Norton Boys Fall to Bishop Stang in First Round Of Tournament

The Bishop Stang High boys’ basketball team went on a run of nine consecutive points in the fourth quarter and then held on to knock off , 56-52, in the first round of the MIAA Division 3 South Sectional Tournament on Wednesday night at the Lawrence Larocque Gymnasium.

The loss ended the season for the eighth-seeded Lancers at 15-8 overall, while the ninth-seeded Spartans improved to 13-6. Bishop Stang advances to the quarterfinals and will travel to Medway on Friday night. The Mustangs, the top seed in the section, improved to 18-3 with a 59-50 home victory against 17^th-seeded Hanover (11-11) on Wednesday.

Junior forward Colin Feeney led Norton with 22 points, including 14 in the first half. Senior captain and two-guard Joe Wilkes scored eight points, while senior forward Steve Tessier contributed seven. Junior guard Steve Burrill scored five second-half points, while senior captain and forward Phil Rizzo had four. Senior captain and point guard Chris Ruta and senior guard Malik Little rounded out the scoring with four points apiece.

Bishop Stang had three players score in double figures in the game, led by 16 points from senior forward Aaron Marshall. Senior wing player Matt Vargas also scored 14 points, while senior center Peter Melanson had 11, including 10 in the first half.

With the score tied at 41-41, Bishop Stang scored nine straight points to take a 50-41 lead with 2:50 left. Vargas started the surge with a three-pointer, followed by a jumper by senior guard Tyler Dedrick. Marshall capped the run with two free throws and a jumper.

With the Spartans holding a 54-45 advantage with 48 seconds remaining, the Lancers made one final run. A basket by Rizzo with 30.7 seconds left pulled the hosts within seven at 54-47. Burrill was fouled on a three-point attempt with 26.6 seconds remaining and hit two of the three free throws, pulling his team within five at 54-49.

A basket by Vargas off a pass from Dedrick pushed the lead back to seven at 56-49 with 20 seconds left. Ruta hit a three with nine seconds left to cut the lead to 56-52, but that was as close as Norton could get for the remainder of the game.

“They made their shots in the fourth quarter and we didn’t,” said Norton head coach Marc Liberatore. “We had some good looks. They just didn’t go down. And they made a lot of plays off their transition in that last quarter.”

Trailing by four at the half, 30-26, Norton looked to have turned the game around in the third. After a basket by Vargas gave the Spartans a 33-26 lead, the Lancers went on a 12-2 surge over the final 6:25 of the third to take a three-point lead into the fourth, 38-35.

Feeney scored six points during the run, while Wilkes had four and Tessier had two.

However, consecutive baskets by Dedrick, senior point guard Ryan Early and Marshall gave Bishop Stang a 41-38 lead with 5:56 left. But Burrill then hit his only three of the night at 5:21 to tie the game at 41-41 and set the stage for the exciting finish.

“A.J. Marshall (eight fourth-quarter points) made some big baskets in the fourth quarter and was the key for us,” said Bishop Stang head coach Joe Balestracci. “And when they attacked us in the fourth, we were able to score in transition.

“Our seniors also made the difference in this game. If we don’t have that, Norton probably wins a close game. Their experience was huge in the fourth quarter. But this was a very tough game. Norton is athletic, plays hard and is well coached.”