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READING, Mass. -- Charlestown head coach Edson Cardoso was looking for more assertion on the defensive end in the second half of the Townies' Comcast/IAABO Board 27 Basketball Classic semifinal against BC High.

His players listened -- they held BC High without a field goal in the third quarter.

Then at the end, with the Townies picking up steam, Cardoso wanted more dribble penetration from his star junior swingman Tyrese Hoxter. Cardoso again got his wishes -- but not before getting goosebumps for a few moments.

Hoxter scored eight points over a span of three offensive possessions with under three minutes to go, giving the Townies the lead for good, but not before hanging by a thread. They watched as Eagles star Jameilen Jones got two good looks with under 15 seconds remaining, then exhaled after he missed both, earning a tough 46-45 comeback victory at Reading High's Hawkes Field House.

"I think everybody in the gym thought it was going in," BC High head coach Bill Loughnane said of Jones' final shot, a 20-footer from the top of the key off a long inbounds pass. "When it left his hands, it looked good. After that second bounce, unfortunately, it took a wrong bounce."

Said Hoxter, "Coach told us not to let up, just keep fighting through it. It was a long three minutes, it felt like it was longer than that, but we knew we could pull through it."

After holding the Eagles (13-5) without a field goal in the third quarter, thanks to some stingy 2-3 zone defense, the Townies (15-4) made their push in the final five minutes, going right through the heart of Loughnane's patented 1-3-1 zone.

It started with Hoxter (28 points), who was called for a charge, but saw his fortunes reverse quickly when a BC High player was called for a technical foul for some choice words a few seconds later. Omar Orriols sank the ensuing free throws to cut BC's lead to 39-37.

With 3:10 to go, Hoxter hit his first of two back-to-back free throws, this one from the left wing to tie it at 41-41. The next trip down, Hoxter lined up at the same exact spot and went through the same motion -- a quick pass across the perimeter to senior point guard Rony Fernandez (five assists), who hesitated then threw it back his way -- to make it 44-43.

The next trip down, Hoxter gathered at the right wing, drove through traffic and switched hands mid-air for one of his trademark windmill layups to make it 46-43. That gave him an impressive eight points in three consecutive touches; but it was also the final basket of the night for Charlestown.

"I had the confidence in my shot, and they [weren't] closing out on me quick enough," Hoxter said. "So I just let it fly."

Cardoso said it's the first time Hoxter hit back-to-back three's in a Charlestown uniform, so understandably the shot selection might have unnerved him a bit.

"We'll take it, but we were really looking for him to penetrate that top guy in the zone, throw Rony on the strong side," Cardoso said. "And once Rony's man yielded to Tyrese, to kick to Rony or drive."

He continued, chuckling, "My heart was beating real fast when he was taking those three's. But, he's a scorer, I think he took it with confidence and thought he was going to make it. I wasn't mad at him for making it."

Jones (11 points) missed a runner through the middle of the paint with under 15 seconds to go, and Orriols was there for the board, picking up a foul in the process. BC's Justin Roberts was there for the rebound when Orriols missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving Jones one final look at the basket that very nearly was a game-winner.

Jackson gives it a go: Contributing to the Townies' loss to Madison Park last Tuesday, which cost them the final spot in the Boston City Championship tournament this week, was injury of Tyrik Jackson, who sprained his right ankle.

The 6-foot-6 Jackson runs the floor well for a player his size, and does well catching and driving from the elbow. But a noticeable limp gave him limited mobility tonight, and thus he was relegated to the space around the basket.

Battling with Roberts and Oderah Obukwelu underneath, Jackson gave it a solid 17 minutes and played a big contribution to holding the Eagles without a field goal in the third quarter -- "When he was in there, he made a big difference for them," Loughnane noted.

Jackson finished with four rebounds, but made players entering the lane work for their buckets in what was a grueling defensive game.

"It shows some heart," Cardoso said. "I called him this morning and asked if he was alright. He said, 'Yeah Coach, I'll try and give it my best'. I said, 'If you can, yeah, great, if not rest for the state tournament'. But credit to him, he wanted to be out here with his teammates. I thought he gave us some solid minutes tonight."

