NORTON — A second-half rally by Oakmont Regional High wasn’t enough to overtake the Norton High boys basketball team Tuesday night as the fourth-seeded Lancers stood tall to hold off the No. 13 Spartans for a 61-52 win at home in their MIAA Division 3 boys basketball state tourney second-round game.
The Lancers built a comfortable lead through the first half, scoring the first 10 points as Oakmont struggled from everywhere on the floor to connect. It wasn’t until 7:53 in the second quarter when Oakmont hit its first field goal to cut the score to 17-8.
Norton ran off a 14-2 run in the final minutes of the first half, dominating from the inside and in transition as the Spartans had no answers. By intermission the Lancers led 35-18.
The Lancers briefly held a 20-point lead at 40-20 in the third quarter as the Spartans surmounted its rally. Four 3-point scores by Oakmont, with three from Ryan Hulecki, helped cut the game down to 48-41 early in the fourth quarter.
A 7-0 stretch by Oakmont brought the game to a one-possession contest at 50-48 with 4:12 to go, but Norton never surrendered the lead.
Norton head coach Marc Liberatore knew it was a matter of time before a potent Oakmont offense got going. It took until the second half, but some defensive adjustments helped contain the game’s leading scorer in Ryan Hulecki, who scored 27 for the Spartans.
“In all the films we watched of them, we talked about how explosive they could be offensively,” Liberatore said. “In the first half they weren’t. Then in the third quarter, as soon as a couple of three-pointers went in for them, you just felt it. They got us out of our zone and we switched to man, and we made a few stops in man, especially when (they) cut it to four. We were able to do just enough to hold them off and we saw that in film.”
A fast-break score by Jonathan Inozil was followed up by a pair of free throws by Justin Marando a minute later, helping put the Lancers ahead 54-48 with 2:05 remaining and extinguishing some momentum created by Oakmont.
A missed 3-point attempt to make the game a one-possession contest ended the night for Oakmont as Norton went on to hit 5 of 6 free throws in the final 60 seconds to close it out.
Norton High’s gym was packed to the brim, with roughly 400 people attending the game. A full visitors section also added to a loud, exciting and energetic atmosphere that may have played into both the emotions and style of play for both teams.
Liberatore said his players rushed possessions with a comfortable lead and allowed Oakmont to find a rhythm that created a comeback attempt. Liberatore also mentioned the environment of a playoff game in a packed home gym as being a contributing factor to the breakdown offensively.
“When we had that (20-point) lead, we were rushing offensively,” Liberatore said. “We should have been running our man sets and been a little more patient, especially with that lead, but we got caught up in the atmosphere and the environment and were going too fast offensively which allowed them more possessions. ... The atmosphere has some to do with it, and that played right into (Oakmont’s) hands. We had just enough composure to hold them off.”
Norton was led by Marquise Pina’s 24 points, with Marando scoring 14 and Inozil scoring 10. Evan Lander added seven points.
“Credit to our guys. Justin Marando, he got to the foul line and took it hard to the basket. We just kept trying to get him the ball and we know when he gets fouled he’s going to make foul shots,” Liberatore said. “(Pina) had real live legs going to the basket. Him and (Inozil) are explosive. The two of them really got us out offensively.”
Next up for Norton is another home contest against No. 12 Old Rochester in the Round of eight. Date, time and location is to be announced as of Tuesday night.
Tyler Hetu can be reached at 508-236-0375 or on Twitter @thetylerhetu.
