Stoughton holds off Sharon in Seaver Invitational matchup

STOUGHTON — To this point in the summer season, Connor Andrews admits his Stoughton team has not played its best basketball.

But after he helped lead the Black Knights to a win at the 10th annual Wally Seaver High School Invitational, he might have to amend that a little.

Riding a strong effort on both ends of the court, Stoughton jumped out to a big lead and held on in the second half for a 53-41 win over Sharon in the Green Division final.

“In regular summer league season, we’re not doing too good,” Andrews said. “Winning something like this boosts our confidence, for sure.”

It was an early onslaught that did the trick for Stoughton, and it mainly came in the paint. Cashmere Mathurin scored two quick buckets down low, and Steven Barros (11 points) added three straight baskets as Stoughton jumped out to a 10-2 lead. Konrad Rogers (8 points) added three baskets, and Andrews (10 points) hit a trio of his own as Stoughton pushed the lead to 25-9.

“(The early lead) definitely helped,” Andrews said. “Our defensive end was very good in the beginning. We let it go a little bit, but we got it back (in the second half). We played hard.”

While many teams will just try and set things up for 3-point shots, Stoughton was fine taking things down low, and it worked.

“I think we’re the most athletic team,” Andrews said. “We just have to run hard and get our points in the paint.”

But Sharon didn’t roll over in the second half. Matt Baur (8 points) found some success driving to the basket early, and teammate Jacob McLaughlin added six points as Stoughton’s lead dwindled to 43-35.

Stoughton was poised down the stretch, though, as Ryan Sablon hit a 3-pointer, and Barros held firm with another basket in the post. It proved too much for Sharon to come back from.

“It’s nice to beat them, especially,” Andrews said. “They’re one of our rivals. It’s good.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3fiSvBI