NO. 1 BROCKTON 85, CAMBRIDGE 55

Sitting deadlocked at 22-22 after one quarter of play, the Boxers (16-1) quickly kicked it into high gear, leading 44-27 at the break and 63-37 after three quarters. Jaylen Blakely led the way with 23 points in the win, aided by a 4-for-5 effort from three-point range. Jamal Reuben added 18 points, while senior center Sayvonn Houston added 12.

Senior guard Edirson Correia led the Falcons (12-7) with 13 points in the loss.

WEST ROXBURY, Mass. — The deciding game in the Catholic Conference in 2011-12 will be remembered for what happened between the two teams on the court as it will for what happened at the end of the third quarter off of it.

Dan Powers hit five 3-pointers and scored 28 points, while Matt Droney put home 23 as Catholic Memorial (13-2) tied up the season series with BC High (12-4) and won the league title with a 74-57 victory Friday night at Ronald S. Perry Gymnasium.

The two team teams played a bruising, physical game for the entire night, but that intensity between the two rivals took a turn when an altercation between two players turned into a bench clearing -- and fan clearing -- altercation at the end of the third quarter.

EMOTIONS RUN HIGH
It was almost as you could feel the tension building up between the two teams, and the two fan sections, as both teams were battling for every loose ball on every possession.

With less than 10 seconds remaining in the quarter, the Knights stopped the Eagles and quickly pushed the ball up the court. But behind the play, two players got into a shoving match and what went from a situation where the referees could have pulled the two players apart turned ugly as fans from both sides rushed the court towards the players.

It took coaches, officials and parents from the stands a couple of minutes to clear the court so the officials could make a final ruling on the court. When things settled, Chris Siggers from CM and Mike Corcoran from BC High were ejected from the contest, but were told to stay on the bench due to safety concerns.

“You want them to be as intense as they can on the court,” said Knights head coach Denis Tobin. “But you don’t want it to get that ugly.”

BC High head coach Bill Loughnane had the better view of things from the two coaches perspective, as the melee took place right near the Eagles bench and fan section.

“Two kids got mixed up, and in the heat of the battle that happens.,” he said. “They are both just banging around, and somebody comes out of the stands who thinks they belong there and then everyone thinks they should be involved...The unfortunate thing is someone coming out (from the stands). We didn’t need anyone out there. The kids and the referees could have taken care of it. There were no punches going to be thrown (between the players).”

DRONEY, KNIGHTS ON FIRE EARLY
Droney was honored before the game as the Knights’ star scored his 1,000th point earlier in the season. A ceremony, where he was handed the game ball with his grandfather, was put on during the game.

It was easy to see he was riding high in the first quarter. Droney scored the first eight points of the game for the Knights and finished with 13 in the first quarter. The Knights took a 24-13 at the end of one. After an 8-0 run by the Eagles, mostly on the foul shooting of Oderah Obukwelu, the Knights went on a 12-4 run to end the quarter.

EAGLES MOUNT COMEBACK
BC High was able to handle the Knights press fairly easily in the first half. Finishing once the Eagles got by that first layer of the press was a different issue.

The Eagles shot 23.5 percent (8-of-34) from the field and missed several lay-ups and shots from inside the paint.

But, in what was very similar to the first meeting between the two schools, the Eagles went on a run thanks to a tireless defensive effort and an awakening from Jameilen Jones, who struggled in the first half.

Jones scored nine points in the period and his banked in, straightaway 3-pointer gave the Eagles their first lead of the second half, 46-45, with 1:45 left in the third.

“It was almost like a repeat of the first game where we were up nine or 10 at the half,” said Tobin. “We came out and we settled for the first easy shot instead of making a couple extra passes and getting a better shot.”

POWERS, DRONEY FUEL FINISH
Jones tied things up at 54 with 5:45 let in the game, but the Knights would go on a 20-3 run to finish off the game. Droney scored six straight points to stretch the lead to eight with 4:00 left to go.

The Eagles missed a layup later in the fourth and the Knights quickly pushed the ball to Powers in shooting position and he drained a 3-pointer for a 68-57 lead with 1:40 left in the game. Powers would hit one more 3-pointer as he finished 5-for-14 from behind the arc on the night.

