Fitchburg boys basketball measures up in Massachusetts

If St. John's (Shrewsbury) is the measure by which basketball greatness is gauged in central Massachusetts, the Fitchburg boys team is standing exceedingly tall today.

Buoyed by the 20 points of junior guard Quinton Perkins and 13 points from senior Steph'fon Teague, Fitchburg halted the 15-game winning streak of top-ranked St. John's and became the first team in the region to beat the Pioneers in more than a year with a 58-56 home victory last Friday night.

Perhaps even more impressive about the win by Fitchburg (12-7) was this: the game wasn't quite as close as it appeared. The Red Raiders led by 18 points after both the second and third quarters, and still held a 55-45 advantage with two minutes to play in the game.

Much to the credit of St. John's (15-4), the Pioneers cut their deficit to three with 13 seconds remaining but Perkins hit two foul shots for Fitchburg to push his team's lead back to five. St. John's player T.J. Kelley hit a 3-pointer with two seconds to go for the final points.

"Any time you can beat (St. John's), it's a great win for your program," Fitchburg coach Paul DiGeronimo told the Worcester Telegram. "This was a great high school basketball game."

Of the late-game push by St. John's, DiGeronimo added, "we were playing six kids, and they were tired, but they sucked it up as best they could. You never expect St. John's to go away, so we battled right to the end and hit the free throws when we had to." 

St. John's hadn't lost a game since dropping a 74-66 decision to Washington Catholic Athletic Conference member Our Lady of Good Counsel (Olney, Md.) at the D.C. Basketball Classic Dec. 12. The Pioneers hadn't lost to a central Massachhusetts team since January of 2010, when they fell to North High.
St. John's was led by junior forward Matt Palecki, who scored 21 points. Richard Rodgers (13 points) and Matt Harrington (10) also aided in the Pioneers' bid to overtake the big lead established by Fitchburg.

"We knew how good Fitchburg was, and we were ready, but they just outplayed us in that first half," St. John's coach Bob Foley said. "They outrebounded us and got to the loose balls a little faster." 

In Foley's estimation, how close had St. John's come to a miraculous comeback?

"I wish I had one more timeout left."



HERSHMAN, MANFIELD USE 3-BALL TO ROLL STOUGHTON
Mansfield (18-2) has long-range plans for the postseason in MIAA boys basketball. How fitting. Long range is often what makes the Hornets go.

Backed by a school-record nine 3-pointers from 6-foot junior guard Brian Hershman and a season-high 16 treys by the team, Mansfield knocked off Stoughton, 75-59, in the Hockomock League Winter Classic.

Six-foot-4 senior point guard Michael Lofton recorded 13 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots for Mansfield, while Joey Gracia added 12 points. Hershman hit six of his 3-pointers in the first half as Mansfield raced to a 41-20 lead at intermission.

"(Hershman) is a tremendous player for us and a great leader, as well as a good defender," Mansfield coach Mike Vaughn told the Boston Globe. "Tonight he played with extra power because he was wrongfully kept off the (Hockomock) all-league team." 

SKIPPERS SAIL TO SOUTH SHORE CLINCHER
The Cohasset boys (16-2, 14-2) gained a share of the South Shore League title for the first time in 14 years as Shane Haggerty scored 18 points in a 60-49 win against second-place Mashpee (18-2, 13-2).

"I'm just so happy for these kids," Cohasset coach Bo Ruggiero told the Boston Herald. "They've made boys basketball relevant in this town once again."



Robert Jones (13 points, seven assists), Sam Richardson (12 points), Kyrel Jaundoo (nine points, 16 rebounds) and Robbie Maloney (eight points, 12 rebounds) also contributed to the Clippers' cause. Cohasset limited Mashpee to 4-for-15 shooting from the floor in the final period.

"We went to our man-to-man defense," said Ruggiero. "I thought we did a terrific job of digging in and making some excellent stops down the stretch."

Eric Lopes scored 13 for Mashpee.

Continue reading{PAGEBREAK}STATEMENT WIN BY NOTRE DAME ACADEMY GIRLS
The Millbury girls basketball team is out to win another Central Mass Division 2 championship this winter. Notre Dame Academy (Worcester) has other ideas.

