March 29, 2024

H.S. Basketball: Seekonk's Big Comeback Falls Just Short

Boys Basketball: Bourne 53, Seekonk 48

Posted

SEEKONK - The Warriors dug themselves into a deep hole in the third quarter of Tuesday night’s game against Bourne.

They spent the fourth quarter rapidly ascending, but never got back to ground level in a 53-48 defeat.

Seekonk scored only two points in the third quarter against the Canalmen and trailed by as many as 19 early in the fourth quarter. Senior guard Kam Casala hit a deep three-pointer to close the gap to 16 and coach Alex DaLuz called a timeout with 5:23 remaining. The Warriors came out of the timeout hot, racing to a 16-2 run to trail by only two in the final minute, but some key mistakes and good defense by Bourne was the difference in the end.

“The big thing was the third quarter,” DaLuz said after the game. “Scoring two points in a quarter on the varsity level, you can’t win like that. We did all we could to come back and try to get it, but it just wasn’t enough.”

Seekonk started its comeback with an 8-2 run following the timeout at 5:23 on a layup by Casala and three-pointers from Elijah Leonard and Jake Barreira. Bourne coach Scott Ashworth called a timeout with 3:35 left, but the Warriors were the ones who benefitted from the breather. A three-pointer by Leonard was followed by five straight points from Nathan Clarke, the last three of which came on a layup-and-foul for a three-point play to close the gap to 50-48.

Seekonk fouled seconds later to put Bourne in a one-and-one situation at the free throw line. Chris Darcy missed the free throw, but senior captain Steven Barmarshi grabbed the rebound and was fouled, hitting the first free throw and missing the second for a three-point lead (51-48) with 13.6 seconds left.

The Warriors pushed the ball up the court and Leonard got a pass and squared up for a three-pointer, but the shot was blocked by Bourne’s Ethan Ream in the final seconds. The Canalmen hit two free throws to ice the game.

“We did a nice job getting it to Elijah, but (Ream) did a nice job closing out on him and blocking the shot. He made a big play,” DaLuz said. “We fell a little short tonight, but I’m happy with the effort, and we just hope it keeps up on Friday.”

The Warriors fell to 5-10 on the season and will host Fairhaven (11-4) on Friday night.

REPORTERTODAY.COM MVP: Leonard led the Warriors with 18 points, all of them coming on his six three-pointers. He also contributed in a lot of ways that don’t show up on the scoresheet, such as rebounding, defense and hustling for loose balls. “Elijah was an all-star last year and he should be one again this year,” DaLuz said. “He played great. How many times was he diving on the floor for loose balls? He’s setting the tone for the team as a captain. He left it all on the floor tonight. No one was working harder than him.”

ROUGH ROAD TO THE PLAYOFFS: The Warriors must win all five of their remaining games to make the MIAA postseason tournament. The bad news for Seekonk is the 0-4 record this year against four of those final opponents (Fairhaven, Case, Norton and Dighton-Rehoboth) while the fifth opponent, Somerset Berkley, who the Warriors haven’t played this season, is 9-6 overall after beating GNB Voc-Tech Tuesday night. The good news for the Warriors is that four of the final five games are at home, where four of their five victories have come. “If we do it, we would have earned it,” DaLuz said. “Every night is going to be like tonight. There’s no one head and shoulders above us, especially here where we tend to play well. It starts Friday against the best team in the league. If you’re going to do it, you gotta do it. You can’t talk about it. You can’t make excuses. We have to go out and play.”

BOURNE’S BIG MAN: Bourne senior forward Camden Dunbury scored the Canalmen’s first points of the night on a baseline dunk in the first minute of the game. Standing 6-foot-10, Danbury not only led the Canalmen in scoring with 24 points, but also blocked and altered many Seekonk shots on the defensive end while also being a force on the glass. “I thought we got the big fella going early,” Ashworth said. I don’t know if they had much of an answer there, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort, that’s for sure. Once they started collapsing, we ended up being able to get some shots on the outside we were comfortable with.” The Warriors used 6-foot-4 center Matt Norris, as well as 6-foot-2 forward Kevin Moszkowicz and Clarke, 6-foot-2, on defense. “You saw it on the first play of the game, going baseline for a dunk. He’s legit,” DaLuz said. “I thought we played pretty good team defense on him to be honest. I thought Norris and Kevin did a good job. You got to live with knowing that he’s going to get 18 or 20 a night. He’s a handful.”

QUICK HITS: The Warriors were without leading scorer Kyle Blanchard as the junior guard was unavailable while battling an illness. DaLuz said he hopes to be back for Friday’s game against Fairhaven. Barreira started in his place. … With Blanchard out, junior guards Will Smith and Tyler Sceeles saw extended minutes and made the most of it, combining for seven points and drawing praise from DaLuz. “I thought when called upon tonight, they really were a catalyst in our comeback with how hard they played out there,” he said. … Clarke was called for traveling with about 45 seconds to go in the game after being forced to the ground by two Bourne defenders. The call could have, and some will likely say should have, gone the other way. … Tuesday’s five-point loss was the fifth loss of the season for the Warriors by single digits, and that doesn't include a 10-point overtime defeat at the hands of playoff-bound Wareham. “I felt finally our luck was going to turn and we were going to win these close ones, but sometimes you create your own luck,” DaLuz said. “You can’t have those errors we had throughout the game and hope to make it all up in the last six minutes.” … Seekonk won both the freshman and junior varsity games against Bourne with the Warriors JV team winning in a landslide. … Kam Casala was also in double figures for Seekonk with 10 points. … The Warriors didn’t have a two-point field goal until the third quarter as all their first-half points were on three-pointers and free throws. “Yesterday at practice and pregame, we talked about funneling the ball to the paint,” Ashworth said. “Evidently we didn’t listen very well or execute that well.” … Seekonk’s remaining schedule (all games at 6:30 p.m.): Friday vs. Fairhaven, Feb. 11 at Case, Feb. 14 vs. Somerset Berkley, Feb. 18 vs. Norton and Feb. 19 vs. Dighton-Rehoboth. … “Seekonk plays tough,” Ashworth said about the Warriors after the game. “Alex does a great job with his kids.”

BOURNE 53, SEEKONK 48
Bourne  14 14  14  11-53
Seekonk  12 14  2 20-48
Scoring
Bourne: Steven Barmashi 14, Brady Fitzpatrick 2, Christopher Darcy 5, Ethan Ream 2, Trey Merritt 5, Branden Anderson 2, Camden Dunbury 23.
Seekonk: Will Smith 5, Jake Barreira 4, Kam Casala 10, Kevin Moszkowicz 3, Tyler Sceeles 2, Nathan Clarke 6, Elijah Leonard 18.
Three-Point Goals
Bourne: Steven Barmarshi 2, Christopher Darcy 1.
Seekonk: Will Smith, Kam Casala 2, Kevin Moszkowicz, Elijah Leonard 6

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here

Share!
Truly local news delivered to every home in town