“I feel good for him,” said Tobin. “Our last two games against BC High he hasn’t shot the ball well. But he really stepped up tonight.”

BOSTON — BC High head coach Bill Loughnane wanted his team to be mentally tough and battle for every possession against Catholic Conference foe Catholic Memorial, and that’s exactly what he got.

The Eagles survived with a 61-59 victory last night in a physical showdown -- not to mention sloppy, with both teams recording over 20 turnovers -- for league supremacy last night at McNeice Pavilion. BC High now sits undefeated in the Catholic Conference and 9-2 overall, while the Knights bump down a spot with an 8-2 mark.

“We just told our kids to battle one possession at a time,” said Loughnane. “We know that they are good and we know that they have good players, but we just had to battle. We had to play our game and our guys did a nice job.”

The waters of the Catholic Conference are murky this season, and it will be one of those years when the front-runner probably won’t be decided until February. But both of these teams will be a part of the mix with deep, talented rosters, and Knights coach Denis Tobin knows more than one matchup between the two schools could potentially be on the horizon down the road.

“It’s a good learning experience,” said Tobin. “We play in a couple of weeks in our gym, so we will see what happens. They are a very good team, though. I told my guys that I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up playing them two more times, not just the one more time in the league.”

Jones erupts in second half: Junior guard Jameilen Jones was held in check during the fist half, but he erupted for 20 of his team-high 24 points in the final 16 minutes of the game. He did his best work in the deciding quarter with the Eagles facing a two-possession deficit.

Jones (11 points in the fourth) tipped in his own missed shot, and he was fouled after driving hard to the rack for the hoop and the harm on the next possession. That give the Eagles their first lead of the second half, 52-51, with 3:22 left to go in the game.

“We wanted to get to the free throw line and get some easy baskets,” said Jones. “We were breaking the press pretty well (in the second half) and me and (Charles Collins) wanted to get the ball up court and get some easy baskets.”

Jones would finish off the streak of eight-straight points with a 3-pointer to turn a four-point deficit into a four-point lead, 55-51.

“He’s our best player and we need him to play that well for us to win,” said Loughnane.

Testy finish: The gripes will come from both sides of the court, but both coaches preached mental toughness out of their teams no matter which way the whistles were blowing in the final moments of the game.

Dan Powers was called for a technical foul after blocking an Eagles’ shot, and Jones went to the line to stretch the lead to six with under a minute left to play.

The Eagles then were called for a foul before the ball was put into play giving Matt Droney (21 points, nine rebounds, seven steals) two free throws, which he successfully knocked down.

Collins was again called for a foul before the ball could be put into play and Droney found Gerard Adams on the baseline to cut the lead to 59-57. The Knights had an Eagles player trapped on the sideline in the backcourt, but Armani Reeves was whistled for a foul giving Jones a chance to hit 1-of-2 from the line. Aamahne Santos put in a bucket off the glass down low with 8.7 seconds left to go in the game, and after Oderah Obukwelu hit 1-of-2 from the line, Reeves last attempt was short at the buzzer.

Knights so cold: The outside shot, coupled with their ability to make quick turnovers out of their pressure defense, has been a staple in gaining separation from opponents, case in point their win over St. John’s Prep and the way they closed out the first and second quarter against BC High.

But the shots weren’t falling in the wide-open area that is McNeice Pavilion in the second half for the Knights.

CM finished 1-of-12 from behind the arc in the second half, and only shot 20 percent from distance during the game.

“They have terrific 3-point shooters, and that 3-point shot is a killer,” said Loughnane. “So we just tried to make them bring it to the basket and make them work for everything.”

Added Tobin: “I didn’t think too many of them were contested 3’s. They are shots that we sometimes make. It’s a tough gym to shoot in. They play very well here and I can’t think of one that I would consider a real bad shot off the top of my head.”

DORCHESTER, Mass. -- Standing toe to toe with No. 9 BC High basketball, No. 20 Fitchburg tied the game up at 49 with 3:35 to go.

However, in the dwindling minutes of the game, the Eagles were able to tag on another 12 points, sending the Red Raiders away with a long ride home and a 61-52 loss, despite Quinton Perkins' 14 points Saturday afternoon.

