34 South Main St., Attleboro, MA - (508) 222-7000
Sports
AHS boys top B-R
Attleboro High's Jared Linhares goes up for a basket during Friday night's game with Bridgewater-Raynham. Linhares finished with 13 points. (Staff photo by TOM MAGUIRE)
Top Headlines The Bombardiers scored 14 points over the final four minutes of the first quarter to take the lead, received 10 second-quarter points from senior guard Allen Leach to maintain the advantage by halftime and then limited the Trojans to a pair of field goals through the first six minutes of the third quarter, just one through the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter. En route to their fifth victory of the season, the Bombardiers received a handsome display of pivot play from senior forward Mac Borgellas, who accounted for 20 points and 13 rebounds, while junior guard Ryan Cronin ran the offense with an extra set of eyes, accounting for eight assists. "In games you try to get a tempo that's right for you," said AHS coach Mark Houle, who elected to keep B-R senior guard and playmaker Jordan Wiggins (13 points, five rebounds) under control, while the beef brothers - Jared Linhares (13 points, six rebounds), K.P. Morgan (six points, five rebounds) and Chris Brown - contained the Trojans' 6-10 sophomore center Dennis Clifford (nine points, 11 rebounds, four blocked shots). "Allen (Leach) and Ryan (Cronin) kept on his (Wiggins) shooting hand," added Houle of the Bombardiers' man-to-man defensive assignments, the Trojan guard making just one shot from the floor during the second half. "That was the key, we had to contain him." In improving to 5-4, 2-2 in the OCL, the Bombardiers were functioning exceptionally well at the offensive end due to the energy exerted by Borgellas inside, the vison of Cronin and the ability of Leach (13 points, eight rebounds) to take the ball to the basket, create shots and create open space for his teammates. The Bombardiers had five players produce points, shot 9-for-14 from the floor and totaled 14 points in the paint during the first quarter, taking an 18-9 lead at the break. A three-point field goal off the fingertips of Leach (with an assist from Cronin) and a basket inside by Borgellas (with an assist from Morgan) in the final minute gave Attleboro a seven-point lead by intermission. Even though AHS did not shoot the ball especially well (5-for-17) in the third quarter, the Bombardiers increased their lead to 47-32 - Andrew Anderson and Linhares knocked down trifectas, then Leach created a three-point play out of a loose ball situation and following that up with a bucket inside (off of a Linhares pass). "We did a nice job of passing the ball, Cronin is getting better every game," said Houle. "We got out and ran, which is what we're capable of doing." But, more so, the Bombardiers never allowed B-R easy shots. With full-court pressure and plenty of trapping, AHS forced the Trojans to shoot just 5-for-15 and commit five third quarter turnovers. The Bombardiers took a nine-point lead into the fourth quarter and then scored the first six points - Linhares hitting a pair of free throws and a three-pointer (off of another Cronin pass), then Borgellas created three more points on a pair of offensive rebounds. AHS trailed by no worse than four points in the early going and then scored a series of knockout punches, having runs of six and eight straight points late in the first quarter. Borgellas converted an offensive rebound to give AHS an 8-7 lead, then set up Morgan in low. In the run of eight straight points to end the session, Cronin twice set up Borgellas for baskets inside, while Linhares added another four points in the paint, two on an offensive rebound. The Bombardiers continued to create a quick tempo to their liking in the second quarter with Leach on the floor, he scoring the first seven AHS points. "We did a nice job at both ends of the floor and maybe we can get a little run going here," said Houle of the first of five straight home games, the next of which is a 1 p.m. tapoff Sunday with Durfee.
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