By Scott Roche, Enterprise Correspondent
Posted Dec 28, 2017 at 12:10 AM
Updated Dec 28, 2017 at 12:13 AM
BRIDGEWATER – Despite giving up 71 points in regulation, when push came to shove in overtime, the Bridgewater-Raynham boys basketball team dug deep and got stops defensively they needed.
After falling behind 75-71 just a minute into overtime, the Trojans held the Wamps without a a field goal over the final three minutes of the the extra session and closed out the game on a 9-2 run to beat Braintree, 80-77, in the opening round of the Larry Fisher Holiday Basketball Tournament on Wednesday night.
Bridgewater-Raynham (3-1) advances to the championship game Friday night at 7 against undefeated Tech Boston Academy (5-0), after the Bears beat King Philip 74-71 in overtime in the first game. Braintree (1-3) and King Philip (1-3) will play in the consolation game at 5.
“First of all, you have to give Braintree a lot of credit,” said Bridgewater-Raynham coach Doug Alves. “I just said to guys in the locker room that (Braintree) responded well to a punch in the gut we gave them in the first quarter and they competed the rest of the game expecting to win the game.
“In overtime, we just got locked in defensively. The whole game, we were just switching everything when we were in man to man. I felt we did a good job of getting in the passing lanes, we just weren’t urgent about it. But I thought in overtime we really locked in and got some deflections and forced some turnovers.”
Marco Carnes (15 points) and Owen Conboy gave Braintree a 75-71 lead in overtime before the Trojans took over.
After a Doug Alves free throw, Tony Fernandes cut the deficit to 75-74 with a lay-up. Fernandes gave B-R the lead for good with two free throws and Alves sealed the win with a steal and lay-up with 48 seconds left.
The Trojans began the game with Connor Rubenskas and Alves scoring eight first-quarter points apiece. Alves (game-high 23 points) buried his second 3-pointer of the quarter for a 17-7 B-R lead and Rubenskas (17 points) closed the quarter with a basket off an offensive rebound for a 22-15 Trojans lead after the opening quarter.
Braintree handled the B-R press better in the second quarter and scored 25 points in the quarter, thanks in large part to John Tellier (15 points), who scored 11 of the Wamps’ 25 points – many on lay-ups – breaking the press, to pull Braintree within 44-40 at halftime.
Braintree began the third quarter on a 16-4 run over the first six minutes, with Conboy scoring eight points off of B-R turnovers for a 56-48 lead. Rubenskas gave the Trojans life at the end of the quarter with a basket off an offensive rebound and a 3-pointer from Shane Feeney cut the deficit to 58-54 heading into the fourth quarter.
With their starters on the bench in the fourth quarter, the Trojans ripped off a 9-3 run in the first 1:54 of the quarter, with Jadyn Rosario hitting a 3-pointer, along with two baskets from Rubenskas and one from Karl Akiens for a 63-61 lead.
“Those guys coming off the bench, Jadyn, Karl and Mark Willis were huge,” said Alves. “I ask a lot of those guys to come to practice and work hard every day and for them to buy into it and come off the bench and contribute like tonight says a lot about them as young men, as well as their character.”