“I told the guys you’ve got to respond,” said BC High coach Bill Loughnane, referring to the Red Raiders' late run.

With the score tied, 39-39 going into the fourth quarter, Loughnane's message was clear and direct: “We’ve got to win the next eight minutes.”

BC opened up the lead to six at 47-41 in the fourth, but by the 3:35 mark, Fitchburg had knotted the game up again at 49. A spate of field goals and free throws from Fitchburg’s Abi Akanni (20 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, block) propelled the Red Raiders back into the hunt for an upset. But lack of offensive production from therein, coupled with BC’s Charles Collins (21 points, six steals) and Oderah Obukwelu (12) dropping buckets for the Eagles, stymied any chances of that happening.

13-1 Run – Both Coaches Worried?
The game began with BC High playing steal, rebound and shoot, amounting to an early 13-1 lead over Fitchburg. It’s clear why Fitchburg head coach Paul DiGeronimo was concerned about his team.

But with his team up 13-1, what could Loughnane have been thinking about?

“We were worried. We didn’t want them to get happy with themselves because we’ve seen Fitchburg, we know how good they are and we knew there were going to be a couple of runs coming at us.”

DiGeronimo hoped for the same thing, and got it.

“We came out like… they weren’t taught anything, like they weren’t prepared but they were well prepared for this.”

After a couple of timeouts, the Red Raiders closed out the quarter on a 7-2 run, allaying DiGeronimo’s fears some and making Loughnane’s prediction come true. All else aside, DiGeronimo was not disappointed in his team. With BC High a ranked team, DiGeronimo thinks that his guys may have been intimidated in the beginning of the game, accounting for BC High’s 13-1 opening run. “What started out as a bleak day turned into a tremendous effort to get us back into the game… Once they got over the shell shock, start talking on defense a lot more, stay aggressive, stay confident, nothing that they’re not told all of the time.”

Stamina
Although the Eagles nearly doubled up Wachusett (50-29) on Thursday, they also defeated St. John’s Prep 53-47 on Tuesday night. A busy week for the Eagles, and playing on a Saturday afternoon, attributed to their play late in the game according to Loughnane.

“That was our third game in five days against three quality opponents. They dug down and they took care of business... Our legs were a little spent but they did a nice job of digging down and getting it.”

DORCHESTER, Mass. -- Maybe the most effective way to slow down No. 1 St. John’s Prep is to play a zone defense, because that is what No. 9 BC High did Tuesday night, and came away with a 53-47 victory.

When Prep’s crisp ball movement was giving the BC High (4-2) defense fits early in the first quarter, BC High coach Bill Loughnane called a timeout.

From that point, his team played a zone defense that double-teamed the Prep (5-1)perimeter players whenever they caught the ball in the corner. This left a player open for a cross-court pass. When Prep tried those, the passes were in the air for so long it allowed BC High to rotate back to that side of the floor. To combat the defensive rotations, the Prep player would try to quickly throw the ball inside to either Isaiah Robinson or Owen Marchetti in the post.

There, they were often met by either BC High’s Justin Roberts, Oderah Obukwelu, or Pete Timmins, who had 8 blocks between the three of them.

“Their zone and their length really bothered us,” said Prep coach Sean Connolly. “We had trouble finishing in and around the hoop because they’re so long. We didn’t do a very good job reversing it against their zone. I thought BC High did a very good job of keeping us to one side and not being able to get ball reversals.”

Prep fell down 43-33 midway through the fourth quarter, but they would not go away quietly. After a Mike Carbone 3-pointer and a Steve Haladyna and-one, the lead was quickly cut down.

It a 45-42 game with one minute left, but Prep could not seem to get that basket they needed to tie the game up. With time running out, Connolly called out for his players to foul to stop the clock.

That put the game in the hands Jameilen Jones and Charles Collins at the free throw line. Jones was a perfect 4-of-4 in the final minute, while Collins was 3-of-4.

While the two appeared poised at the line and ultimately put the game away, the same could not be said for the BC High sideline.

“We were very happy to his those free throws, believe me,” said Loughnane. “We were biting our nails on the bench hoping they would go in.”

Regardless of how unsettling it may have been down the stretch, Loughnane felt it was a good win for his team.

