AHS bounds past Barnstable
BY PETER GOBIS / SUN CHRONICLE STAFF
Saturday, February 2, 2008 12:13 AM EST
Attleboro's Macmichel Borgellas, right, tries to post up Barnstable's Robert Fulham. Borgellas finished with a team-high 20 points. (Staff photo by Mark Stockwell)
ATTLEBORO - The Bombardiers took a big step toward postseason play, the Attleboro High School boys' basketball team chalking up victory No. 8 of the season by rebounding and running past Barnstable 69-50 in an Old Colony League game Friday.
Senior forward Mac Borgellas produced a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds, senior guard Allen Leach totaled 10 points and junior guard Andrew Anderson came through with 13 points.
Moreover, the Bombardiers hit on 30 shots from the floor and limited the Red Raiders (2-13) to merely 18 points through the first 16 minutes of play.
The Bombardiers (8-6, 3-2 OCL) reeled off 18 straight points over a seven-minute span midway through the first half in claiming a 35-12 lead. The Red Raiders never were able to narrow their deficit to any fewer than 15 points (52-37) during the second half, despite some laggard defensive play and poor decisions on offense by Attleboro.
"We need to have that edge to get to the next level," said Bombardier boss Mark Houle, not just that his players surrendered a slew of open looks to Barnstable within the context of a man-to-man defense, but also chose to take the first shot or a hurried shot at the other end of the floor.
Attleboro did not make a shot from the field over the final five minutes of the third quarter, just one over the final four minutes of the second quarter.
When the Bombardiers rebounded (seven by Borgellas in the first half) and ran (pairs of assists by Ryan Cronin and Jared Linhares), AHS flourished, the result being a 33-18 lead by intermission.
AHS never trailed (although being tied at 2-2) throughout. "We played well for the first 12 minutes - but that's been our problem this season, we play well in spurts," added Houle.
The Bombardiers hit on 10 of 20 shots from the floor in the first quarter. Borgellas (eight points, six rebounds),. Leach (six points) and Anderson (six points) all created some exceptional inside-outside motion for Attleboro against Barnstable's man-to-man defense.
Then the Bombardiers extended a 17-12 lead with just under three minutes left in the first quarter to 23 points midway through the second quarter with its superb surge.
Anderson drained a 12-foot jumper to begin the spree, then Leach hit a 15-footer and drove to the basket for another two points before the buzzer sounded.
Then AHS scored the first 12 points of the second quarter, four from K.P. Morgan in the paint, Borgellas scoring in low off of a Cronin feed and Anderson scoring off of a steal.
All that movement on offense created a frenzy on defense too as Barnstable was limited to 2-for-12 shooting from the floor and just six points in that second quarter.
But, that big lead resulted in deflated intensity, AHS having just two points over the final four minutes.
After Linhares set up Borgellas in low and scored himself (off of another Cronin pass) and Anderson nailed a three-pointer to start the second half, the Bombardiers again stalled, being limited to a pair of free throws for the rest of the third quarter.
"Fortunately, we were playing a team that, talent-wise, we were better," said Houle. "Barnstable never stopped, they kept coming at us. When we rebounded, we were able to run. We established our inside game early and then got away from it."
Borgellas was a big factor in AHS taking a 10-2 lead, scoring out of a loose ball situation inside, scoring off of a Cronin feed as a result of a Red Raider turnover and then blocking a shot to set up a basket for Leach.
AHS, resting in second place in the OCL (behind Dartmouth, which visits the Bombardiers Friday) travels to Taunton Tuesday.
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