Strong First Half Pushes OA to Win Over Foxborough Boys' Hoop Team

If you had arrived to the Nixon Gymnasium Tuesday night when the horn buzzed to start the second half and watched the boys' basketball team play Foxborough until the final buzzer, you would have thought the Warriors had the game in the bag. After all, they did outscore the Tigers, 34-26, in the second half.

But it wasn't enough for Foxborough, who was outplayed by Oliver Ames in the first half.

"Unfortunately, they showed they wanted to win right out of the gate," Foxborough head coach C.J. Neely said. "We saw a lot of improvement from a lot of kids tonight, though."

The Tigers had to deal with injuries and foul trouble throughout the second half, but they were able to hang on for a 73-62 victory and take a share of the Davenport Division title with Stoughton, who beat Canton Tuesday night. The Tigers improved to 11-6 overall and 7-6 in the Hockomock League.

"The thing that jumps out at you is that we really had to go to some of the kids on the bench and get some great efforts from some of those kids tonight," Oliver Ames head coach Don Byron said. "At the top of the list is Nate Meyer and Denzel Bennett, who did a terrific job."

Meyer, a senior forward, finished the game with 19 points, including four three pointers. He led all scorers. Junior forward Bennett contributed nine points off the bench.

For Meyer, along with his fellow seniors MJ DeDonato, Jimmy Fitzgerald, Eric MacKinnon, Cody Chase, John Moroney and Mason Pires, a share of a division title was a great way to end senior night at Nixon Gymnasium.

"They’re a great group of kids to work with," Byron said. "All of them. A couple of them got the chance tonight to really show that. Three of them start and a couple come off the bench. The three kids coming off the bench were terrific for us. MJ, Cody and Nate Meyer. It’s nice to see them in the biggest game of the year have their chance and have them respond the way they did."

Foxborough fell to 3-13 overall and 1-11 in the Hockomock League, but, despite trailing the entire game, the Warriors didn't quit until the final buzzer sounded. Junior Guard Nick Couroupacis led the Warriors in scoring with 16 points. Sophomore Nick DiTullio added 15 points.

"These kids are tough kids," Neely said. "They play very hard. They could have easily given up and we could have easily lost the game by 35 points. The fact that we brought it down to 11 and actually won the second half - I’m proud of that effort. Unfortunately, it wasn’t our night."

While Foxborough will play King Philip in the upcoming Hockomock League crossover against Kelly-Rex opponets, it is still undetermined who Oliver Ames will play because of the tie at the top of the Davenport. In head-to-head competition, Stoughton beat the Tigers in two overtime thrillers. The Tigers could take on Mansfield, Attleboro or North Attleboro on Thursday and Friday.