“I thought they played better than us this game, but I thought one of the things we had to show was that we could play with a team such as St. John’s,” he said. “It’s just competing every play and finishing every play, and I thought, after a shaky start, that our guys did a nice job getting on that.”

Prep poor from the line: One aspect of the game that did not help Prep’s at all was their ineffectiveness from the free throw line. As a team, they were 10-of-22. Another problem was their inability to hit from beyond the 3-point arc. Sharpshooters Freddy Shove, Haladyna (15 points), and Carbone (eight) hit only five 3-pointers all game. Shove in particular had a quiet game. He had only one field goal in the game and was 2-of-7 from the free throw line.

“As a team, we were settling for way too many 3’s instead of attacking more,” said Connolly. “But you have to give BC High credit. They did a very good job. We didn’t shoot it well from the free-throw line, but that wasn’t really the issue. I think they out toughed us and they deserved to win tonight.”

“The biggest key for us defensively was keeping them off the free-throw line,” said Jameilen Jones (16 points). “Because Coach told us prior to that, they went 35-of-38 from the line [last week, against New Mission]. So we didn’t want them to get to the free-throw line.”

Swarming D: BC High’s defensive effort was one that other teams around the MIAA ought to take notice of. It had eight steals and 12 blocks, which helped set the tone throughout the game.

“We have to take advantage [of the teams’ height difference],” said Jones. “They were definitely confident coming into the game and ready to go. We play really aggressive defense and Justin [Roberts] and Oderah [Obukwelu] have great chemistry, so down in the post, they’re fine.”

The game-defining block came in the last minute of play. With Prep trying to close the deficit, Haladyna took a pass in the left corner and attempted to launch a 3-pointer. Seeing this, Obukwelu leaked out and jumped up just in time to block the shot and sent it out of bounds preserving the lead.

Ambitious schedule paying off: BC High might have two losses on the season, but it knows its best basketball is ahead of it. Especially when those two losses are against an undefeated team (Acton-Boxborough) and a one-loss team (Charlestown).

“We’re definitely confident, beating a No. 1 team,” said Jones. “I don’t think we’re going to go forward being nervous or anything like that. We’ve played pretty good teams coming up to this, so we should be fine.”

BROOKLINE, Mass. -- The Boston College High Eagles continue to win in grind-it-out fashion.

Just like their season-opening win over Brockton, the points were hard to come by Monday afternoon at Brookline High. But just like the win over the Boxers, the No. 8 Eagles managed to get great defensive rotations on the blocks when they needed most, to maintain control of this game from start to finish, beating the talented but young No. 15 Warriors, 53-48.

For BC High (2-1), the backcourt of juniors Charles Collins (13 points) and Jameilen Jones (12) provided the bulk of the scoring again, while Brookline (1-1) was led by junior guard Lake Berry (15 points).

Simply put, the Warriors would not go away in this one, even as the Eagles continued to make things difficult in the half-court with a 1-3-1 defense that looked improved from Saturday's 15-point loss to No. 2 Charlestown. The Warriors frustrated at several points of the night with full-court presses.

After the Eagles went up 21-15 midway through the second quarter on a Jameilen Jones strip-and-slam on the breakaway, Brookline responded with an 8-0 run, taking the lead on a Berry three from the right wing. The Eagles were able to close out, heading into the break with a 27-23 lead.

BC was at its best, however, in the opening minutes of the third quarter, coming out of the gates on an 11-0 run to take its largest lead of the night at 38-23. The Eagles went high-low, getting multiple touches out of a possession with either Oderah Obukwelu or Justin Roberts, be it entry passes or shots from mid-range that they were able to position for an offensive rebound. The two combined for seven points and seven rebounds in the first five minutes of the quarter.

"We knew we had to attack the boards on them," Eagles head coach Bill Loughnane said. "They [Brookline] are very quick, and strong inside, but our strength is trying to get second or third shots. We knew the more we could get, the better off we'd be tonight."

Staying calm: One couldn't blame Obukwelu if he seemed frustrated in the game's earlygoings. The senior found himself on the bench in the first half with four fouls. But instead, he came back in the second half and played some of his most poised low-post defense of the early season, avoiding that fifth and final four for the rest of the game.

