STOUGHTON - The final score might have shown a 19-point margin of victory, but Friday’s 63-44 win over rival Oliver Ames was by no means an easy feat for the Black Knights.
A huge fourth quarter, fueled by junior Aaron Calixte, allowed Stoughton to pull away in the final minutes of an exciting divisional matchup. Calixte scored a game-high 26 points, half of which came in the final quarter, and recorded six assists, as well as his first-ever dunk in a Stoughton jersey.
“They started to go to man, one-on-one and it opened up for me so I could drive to the basket,” Calixte said about his fourth quarter effort.
“Clutch,” senior Raymond Bowdre said of Calixte. “He had to do that, he’s one of our best players.
Bowdre put in his best game of the year, netting 4 points but more importantly pulling down a team-high 11 rebounds.
“I had to work hard and body the people in the paint,” Bowdre said. “We knew that Oliver Ames hustles and we know they’re aggressive.”
A huge fourth quarter, fueled by junior Aaron Calixte, allowed Stoughton to pull away in the final minutes of an exciting divisional matchup. Calixte scored a game-high 26 points, half of which came in the final quarter, and recorded six assists, as well as his first-ever dunk in a Stoughton jersey.
“They started to go to man, one-on-one and it opened up for me so I could drive to the basket,” Calixte said about his fourth quarter effort.
“Clutch,” senior Raymond Bowdre said of Calixte. “He had to do that, he’s one of our best players.
Bowdre put in his best game of the year, netting 4 points but more importantly pulling down a team-high 11 rebounds.
“I had to work hard and body the people in the paint,” Bowdre said. “We knew that Oliver Ames hustles and we know they’re aggressive.”
The Tigers were down 36-19 at halftime but used a big third quarter, led by the trio of Andrew Reardon, St. Clair Ryan, and Nick Bruha – who had a team-high 20 points – to claw back into the game and were within eight heading into the final quarter. OA was able to get the deficit down to five after two Reardon free throws, but Stoughton scored 15 of the final 16 points in the game to seal it.
“Once we had to come out of our scheme and match them up man, we had problems,” OA head coach Don Byron said. “Calixte is just a handful for one kid. Even with a lot help, he’s just a handful to try and guard.”
Stoughton jumped out to a 9-0 lead to start the game and never surrendered it. Despite the final score, it was a tight contest throughout.
“We got just enough stops and just enough big plays out of guys that start and guys that come off the bench,” Stoughton head coach John Gallivan said. “Everyone’s going to think it was easy, but it was hard.”
Senior Steffan Jackson also had a solid night for Stoughton, especially on the glass (10 rebounds) and defensive end (4 blocks).
“It feels good to help out my team,” Jackson said. “Coach talked to us this past week in practice [about] working on the rebounds.”
Oliver Ames has dominated opponents on the glass this season and it was a big focal point for Stoughton coming into the game.
“[Luke] Babbitt and [Alex] Tepper are wide, strong kids and they were just driving us under the hoop,” Gallivan said. “I thought late in the game we did a nice job of limiting them to one shot.”
“Once we had to come out of our scheme and match them up man, we had problems,” OA head coach Don Byron said. “Calixte is just a handful for one kid. Even with a lot help, he’s just a handful to try and guard.”
Stoughton jumped out to a 9-0 lead to start the game and never surrendered it. Despite the final score, it was a tight contest throughout.
“We got just enough stops and just enough big plays out of guys that start and guys that come off the bench,” Stoughton head coach John Gallivan said. “Everyone’s going to think it was easy, but it was hard.”
Senior Steffan Jackson also had a solid night for Stoughton, especially on the glass (10 rebounds) and defensive end (4 blocks).
“It feels good to help out my team,” Jackson said. “Coach talked to us this past week in practice [about] working on the rebounds.”
Oliver Ames has dominated opponents on the glass this season and it was a big focal point for Stoughton coming into the game.
“[Luke] Babbitt and [Alex] Tepper are wide, strong kids and they were just driving us under the hoop,” Gallivan said. “I thought late in the game we did a nice job of limiting them to one shot.”
Juniors Marcus Middleton (12 points) and Mauro Oliveira (11 points) each played well for the Black Knights. Reardon and Ryan each had 6 points for the Tigers. Middleton’s biggest contributions, as has been the case time and again this season, was on the defensive side, covering Bruha.
“Marcus did a great job,” Gallivan said of his defensive effort on Bruha. “We felt like we had to make [Bruha] earn every point. He’s a great player, he was a problem for us in ninth grade and he’s still a problem for us.”
Stoughton improves to 6-0 and now stands as the only undefeated team in the Hockomock.
Stoughton will host Mansfield on Monday while the Tigers will host the Panthers of Franklin.
“Marcus did a great job,” Gallivan said of his defensive effort on Bruha. “We felt like we had to make [Bruha] earn every point. He’s a great player, he was a problem for us in ninth grade and he’s still a problem for us.”
Stoughton improves to 6-0 and now stands as the only undefeated team in the Hockomock.
Stoughton will host Mansfield on Monday while the Tigers will host the Panthers of Franklin.
