Norton Basketball To Host Talented Martha’s Vineyard Teams

There will be a couple of interesting games taking place at the Lawrence Larocque Gymnasium this afternoon when the Norton basketball teams host Martha’s Vineyard in a pair of non-league contests.

The Lancer and Vineyarder boys’ will battle at 3 p.m. with the Norton and Martha’s Vineyard girls taking center stage at 4:30 p.m.

The Norton boys, who have won four straight games and six of their last seven, will enter the showdown with a talented Martha’s Vineyard team with a 12-5 overall record.

The Vineyarders are 12-2 overall, having clinched the outright Eastern Athletic Conference title with a hard-fought 55-53 win over Bishop Feehan in Attleboro on Tuesday night.

That win improved Martha’s Vineyard to 7-0 in the EAC, while a good Bishop Feehan team dropped to 12-3 overall and 6-2 in the league. The Vineyarders have handed the Shamrocks both of their EAC defeats this winter, also knocking off their rivals 69-56 at home Jan. 22.

Martha’s Vineyard has not lost a game since before Christmas. The team’s only two defeats this winter came in a span of just five days. The Vineyarders dropped a 56-48 decision in a non-league game in Wareham Dec. 13.

The Vikings (11-6 record) are the defending Division 3 state champions. Five days later, Martha’s Vineyard played its worse game of the season, falling 75-46 to Division I opponent Weymouth (13-3) at home in a non-league game.

With a 65-52 victory over Westwood in a Tri-Valley League game on Tuesday night at the Larocque Gym, the Lancers remained in third place in the league with a 10-5 mark.

After a 56-47 Hopkinton victory in Medway on Tuesday night, the Hillers and Mustangs are now tied for first place in the TVL. Medway is 13-3 overall and 13-1 in the league, while Hopkinton is 13-2 overall and 13-1 in the TVL. Norton is third, while Dover-Sherborn (9-7 overall) and Medfield (7-7) are deadlocked for fourth with 7-7 marks.

“They will come in on Thursday with an eight-game winning streak and as the top seed in Division 3 South right now with Medway’s loss to Hopkinton last night,” said Norton head coach Marc Liberatore on Wednesday, referring to Martha’s Vineyard.

“It will almost be like a tournament-preview type of game, but then we have the quick turnaround, having to go to Bellingham on Friday night (6:30 p.m.).”

With Norton freshman coaches Joan Valenti and Travis Jolley in attendance, Martha’s Vineyard clinched the outright EAC championship with the win over Bishop Feehan on Tuesday night in Attleboro. Standout senior guard Randall Jette led the Vineyarders with 22 points, including a key 12 points during the fourth quarter. Del Araujo also scored 13 points and T.J. Van Gerven had 11 for Martha’s Vineyard.

Bishop Feehan looked to be in control of this game with a seven-point advantage at 47-40 in the early stages of the fourth quarter. But with Jette leading the way, the visitors went on a 15-6 surge to end the game and take both the victory and the league title.

Jette scored five straight points to put Martha’s Vineyard in the lead for good with three minutes remaining. Along with being a star basketball player, he was also one of the top quarterbacks and cornerbacks in the state this past fall and is headed to UMass next year.            

Holding the lead for most of the first half, Martha’s Vineyard was actually looking like it was going to make this game a rout in the second quarter, holding a nine-point advantage at 22-13 with less than three minutes remaining before half-time.

But the Shamrocks responded with a quick and hard-hitting 13-0 run over the final two and a half minutes of the half to take a four-point edge at the break, 26-22.

The teams battled through a hard-fought third quarter before the Vineyarders earned the victory with their impressive fourth-quarter surge.

It is also a very important game for the Norton girls on Thursday afternoon. A 40-34 setback in Westwood in a TVL game on Tuesday night dropped the Lancers to 7-10 overall and 5-10 in the league.

Entering the non-league contest with Martha’s Vineyard, Norton needs to win at least four of its final five games to finish .500 at 11-11 and earn a berth in the MIAA Division 3 South Sectional Tournament.

But it will not by easy against a Vineyarder team that is better than its 4-11 overall record might indicate.

“They are the best 4-10 team around. They are pretty good,” said Coyle-Cassidy head coach Mike O’Brien on Tuesday night, following his team’s win over Bishop Stang and prior to knowing the result of Martha’s Vineyard’s EAC game on Tuesday against Warrior rival Bishop Feehan.

The Vineyarders ended up dropping a 61-49 decision to the Shamrocks at home to fall to 4-11 overall and 1-4 in the EAC. Martha's Vineyard's top player is junior forward and center Jillian Sedlier.

The Norton girls will also be right back in action on Friday night, hosting Bellingham in a league contest at the Larocque Gymnasium at 6:30 p.m.