Stoughton High Boys' Basketball Comes Back to Stun Foxborough in Overtime

For three quarters, the Foxborough High School boys’ basketball team was in control, leading Stoughton 47-33 with eight minutes to go.

Stoughton was a quarter from falling to 6-10, which would have pushed the Black Knights to the brink of postseason elimination with four games to go in the regular season.

But Stoughton thrived on the urgency of the moment and applied an aggressive style of basketball absent through 24 minutes. The shift in momentum caught Foxborough off-balance.

“I thought we went into a shell [in the fourth quarter],” said Foxborough head coach CJ Neely. “The way we played throughout the whole game was the way to beat them and we were the aggressor for 95 percent of the game but then in the last minute-and-a-half they took the aggressive side of things.”

Stoughton outscored Foxborough, 28-14 in the fourth quarter to force overtime, highlighted by Stoughton captain Mauro Oliveira’s 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game at 61.

“The deeper he is on threes the better he is,” said Stoughton head coach John Gallivan of Oliveira’s game-tying shot. “It was a game we absolutely needed and we dug down deep to get it. We are thrilled.”

In the extra frame, Stoughton outscored Foxborough 17-9, led by Eddie Grant’s 11 overtime points to capture the 78-70 win, improving to 7-9 on the season. Stoughton now needs three wins in its final four games to make the postseason.

Grant finished with 19, second to only Marcus Middleton, who had a team high 20 points. Stanley Sajous added 15.

“Unfortunately we backed down,” Neely said of the overtime defeat. “We turned the ball over a ton and then just let them back into the game.”

Neely said fatigue may have been a factor in an overtime period that resulted in just nine points.

“I think our guys got a little tired,” Neely said. “They played a lot of minutes in the fourth quarter and fatigue may have got to them. … We tried to hold on [in the fourth quarter]. Some times it comes down to one shot.”

The best thing to come from Thursday’s loss for Foxborough was the play of sophomore forward Cam Seeley, who ended with a game-high 22 points and was outstanding on the defensive end of the floor.

“He was the best player in the game for 10 to 12 minutes,” Neely said. “He was dominating tonight. I thought he did a great job. Really proud of him. That’s a sign of things to come.”

Stoughton (7-9) returns to the court Tuesday when the Black Knights host Canton at 6:30 p.m. Foxborough (9-8) hosts Milford Tuesday.

Stoughton Scorers

• Mike Gallagher: 8 points
• Eddie Grant :19 points (11 points in overtime)
• Joe Bunce-Grenon: 5 points
• Matt Mack: 2 points
• Mauro Oliveira: 9 points (hit game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer)
• Marcus Middleton: 20 points
• Stanley Sajous: 15 points

Foxborough Scorers

• Tim O’Halloran: 12 points (four 3-pointers)
• Alex Pacitti: 4 points
• Brian Ellard: 5 points
• Nick DiTullio: 4 points
• Cam Seeley: 22 points
• Justin Zupanick: 18 points
• Nolan Clagg: 3 points
• Josh Patkin: 2 points

Score by Quarters

• First quarter: 16-8; Foxborough
• Second quarter: 31-21; Foxborough
• Third quarter: 47-33; Foxborough
• Fourth quarter: 61-61; tie
• Overtime: 78-70; Stoughton