Lacking Momemtum, Norton Boys' Basketball Eliminated From Tournament by Rockland 50-34

There was one point in the third quarter of Norton’s boys’ basketball game against the Rockland Bulldogs where the Lancers looked like they were only a shot or two away from finally getting some momentum. Seconds later, a six point Rockland lead was quickly increased to 13 points. Facing a quick team and unable to feel comfortable on offense, the Lancers’ season ended with a 50-34 loss to the Bulldogs in the quarterfinals of the MIAA Division 3 South boys’ basketball tournament.

The Lancers finish the season with a 16-6 record.  

Bulldogs Too Fast For Norton

With full court presses and a strong presence in the low post, Rockland was able to disrupt the Norton offense for most of the night by making them uncomfortable and refusing to let the Lancers relax.

“What they did is speed up the game and not let us run our offensive sets,” Norton head coach Marc Liberatore said. “They got some turnovers on that and that got us out of our rhythm offensively just doubling up entry passes into our offensive sets.”

On the other end of the court, Liberatore was pleased that the Lancers were able to give up only 50 points but conceded that more was needed on offense.

"Defensively 50, with (Tyler) Gibson with 11? That’s a pretty good effort, I wish the ball could of gone in a little bit more for us but that’s a credit for their (Rockland) defense,” said Liberatore.

Defending Tyler Gibson

Standing at 6’6, future UMass-Lowell Riverhawk Tyler Gibson was probably the biggest challenge the Lancers faced entering the game. With James Loring assigned to defend Gibson, the Rockland center was held to just 11 points, but it was the 24 rebounds that gave the Lancers trouble.

“That’s a Divison 1 kid, James (Loring) is a junior,” Liberatore said. “It wasn’t that match-up that killed us, it was our offensive inefficiency.”

Many of Gibson’s points game off of putbacks and second and even third chance baskets. The center was able to draw a couple of fouls in the process, adding to the Bulldogs productive night on offense. 

Third Quarter Momentum Fizzles Out

Down 25-16 at halftime, a new aggressive strategy of driving to the basket instead of settling for jumpers seemed to work as the Lancers were able to get to the line four times during the first 3:30 of the third quarter.

“We went in at half-time and said ‘we haven’t been to the line yet.’ We just got to get to the line a little bit more,” Liberatore said.

The free throws, along with a layup for Loring, cut the lead down to six. Unable to get the easy layups and pull closer, any momemtum Norton had was killed when Matt Nicholson (19 points) hit two quick three pointers with under a minute to play in the third to help turn a 2-3 possession game into a 13 point Rockland lead.

“We had some real good looks, like layups that didn’t go down and they came down and converted threes and things like that,” Liberatore said. 

Lancers Still Holding Their Heads High

Despite the loss, the Lancers are still proud of their accomplishments during the 2012-13 season.

“This does not take away two time Tri-Valley League champions, first time in 25 years to go back to back. It does not take away 11-0 at home,” Liberatore said.

The Lancers will lose four senior starters in Dan Rafuse, Zach Ruby, Chris Huff and Paul Murphy along with Nate Steele. Liberatore praised the group after the game for helping develop the program and achieve success that that has not been seen by a Norton basketball team in some time.

“They really built a program from their sophomore year up and continued the success and to be back-to-back TVL champions, that’s their legacy,” Liberatore said.