RallyNorth.net

Late free throws lift Bishop Fenwick boys basketball

Monday, February, 25 By Mike Grenier
Staff writer

HAMILTON -- If the Bishop Fenwick basketball team was ever going to crack under pressure in the opening round of the Division 3 North Tournament, it would've happened in this building last night.

Facing a raucous, overflow crowd and a fired up young Hamilton-Wenham team that was aching for a breakthrough postseason win, Bishop Fenwick responded with poise and superb free throw shooting in the final seconds to knock off the No. 4 seeded Generals, 57-54.

The 13th-seeded Crusaders (12-9), who were in danger of not even making the tourney a few weeks ago when they were 6-8, advanced to Friday's quarterfinals against the winner of tomorrow's Shawsheen-North Reading game.

Hamilton-Wenham (14-5) trailed all night but kept the heat on Bishop Fenwick and finally took the lead, 50-49, on sophomore forward Matt Cook's basket with 1:20 left.

However, coach Sean Connolly's Crusaders did everything right down the stretch, starting with Phil Eagan's putback and foul shot with 59 seconds left, giving his team a 52-50 edge. Eagan played brilliantly throughout, finishing with 13 points and 11 rebounds as he took the pressure off heavily-guarded 6-foot-7 center Mike Clifford (7 for 9 shooting, 20 points, 15 rebounds, 4 blocked shots).

"This was the best game of Eagan's career," said Bishop Fenwick assistant coach Mike Kane, echoing the sentiments of Eagan's teammates.

Still, Bishop Fenwick wouldn't have won it without draining big free throws in the clutch. Junior guard Nick Cotoia (11 points) made 1 of 2 with 0:26 left for a 53-51 lead and Clifford kept the ball alive on the miss, tipping it deep as Bishop Fenwick retained possession.

"We didn't get that defensive rebound -- I thought that was a really big play," said H-W coach Marty Binette.

Cotoia was fouled again with 17.9 seconds left and this time made both foul shots for a 55-51 lead. Hamilton-Wenham's talented freshman guard, Mike Carter-Williams, who was frustrated into a tough shooting night (4 for 19, 14 points) by the Bishop Fenwick defense, canned a 3-pointer with 3.6 seconds left to cut it to 55-54.

Bishop Fenwick senior guard Alex Sachetti, who hasn't seen much playing time this season, was fouled with 2.4 seconds left. He calmly buried both to make it 57-54.

A desperation, buzzer-beating long shot by Hamilton-Wenham's Corey Daff was off the mark, setting off a brief celebration near the Bishop Fenwick bench.

"Earlier this season, we would've choked in a situation like this," said Clifford, who was limited to only three shots and three points in the second half.

Sachetti shot the ball as if he'd been making game-sealing free throws his entire life.

"We could've been nervous out there, but we stepped up," said Sachetti. "I just tried to phase out the crowd."

"That was big," Cotoia said of his team making 5-of-6 foul shots in the last 26 seconds. "We've struggled with our free throw shooting at times this season, but I think we're playing our best basketball right now."

The Crusaders, who also got 10 points from Nolan DiPanfilo, played exceptional defense against Hamilton-Wenham's precocious guards. Sophomore James Rodrigues was 7 for 17 and finished with a team-high 18 points and Carter-Williams never found his rhythm. The Generals did get a terrific off-the-bench performance from Ian McCracken, who finished with nine points.

"We've faced triangle-and-two defenses a lot this season, but Bishop Fenwick did really well with it," said Binette. "They were physical with (Carter-Williams), but I mean that in a good way. They didn't let him get going.

"But as I just told the kids, what an experience this was tonight. You don't forget moments like this."

Neither will Bishop Fenwick.