MATTAPOISETT – If Bourne High head coach Scott Ashworth could have his way, he’d put his 14-4 Canalmen up against the rival Old Rochester boys’ basketball team again tonight.
Last night, Bourne fell to the host Bulldogs, 84-76, in one of the top ten highest scoring games of this Cape basketball season but if Ashworth had his druthers he’d welcome a chance to avenge his team’s second loss to the top-ranked South Coast Conference giants.
The Bourne Canalmen dropped a tough battle last night to the newly crowned South Coast Conference champion Old Rochester Bulldogs, 84-76.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com sports
“We cut it to two with like 2:00 minutes and change left in the second quarter but got into a little foul trouble. Then they went on a run. We’d get it back, then they’d go on a mini-run again,” Ashworth said. “We dug ourselves into a hole right out of the gate in the first quarter.”
The Bulldogs established a fairly solid, 23-16 lead in the first frame and maintained that lead through halftime, 42-33, but in the second half the Canalmen put forth an intense comeback attempt highlighted in the fourth quarter when senior co-captain Connor Schaefer took a pass on the high post, spun around on his pivot foot on the foul line, took one step and slam-dunked the ball over his defender to thunderous applause by his teammates and the Bourne faithful in attendance.
It was that play that gave Bourne considerable fire and the juice to turn things up a notch. Schaefer, who finished the night with 15 points, scored all of his points in the second half.
“He really caught fire in the second half,” Ashworth said. “He dunked on the kid for a plus one and took the kid’s whole arm and the ball and slammed it through the rim. I haven’t seen a play like that since I played in college. It was the most intense play. That was a ‘Man’ move.”
Still, the 14-2 Bulldogs persisted and pulled it out, and in the process captured their first SCC title in 20 seasons. Old Rochester has not won the SCC since 1993 and the Wareham Vikings had won it the previous eight seasons before last night.
Freshman phenom Noah Fernandes led the way for Old Rochester with 21 points and eight assists, while 6-foot-5 center Matt Valles turned in a huge double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Senior Ryan Beatty added 13 points, Evan Santos had 12 points and Jordan Menard turned in a 10-point, six-rebound, four-assist night.
Old Rochester freshman phenom Noah Fernandes netted a game-high 21 points in last night’s 84-76 title-clinching win over the Bourne Canalmen.
Sean Walsh/Capecod.com sports
For the Canalmen, Parker Freedman netted a team-high 18 points, followed by sophomore captain Jacob Ashworth who banged in a hard-earned 16 points from the point guard slot. David Laine added a solid 14 points to round out a game that had an incredible nine players combined score in the double digits.
“It was a shaky start at best but they beat us by 29 the first time and shot 64% from the floor the first time we met them but last night was something else. They’re a real good team and it was a real good ball game. I’m very proud of our effort,” Ashworth said.
The Canalmen round out the regular season this week with a pair of non-league contests as they prepare for the MIAA South Sectionals. They take on Monomoy on Monday night on the road, followed by a road trip all the way to Eastham to face the hard-scrabble Nauset Warriors.
Ashworth said he hopes the trip to Nauset will build a relationship so that his team can add more games against on-Cape teams next season and down the road.
“I’m hoping we can turn this into our Cape rivalry,” he said.
— Sean Walsh is the sports editor for www.capecod.com. His email is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @coachwalshccbm
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