MATTAPOISETT — The small gym, the packed stands, the raucous student section, the player introductions in darkness with blaring music and fans holding glow sticks … Old Rochester Regional had a true homecourt advantage Tuesday night.
But after some early nerves, the 15th seeded Salem High boys basketball team showed they could play with the No. 2 team in Division 3.
The Witches fought their way back into the contest, tied it up several times and even took the lead twice in the second half. But with the game tied, the host Bulldogs went on a mini-run midway through the fourth quarter and pulled away for a 66-58 victory.
“It’s a game of runs; we had ours, but they had theirs, too,” said senior captain Eddie Butler, who drained a pair of big 3-pointers to keep Salem (14-8) within striking distance in the final period.
“It was all about the fight in our team,” added fellow senior guard Devante Ozuna. “They’re the 2-seed, we had a 2-hour drive here and they go up early; we could’ve had our heads down and got blown out by 20, 40 points. But we fought back. That was the fight we have.”
As they have all season, the Witches got outstanding performances from their two star freshmen, Jordan Maxson and Elian Rodriguez. Both showed early signs of nerves before the big crowd as ORR raced to a 16-10 lead after one quarter, but settled down and helped make it a battle over the final three stanzas.
Maxson led all scorers with 29 points, hitting a couple of long 3-pointers while also slashing to the hoop and scoring against the Bulldogs’ bigger bodies in the paint. Rodriguez, like Maxson, drained a trio of 3-pointers and finished with 17 points.
“Those two hotshot freshmen, especially Maxson, made life tough for us out there,” said Old Rochester (19-4) head coach Steve Carvalho. “We knew they were going to be tough, especially when it comes to dribble driving. We had to make some adjustments defensively.
“We did have answers, thankfully, and were able to get some separation late and hold on.”
Trailing by six at halftime (27-21), the Witches came out hot in the third quarter. They opened with a 10-2 run thanks to a Butler bucket, two slashes to the rim by Maxson, a jumper by captain Corey Grimes, and another Maxson runner. (Later in the quarter, Maxson drove to the net, reversed hands on the way up and laid in a lefty shot off the glass, making the basket and ensuing free throw.)
“We were hoping to jump out on them early, but it didn’t work out that way,” said Salem head coach Tom Doyle. “But the kids gave a quick response and made adjustments on the fly so were able to stay in the ballgame at halftime. And in the third quarter, we came out with a lot of great energy.”
But as they would prove all night, the Bulldogs found a way to respond. Captain Chase Besancon (team-high 18 points) scored three straight times inside, and teammates John Butler (15 points) and Zack Mourao (18) each drained two from the free throw line, giving the home team a 39-36 edge after three quarters.
But the Witches would not go away. Maxson hit one long 3-ball from the elbow, then sank another while being fouled. When he swished the free throw, the contest was tied again (43-43) with about five minutes to play.
“It’s a game of emotions,” said Ozuna. “Our two leading scorers are freshmen, so that can play into it, too. But they both played really well and scored almost all of our points.”
That’s when Old Rochester took the lead for good with an 8-0 spurt, getting a Gavin Martin jumper, another inside move by Besancon, two free throws from Mourao and yet another two points from the paint by Besancon.
Butler got the home crowd going bonkers late, making a pair of steals and throwing down two monstrous dunks.
“I know the final score says we lost by eight points,” said Doyle, “but it was a ballgame right to the end. I’m proud of the way my guys represented Salem basketball.”
Doyle said his graduating seniors — Grimes, Butler, Ozuna, Riley Fenerty, Elias Vasquez, Logan Abboud and Christian Lane — will not be forgotten for the contributions they gave to SHS basketball.
“It’s going to be a really tough void for us to fill next year,” he admitted. “They’re awesome leaders for our program and school. They’ve done so much for us; they’ll be sorely missed.”
“We came in here against the No. 2 seed with a massive fan section and fought back,” added Grimes. “That speaks so much to our team, especially our two freshmen,” said Grimes. “We played through it and fought to the end.”
Old Rochester 66, Salem 58
Division 3 playoffs second round
at Old Rochester Regional HS, Mattapoisett
Salem 10 11 15 22 58
Old Rochester 16 11 12 27 66
SALEM: Jordan Maxson 10-6-29, Rocco Ryan 0-0-0, Eddie Butler 3-0-8, Elian Rodriguez 6-0-15, Corey Grimes 2-0-4, Devante Ozuna 0-0-0, Christian Lane 1-0-2, Nathaniel Lane 0-0-0, Riley Fenerty 0-0-0, Josh Giaff Hodge 0-0-0, Elias Vasquez 0-0-0, Yael Vizcaino 0-0-0. Totals 22-6-58.
OLD ROCHESTER: Noah Mendes 0-0-0, Zack Mourao 5-5-18, Finn Kavanaugh 1-0-3, Chase Besancon 9-0-18, John Butler 4-6-15, Robert Spenard 3-0-6, Gavin Martin 3-0-6. Totals 25-11-66.
Halftime: Old Rochester, 27-21.
Three-pointers: Salem, Maxson 3, Rodriguez 3, Butler 2; ORR, Mourao 3, Kavanaugh, Butler.
Records: S, 14-7; ORR, 18-4.
Contact Phil Stacey
@PhilStacey_SN