SHS Basketball Teams Split Season-Openers Vs. North Attleboro

The Black Knights boys' basketball team trailed by one point at North Attleboro Tuesday night with just three seconds to play, but senior guard Kris Joyce saved Stoughton from defeat, draining a jumper from the elbow, giving the team a dramatic 57-56 win in the team's season opener.

"It was a great way to open the season," head coach John Gallivan wrote in an e-mail to Stoughton Patch after the game.

Gallivan said a low-scoring defensive battle in the first-half (Stoughton trailed 24-20 after two quarters) opened up in the second-half.  The Black Knights were behind for most of the second half as well, but pulled ahead with Joyce's shot.  

Joyce finished with 15 points, scoring 13 in the second half.  Sophomore point guard Aaron Calixte led all scorers with 20 points, including a combined 13 in the third and fourth quarters.

Sophomore guard Marcus Middleton scored 11 points in the win, but Gallivan said he was more impressed with Middleton's defensive effort, holding North Attleboro's top player, Justin Perron, to just six points.  

Together forwards Raymond Bowdre and Atticus Rentsch slowed North Attleboro's 6'6" center Eddie Fitzpatrick, holding him to what Gallivan referred to as "19 hard earned points in the paint."

Stoughton (1-0) travels to Foxborough Friday at 6:30 p.m.

Girls' Comeback Falls Short

A young  girls' basketball team was looking to start the season off on a winning note, at home, against Hockomock League rival North Attleboro, Tuesday night. Unfortunately, a bad start, poor free throw shooting (10 of 27) and an overall cold shooting performance (30%) was not the winning formula, as the Black Knights suffered a 45-37 defeat.

Stoughton failed to a score a point for the first five minutes of the contest and didn't record a field goal until midway through the second quarter. Stoughton trailed 10-4, after the first quarter and had nine turnovers in its first 12 possessions. Down 15-5, the Black Knights went on a 5-0 run to cut the deficit to 15-10.

The Stoughton forward trio of sophomore Nicole Daniels (eight points and eight rebounds), junior Chrystal Holland (18 points and 13 rebounds) and senior Sydnee Jackson (four points and six rebounds) helped keep Stoughton within striking distance.

The Red Rocketeer junior duo of Meghan McHugh (20 points), who had 18 first half points, and Jill Cullen (16 points), pitching in with four three-pointers, hurt Stoughton from the outside, combining for 36 of their team's 45 points. Kate Kummer, a sophomore forward, had a strong inside game with 12 rebounds.

The final five minutes of the first half was the turning point for North Attleboro as it outscored Stoughton, 14-1, to take a 29-11 halftime lead.

"The end of the first half, along with our missed free throws and cold shooting kept us from getting over the hump every time we tried to comeback," said Stoughton coach Janet Sullivan. "We also got off to a bad start and with a young team, like we have, it is very difficult to dig yourself out of a hole."

North Attleboro was without two injured forwards, senior captain Kelsey Boyd and sophomore Meg Ronaghan and also was hindered by foul trouble with 24 fouls to only 10 for Stoughton throughout the contest. Both teams also turned the ball over 22 times against the full court press.

Stoughton came out in the third quarter and its defense produced eight North Attleboro turnovers.  The visitors also had to sit three starters in foul trouble. But, the Black Knights could only outscore the Red Rocketeers 10-5 in the quarter to cut the deficit to 34-21 entering the final eight minutes.

"We began to turn the ball over and had to sit some players with foul trouble and it left us with no inside game," said North Attleboro coach John DelBonis.

Stoughton cut the deficit to 41-33, but couldn't take advantage of a 27-9 edge in free throw attempts, only outscoring North Attleboro 10-7 from the free throw line.  Stoughton also had a stretch of nine offensive rebounds that it couldn't convert for a basket. North Attleboro managed to hold on for the win, making four free throws in the final two minutes of the game.

"Despite all our difficulties in the game, we can take some positive things out of it," said Sullivan. "Our effort and inside play gave us a chance. We're young, but we'll get better and better as the season continues."

 Stoughton (0-1) hosts Foxborough Friday night at 6:30 p.m.