Postseason Primer: Stoughton, Brighton—Boys’ Basketball Division 2 State Semifinal

With Saturday’s in the Division 2 South Sectional finals, the Stoughton High boys’ basketball team will now play at the TD Garden on Monday in a Division 2 state semifinal game, with a trip to the Division 2 state finals on the line.

Stoughton, the D2 South Sectional champion, will face Brighton, the D2 North Sectional champion, at 6 p.m.

This is more or less equivalent to being in the NCAA college basketball Final Four.

How they got here:

Stoughton – Stoughton, the #4 seed in the D2 South bracket, finished the regular season at 16-4 and beat 69-63 in the first round; beat 55-48 in the quarterfinals; beat 68-42 in the ; and beat 59-53 in the .

Brighton – Brighton, the #3 seed in the D2 North bracket, finished the regular season at 16-3 and beat #14 Woburn 55-47 in the first round; beat #11 Lynn Classical 66-61 in the quarterfinals; beat #2 Melrose 65-59 in the semifinals; and beat #5 Wakefield 66-59 in the North Sectional finals.

Quick turnaround

Less than 24 hours after Stoughton beat Hopkinton at UMass, the team was back at SHS for a Sunday evening practice. Less than 24 hours after the conclusion of that practice is the start of Monday’s state semifinal game.

Bottom line, there is minimal turnaround time. Stoughton had four days in between the Norwood and Oliver Ames games and three days in between the OA and Hopkinton games. This turnaround is similar to the less than 48-hours between the Duxbury and Norwood games.

Good news is that Brighton is in the same situation, so neither team will have an edge in terms of more time to prepare for the game.

“Obviously we can’t put the time into this game that we put into the Hopkinton game or that we put into the Oliver Ames game…so it is more like the Norwood game. It’s like hurry up, hurry up, hurry up and you just have to play,” Stoughton coach John Gallivan said.

“It’s a great problem to have only 24 hours to get ready for an Eastern Mass. final.”

Scouting Report

Stoughton – Aaron Calixte is an explosive scorer. He joined Stoughton's as a junior. Calixte can also pass and rebound. Marcus Middleton is a lockdown defender, often drawing the assignment of guarding the other team’s best player. He can score in bunches on the other end of the floor as well. Together, Calixte and Middleton form one of the top (if not the top) backcourts in Division 2 South.

Mauro Oliveira and Joe Bunce-Grenon provide athleticism and depth. Sophomore Mike Gallagher has also seen his minutes increase.

At the forward position, the 6’3 Ferreira can block shots and jump like he’s 6’6. Raymond Bowdre can rebound and is a scoring threat in the paint. Joey Wilder adds depth.

Steffan Jackson returning to the lineup after sustaining an injury in early February has been key. The senior can hit the outside shot and can rebound.

Brighton – The Brighton Bengals also wear black and orange. Like Stoughton, they have put together a string of solid defensive performances this postseason, holding three of their four opponents to less than 60 points.

Gallivan said Brighton seems like a team that is comfortable going to the basket. The Bengals play variations of a zone defense. Some sources have said Brighton is not a three-point shooting team.

“They have some big kids, they have a great point guard. There are no bad teams this time of year,” Gallivan said.

Players to watch include Malik James, who had 18 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in the D2 North Sectional final, as well as Daivon Edwards, Kenyon Jones and Jerard Mayes.

Playing at the Garden

Playing at the TD Garden, the home of the Boston Celtics, is not something Gallivan is going to downplay.

“How many times do they get to play in the Boston Garden? They still have to play, but enjoy it,” he said.

“We’re going to get in early and kind of soak it all in, warm up and I’m sure that will be kind of cool for them to warm up in there but then it becomes a game and if you get by this one, you get to play one more. If you don’t, you’re done.”

For the Fans

Click here for a fan’s guide to the game:

Can’t make it to the game? Follow all of the action with our live blog, which will be posted on Stoughton Patch prior to the 6 p.m. tip-off.