Stoughton Boys’ Basketball Tames Walpole Rebels

Coming off a to the Mansfield Hornets in the Hockomock Classic, the Stoughton High boys’ basketball team (11-8) showed their ability to bounce back Sunday night, routing the host Walpole Rebels, 71-52, to advance to the finals of the Walpole Hoop Classic.

“Defensively, [we] really executed what we were trying to do,” Stoughton head coach John Gallivan said of his team. “Even though [we] are giving up a sizeable height advantage, as usual, they did a nice job boxing out. They did a nice job of getting the ball and securing it after the initial possession and not turning it over.”

The Black Knights improved to 9-4 this season when scoring 60 or more points, using good ball movement and crashing the offensive boards.

“Offensively, I felt like we were very unselfish, we moved the ball, we weren’t looking for ‘me, me, me’ type shots,” Gallivan said. “We just worked for the best shot available. I thought we hit enough timely shots that we kept a margin that was comfortable.”

Sophomore captain Aaron Calixte led the way for the Black Knights with 23 points. The team improved to 7-1 in games he scores 20 or more points.

“Aaron, I thought did a nice job of not forcing the offense,” Gallivan said. “When we needed a big basket – when [Walpole] cut it to 14, or 15, or 16, and we needed to score –  he seems to have that composure to come off a screen and turn the corner, realize he’s not going to get all the way to the basket and just pull up and take that 15-footer and it seems like it’s money in the bank when he does that.”

Stoughton also got a huge performance from senior captain Kris Joyce, who really provided a spark for the Black Knights with 11 points in the first quarter, matching Walpole’s first quarter total. Joyce finished with 21 points.

“Kris was a monster out there,” Gallivan said. “One rebound he got down there comes to mind. The arm goes up above the crowd and he slaps the ball out of the air and no one is going to take it from him. He hit some huge shots, going to the basket, big three pointers. He is what he is.”

The Black Knights jumped out to a 7-0 lead, putting Walpole in a hole from the get-go. Joyce was able to hit a baby hook in the lane, Calixte hit a three, and then Joyce grabbed a big offensive rebound and put it back.

Despite their lack of size, Stoughton was able to dominate both ends of the glass, and got a tremendous performance from senior Atticus Rentsch.

“I think Atticus has done a really nice job of keeping balls alive,” Gallivan said. “Even if he can’t completely control a possession, he has tipped it just enough to let somebody else get in there. I thought he played the best game of his career tonight.”

Rentsch hasn’t been one of the main options offensively this season, but as of late has stepped up his defensive play and rebounding.

“Obviously he has cemented his position in the middle,” Gallivan said. “We need him to play like that. We need him to always play against guys that are bigger than him. He stepped up tonight against a lot of big guys.”

Sophomore captain Marcus Middleton had 12 points on four three pointers, while classmate Joe Bunce-Grenon netted nine points off the bench. Senior captain Kevin Bui only had four points, but set up Joyce, Calixte, and Middleton on a number of occasions.

“Bui is a beast down low,” Gallivan said. “He’s giving up more height than probably anybody at his position. He had some big buckets and had some huge passes. More importantly the rebounding and the defensive help down there was tremendous.”

With the win, Stoughton improved to a perfect 8-0 when holding opponents to less than 60 points.

“This is the time of year when you have to defend,” Gallivan said. “Offense gets tougher when you get into the tournament and you really have to defend. Tonight the kids did a nice job.”

Stoughton will face Xaverian Brothers High School at 7:45 p.m. on Monday at Walpole High in the championship game of the Walpole Hoop Classic.