FOXBORO — The season came to a stinging end for the Foxboro High boys basketball team last Friday night as the No. 9 seed Warriors fell to No. 24 Norwood High, 60-58, in a wire-to-wire battle to bow out of the MIAA Division 2 state tourney.

Despite not leading for nearly the entire game, the Warriors found themselves in the thick of it late, cutting a seven-point deficit to start the fourth quarter into a one-possession game in the final minute of regulation.

An inside score from Alex Penders and a pair of free throws from Sam Golub brought the Warriors to within 52-51, but Norwood forced a turnover and went back down the court to extend its lead.

“We didn’t finish plays as well as I’d have wanted to tonight,” Foxboro head coach Jon Gibbs said. “We had some good looks and they didn’t go in. Sometimes basketball is that way. In the end, we came up short.

“To the credit of our guys, they never panicked,” Gibbs added. “They knew if we stayed to our plan and executed as best we could, we’d climb back in it. I’m proud of them for never giving up.”

The Mustangs added insult to injury following a Warriors’ missed 3-pointer, forcing another turnover and grabbing an offensive rebound for a Noah Beaudet score to make it 56-51.

The Warriors continued to attack the rim in the final minute, but ran out of time. Foxboro saw a chance to hold possession in the final seconds after a missed one-and-one opportunity, but a foul brought Norwood back to the line to add insurance.

A running layup from Foxboro’s Ryan LeClair ended the game.

Foxboro trailed 32-26 at halftime, and was behind the entire game after allowing the lead at 9-7.

“Give a ton of credit to Norwood,” Gibbs said. “They made a ton of plays down the stretch when they had to. Noah Beaudet is one of the best players in the state, certainly one of the best we’ve seen all year. He made huge plays for them. Norwood is a really good team and has a winning pedigree. They don’t lose very much.”

Beaudet led all scorers with 30 points, while Foxboro was led by Penders’ 22 points, as he played every minute on the floor.

Gibbs had high praise for Penders, a 1,000-point scorer and true embodiment of a Warrior, as he went out with a strong game on both ends of the floor.

“I’m not sure if there’s any words to describe what Alex Penders means to our team,” Gibbs said. “He does so much for us on both ends and his leadership is incredible. He’s been our anchor this whole season and he certainly left it all out there. An incredible player.”

Adding 12 points for Foxboro was Golub, and Ryan Kelley scored 11.