O’Bryant Tigers tame Bulldogs in close playoff battle

Senior Tony Harris shined in his final game as a Bulldog. (Mike Barucci photo)

The intense playoff basketball atmosphere was definitely there with both sides of the bleachers filled, performances by the CHS jazz band and cheerleaders, and a buzz in the crowd as two very solid basketball teams jousted in the second round of the Division 2 south playoffs at CHS.

But as much as Canton enjoyed its first home playoff game, the O’Bryant Tigers were equal to the task and bounced the Bulldogs out of the playoffs by a 58-53 final score last Thursday night, March 1. O’Bryant, a Boston Public exam school, would go on to lose a close game in the quarterfinals to No. 2 Hingham, 68-62.

Canton had earned the home game by virtue of its superior regular season record (16-4) and was seeded seventh in the 19-team D2 south bracket. But the 10th seeded Tigers, who play a tough schedule and made it to last year’s south sectional finals, had all of their injured players back in form and battled the Bulldogs with excellent shooters, drivers, and rebounders.

O’Bryant led 17-13 after the first quarter, but Canton surged late in the second quarter behind Devin Foster and led at the half 29-26. O’Bryant retook lead at the end of the third quarter (44-42) and held on in the fourth to win the game by five.

Foster suffered an ankle injury in the opening quarter but stayed in the game to finish with 19 points. Senior captain Tony Harris notched a team-high 23 points and was explosive at both ends of the floor. But Canton was missing that third high scorer down the stretch to help put the team over the top.

Head coach Ryan Gordy said that while the Bulldogs successfully executed a 1-3-1 defense in the first half, O’Bryant adjusted well at halftime and began to get the rebounding advantage in the second half. “We were vulnerable to rebounding and O’Bryant outrebounded us,” said Gordy.

“O’Bryant had a lower seed, but today they were all healthy and it showed,” Gordy added. “When they have all their players, they are very good team and tough to handle. They just made a few more plays down the stretch than we did.”

Despite the loss, Gordy said his team had an “unbelievable year,” finishing with a 16-5 overall record and earning a share of the Hockomock Davenport Division title with Foxboro — the program’s first league title since 1992.

“We played our hearts out,” Gordy said. “We left nothing on the court. We represented our community and our school very well. We lost the right way and went down swinging.”

The Bulldogs will lose five key seniors to graduation, including Harris, a league all-star, and fellow starters Jake Verille (all-league honorable mention) and Austin Maffie, along with forward Jake Connolly and center Matt Warburton. But the future still looks bright for next season with several talented players returning, led by Foster and junior Paul Corcoran. Sophomore guards Kyle Fitzgerald and Robbie Gallery and junior guard Ryan Lentol were used extensively off the bench this year and are also expected to return.

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Posted by Mike Berger on Mar 9 2018. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.