and, when a loose ball found his hands, made a jubilant toss as the buzzer sounded on a quarterfinal win for the seventh-seeded Eagles (16-7) over the No. 15 Sailors (20-5) at Stoughton High School.
In a game that featured more than 20 lead changes and ties, the final two minutes belonged to McLoughlin and the Eagles, who will face No. 14 Bedford on Tuesday in a semifinal at UMassBoston at 7 p.m.
“I feel like I always stay calm under pressure and I believe in myself,” said McLoughlin, who scored 13 points, none bigger than his pair of free throws with four seconds remaining. “I wasn’t too worried. I’ve been here before.”
Division 3 State
Charlestown 87, Newburyport 72 — Behind a raucous group of fans attired in T-shirts that read “Unfinished Business,” the No. 1 Townies (21-2) would not be denied their second consecutive trip to the semifinals, responding to every second-half burst from the No. 8 Clippers (19-4) at Madison Park High.
The Clippers cut Charlestown’s lead to 7 points late in the third quarter, before senior Damante Vanheyningen erupted on a personal 7-0 spurt. Then, with four minutes to go and the Townies’ lead down to 6 points, sophomore Jaylen Hunter-Coleman put on a ruthless spin move and finished with an easy layup to ignite a 16-7 run that closed out the victory.
Hunter-Coleman, the son of Townies coach Hugh Coleman, finished with 25 points, Vanheyningen had 24, and Jaylin Williams-Crawford added 22.
The Townies move on to face No. 4 Taconic on Wednesday at Worcester State at 7 p.m.
Division 4 State
Millbury 42, Manchester Essex 41 — The No. 5 Hornets (21-2) led by 8 points at the break, but a stunning scoreless third quarter helped the No. 4 Woolies (20-5) advance to a semifinal matchup against top-seeded Wareham on Tuesday at Taunton High at 5 p.m.
Millbury had a 6-point advantage with 33 seconds left when the Hornets staged a furious surge, but it came up just short when senior Cade Furse (19 points) couldn’t connect on a right-wing 3 at the buzzer.
“[Cade] told me after the game,” said Manchester Essex coach Tim St. Laurent, “he thought it was nothing but net.”
Kenny Donnelly (18 points, 9 rebounds) and his brother, Jimmer, (11 points) led the Woolies.