"The second half, he came out and he was strong," Loughnane said. "That's what we need from him if we're going to be a good team."

Filling the lanes: As noted above, one of the things that makes BC High's 1-3-1 zone defense so efficient is the length it has at its arsenal.

Last season, Division 3 state champion Whitinsville Christian boasted one of the state's tallest starting fives, led by wing Taylor Bajema (6-foot-5) and center Hans Miersma (6-foot-9). Flexing Miersma under the basket or in the middle of the zone, the Crusaders made things difficult for any team looking to attack the lanes. Its masterstroke was the state championship game, in which the Crusaders held Watertown to 11-of-54 shooting from the field -- connecting on more three's (6 for 39) than two's (5 for 15).

Loughnane's personnel grouping is obviously different, but it's the same concept: disrupt the routes on entry passes, trap in the corners, and generally keep one's hands and feet wide and active.

"One of the things we want to do with that is pressure the ball," Loughnane said. "Big teams make good plays. They made some big plays, they made some open shots, but we're hoping that they don't make too many."

Said Brookline head coach Mark Fiedor, "I think the first half, you're adjusting to seeing the guys and their length. BC's a long, athletic team, so those passes have to be at the right angle when you throw them. It's hard to simulate that at practice."

Promise on the horizon: As much fight as Brookline showed tonight, and as much height and athleticism they already display, this could be a different team come February.

At 6-foot-6, senior Zeev Gray-Mandell demonstrates tremendous jumping ability, and came up with four blocks. There were possessions where he was caught out of position, but the room for growth is evident.

Sophomore Anthony Jennings, a transplant who just moved here from Cleveland a year ago, uses his lanky 6-foot-3 frame well. Tonight, he came up with eight rebounds, six blocks and three steals harrassing the inbounder at the front of the press.

Berry and sophomore Elijah Rogers bring spunk in the backcourt, but the key may be the health of 6-foot-6 sophomore Obi Obiora, who is out with plantar fasciitis and was in a walking boot on the bench tonight. If he is healthy and in shape at the end of the year, that's another big body to throw into the fire -- and at this level of competition, size can have a significant influence on the playing field.

"Anthony's a heck of a rebounder, he really is," Fiedor said. "Zeev is a heck of a shot blocker, and I think when we get Obi back that'll help us up front, able to put another 6-6 guy in there. But they [BC High] are a little bit ahead of us developmentally. They showed a little more mental toughness than we did tonight, especially to start the second half."

(Video courtesy of Lucas Shapiro)


DORCHESTER, Mass. -- What do you tell your star player after he goes 2-for-9 in the opening stanza of a game where buckets were hard to come by?

Keep going.

BC High junior forward and captain Jameilen Jones started the night off sour, but finished strong, totaling 16 points and six rebounds as the No. 8 Eagles downed rival Brockton, 56-41, in its season-opener in front of its home crowd at McNeice Pavilion.

Jones, a 6-foot-3 combo guard considered one of the top pure scorers in the Catholic Conference, got off to a rocky start. Facing tight man-to-man pressure in the lane from Brockton (1-1), and met immediately by his man when he brought the ball up, Jones was forced into some poor shooting decisions to start the night off. But he adjusted to the pressure well as the game endured, finishing the night nearly perfect through the final three quarters, going 7 of 8 from the field.

"I told Jameilen, we need you to shoot the ball," Eagles head coach Bill Loughnane said. "Even if it doesn't go in, it's a good shot for us. And it'll help other people along in the long run."

Said Jones, "Coach was telling me to just be confident with the ball and take the shots. I've got to bring it so that everyone else can get their confidence, too. I was just trying to keep shooting, don't let it get me down in the first quarter."

But it wasn't just about what he did with the ball that kept the Eagles ahead on a physical night where points were tough to come by. It was about what he did off the ball as well, creating open shots for teammates with his movement around the perimeter and across the baseline.

Trailing 29-18 at the break, the Boxers opened the third quarter on a 9-2 run to cut the Eagles' lead to 31-27, capped by a rare five-point play. Brockton's Jamal Reuben was knocked into his own bench as he nailed a three-pointer from the baseline; his ensuing errant free throw was scooped up by Sayvonn Houston (12 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks), and Jean Thomas was there for the put-back when the 6-foot-6 senior missed.