Notre Dame produced an impressive inside-outside balance and handed Millbury its first loss of the season last week, storming to a 63-43 victory in Worcester.

Taylor McVey, Notre Dame's senior center, scored a game-high 27 points, including 11 of her team's 14 points in the second quarter. Sharp-shooting junior Danielle Gaudette added 14 points for the Rebels.

The victory by Notre Dame ended Millbury's 17-game winning streak. The Wollies had not lost since dropping a 51-30 decision to Oliver Ames in the 2010 MIAA Division 2 final.

Julie Frankian, who averages 19.1 points per game and 8.3 rebounds, scored 15 points for Millbury.

"Taylor McVey was great, though she actually played limited minutes because she's battling the flu," Notre Dame coach Peter Bogren told the Worcester Telegram.

"She didn't practice yesterday and kept saying she had to come out in this game. So you've got to hand it to our other big players like Jess Snow (nine points) and Nicole Weldon. They rebounded and really stepped it up. Taylor scored a lot, but it was a complete team effort. "

"(Notre Dame) is a very good team and the McVey girl really dominated," Millbury coach Steve Reno said. "Their rebounding and their defensive presence made us hesitate a little bit more than we normally do. It wasn't our night, but give them credit. They had a lot to do with that. But it's better to lose this week than two weeks from now (in the regionals)." 

PERFORMANCES OF NOTE
* Melissa Miller (12 points, 17 rebounds) and Gabie Polce (19 points, seven rebounds, four assists) helped No. 3 Central Catholic (Lawrence) beat No. 1 and previously unbeaten Newton South in overtime, 73-70, in the finals of the Comcast Tournament on Sunday

* Defending MIAA Division 2 champ Oliver Ames (North Easton) knocked Mansfield from the unbeaten ranks as Candace Steadman scored 16 points and Emily Roman hit three foul shots with 10 seconds left, securing a 48-44 victory.

* Lindsey Jones of Lincoln-Sudbury had 22 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals in her team's 58-38 win over Wellesley.

* Reading Memorial, 19-1, received 21 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and five steals from sophomore guard Olivia Healy in clinching the Middlesex title with a 59-46 downing of Stoneham.

* Liz Wluka of Sharon, the Hockomock League MVP, had 17 points and 12 rebounds in a 64-41 Eagles' win against Attleboro.

* Ally Watkins of Wareham scored 29 points and achieved the 1,000-point mark for her career as the Vikings downed Case by 74-50.

* Sophomore Casey McLaughlin recorded 20 points and 12 rebounds in Central Catholic's 55-47 triumph over Arlington Catholic at the Comcast Tournament.

* Somerville's Kelsey Garrity scored 24 points and the 1,000th point of her career in a 52-46 loss to Wachusett.

* Senior forward Taylor Bajema scored a game-high 27 points as the second-ranked boys team in central Massachusetts, Whitinsville Christian, beat No. 5 St. Bernard's, 59-36, and avenged one of its only two losses of the season. 



* Beverly overcame a nine-point halftime deficit and upset Salem, 72-70, behind the 24 points and 18 rebounds of Zack Zigelbaum.

* Anthony Hatzisazas had 22 points and 11 rebounds for Winthrop in a 62-56 victory against Saugus. Omar Benabicha (18 points) scored the 1,000th point of his career for Saugus.

* West Roxbury (15-5) was led by seniors Jason Sergenton (19 points, 11 rebounds) and Roger Paul (14 points) in a 81-48 senior night win over Hyde Park.

* Khayree Hudson of Madison Park had 14 points, 16 rebounds and eight blocked shots in a 58-40 win over O'Bryant. Roderick Tyler had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Cardinals.

* Eric Giorgianni nearly hit for a quadruple-double for Waltham, recording 19 points, 11 rebounds, 10 steals and seven assists in a 77-75 win over Bedford.

MAN OF LONGEVITY
* In his final of 48 seasons as a high school coach at Monument Mountain (Great Barrington), Tom Kinne was welcomed into the school's athletic Hall of Fame prior to the Spartans' 43-40 girls basketball win against Drury. Kinne began coaching in 1963, when the school was still known as Searles High.

Jim Stout is the CBS MaxPreps Media Manager for the Eastern U.S. He may be reached at 845-367-2864 or at jim.stout@cbsinteractive.com.