But the Eagles immediately responded, closing out the quarter on a 12-4 run. Jones came back on the next possession with a 12-foot leaner in the lane, and then followed up on the next possession down with a nice dish to Jared Collins from the elbow, setting up an easy 10-footer.

Closing out the run with a big block was Standy Merizier, leading to a silky transition three from Charles Collins (nine points).

"He's gonna see a lot of that this year, people keying on him," Loughnane said of Jones. "One of the things, he's very unselfish. If he has it, we want him to go. If he doesn't, he's willing to let a teammate go. That's one of his strengths."

Football mentality on the blocks: One of the Eagles' strength is its communication in the defensive end. BC High confused the Boxers at times with its 3-2 zone, efficiently trapped ballhandlers in the corners, and played some stifling rotations in man-to-man.

Dictating that physicality down low are forwards Oderah Obukwelu and Justin Roberts, no strangers to an elbow or two after playing key roles in the Eagles' Division 1 football Super Bowl championship run. At both ends of the court, they made things difficult for Houston, Reuben and forward Jerrod Shelby; in one key first-half possession, Roberts spun in front of two Brockton defenders and cleared out a wide-open 15-foot shot on the baseline for Pete Timmons, which he sank.

"They're really rough down there, real rough," Jones smiled. "They just finished playing varsity football, so they're still in that kind of football mode. It's good, because if they're tough down low and they've got the big man worried about the [physicality], then we're going to straight going to the basket."

Boen not satisfied: Brockton head coach Bob Boen came away disappointed with his team's play, calling it "bad from every part of the game", specifically with the effort down low.

"We got ourselves in a hole early by not boxing out and rebounding well," he said. "We played pretty good defense, but they got so many second shots that we were in a big hole at halftime. Offensively, they confused us with their zone defense again."

Boen did credit Shelby, a star wide receiver on the football team, with giving the Boxers some lift off the bench.

"I think he's going to help us out a lot, with his rebounding and his work on defense," Boen said.

Central provides tune-up: Loughnane conceded that a preseason scrimmage with Central Catholic last week helped them get prepared for tonight's physical tone. Central, which begins the season at No. 1 in ESPN Boston's statewide poll, is considered one of the state's best defensive teams; the Raiders also looked exceptionally efficient in a scrimmage last Sunday with St. Peter-Marian, one of the top teams in the Central Mass. region this winter.

"Central's a real physical, tough-minded team, and I really thought that helped us for a game like this," Loughnane said.

Said Jones, "That was a tough one, but we learned from it. We weren't too down about it, because they're a top team. It helped us out."

MARSHFIELD, Mass. -– No. 4 Marshfield tied up the game at 13 with 1:40 left in the first quarter, but that was as close as the Rams came to avoiding an upset by No. 13 BC High, which rolled through the rest of the game and closed out by 23 at 66-43 as the buzzer sounded in their Division 1 South first round victory.

The Eagles move on to play at rival Catholic Memorial (14-7) on Saturday at 4 p.m.

“I think when you’re playing teams like BC, you’ve got to get them early, and we didn’t,” Marshfield head coach Bob Fisher said.

BC High (13-8) jumped out to a 7-0 lead by limiting the Rams (15-4) offensively, including holding their high scorer Barrett Murphy (23 points, nine from free throw line) to one side of the court. Playing the passing lanes aggressively led to steals and coast-to-coast layups by senior captain Bryan Hurley (20 points, eight assists, seven steals) and Jameilen Jones (10 points, 10 rebounds, six steals four blocks).

“We knew that if we could stop [Murphy] that was huge,” Hurley said of Murphy, who only scored five points and an assist in the first quarter. “Not only does he score, but he distributes the ball really well. So, we figured with our zone if we’d force him right because he likes to go left and shoot off of that. Once he slows down, and we stop their best player, that affects the rest of the team’s confidence.”

“We really feed off of our defense,” BC High head coach Bill Loughnane said. Jones, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, made a huge impact on defense and the boards, making two blocks, a steal and four rebounds in the first quarter alone. “He’s active, he’s athletic, very smart, has a very high IQ basketball wise and when he’s moving like that, he makes everyone’s job a little bit easier.”

Only down by four after the first quarter, the Rams looked to have a chance, spreading out the court and getting some shots up in the second half of the quarter, but the BC defense kept them to seven points in the second; three free throws by Murphy and two field goals by Andrew MacKinlay (five points, three rebounds).

“Murphy is our team, but we need other kids to step up,” added Fisher of Murphy, who also had 14 rebounds. No other Marshfield player tallied any statistic in double figures for the game. “They had a difficult time stepping up as a group.”

The Eagles, on the other hand, got into formation and extended their offensive set with five players sharing their 15 points in the second, manifesting nothing spectacular on the stats sheets for an individual, but doubling up on a team in the playoffs spoke volumes for the team’s cooperative effort. Leading the quarter in scoring were sophomore Malique McLaren (10 points) and junior Justin Roberts (10 points) with four points each. Junior forward Oderah Obukwelu (seven points, nine rebounds) got an offensive rebound, scored and completed a three point play for his scoring addition in the quarter, while Jones and Hurley each scored a bucket.

Hurley could have easily scored ten points in the quarter, but he has a larger picture in mind than padding his stats. He cares about his guys.

“I like to get my teammates involved early, making sure their confidence is up,” Hurley said. “Especially being the only senior, we need confidence with some of the younger guys. It’s huge. Once they get it, they can go through the roof and do anything.”

And so went the remainder of the game, as the Eagles led by 12 at the half, 19 at the end of the third and 23 when the fat lady belted her tune.

Even though two-thirds of the Eagles’ roster is above 6-foot and look down at his 5-foot-10 from when he’s commanding the offense, Hurley brings something to the table that can’t be measured with a yard stick, tape measure or even the scoreboard.

“He’s just one of those kids who leads by example,” added Loughnane. “He plays hard all the time, he’s always positive with the kids, he’s always encouraging them and it’s going to help them all later on basketball wise.”

DANVERS, Mass. -- Can't all be pretty wins now, can they?

The No. 1 St. John's Prep Eagles won in a variety of ways in 2010 -- big, small, running, pressing -- but to kick off the 2011 portion of the season they had to dig their shoulders to the wheel. Pat Connaughton (22 points, 12 rebounds) gave Prep some breathing room with three 3-pointers in the third quarter, and his teammates eventually shut the door in the fourth en route to a 63-45 win over No. 18 Boston College High, winning the Catholic Conference opener for both teams, but this was far from a finesse game.

No, with all of the physical play under the rim, perpetuated by BC's frontcourt of Justin Roberts and Dan Curtis, this was a physical battle where both teams struggled early on from the perimeter and slugged it out for rebounds underneath the backboard.

"It was a good win for us," Prep head coach Sean Connolly said. "We grinded it out defensively. Offensively, we weren't very good, but you know you've got to credit BC High for that. I'm proud of the way we defended."

BC High (4-3) trapped well on the sidelines, confused Prep with a variety of three-quarter presses, and did an admirable job disguising and stacking their zone looks in the half-court. Prep players were pondering just how to classify it, even after all was said and done.

"It was weird, they kept switching it up," said senior point guard Connor Macomber, playing in his first action since tearing his right MCL on the third day of practice late last November. "They did a good job trapping in the corners. It was a weird defense."

Connaughton thought it was "kind of an awkward 2-3 zone, but I don't know if you even call it 2-3 zone, 1-3-1."

"I don't what it is, some type of weird defense that we tried to simulate in practice," he continued. "But it was kinda tough because they do it, and we don't, so we don't know exactly how to play it. So when they were playing it, we got through it the first half, and then in the second half, we settled down, and concentrated on getting the zone to move more."

Prep began to show success with that strategy midway through the second quarter, when Connaughton took the ball along the right wing, drawing a help defender over, and Steve Haladyna slid into the weakside post. The junior forward took a perfectly-placed pass from Connaughton, drew contact, and converted the ensuing three-point play to make it 18-13 with 5:40 left in the first half.

From there, the Prep crept to a 27-18 halftime lead before Connaughton took over in the third with some well-executed catch-and-shoot plays. His final three of the quarter, from the left wing courtesy a backdoor cut and dish from Owen Marchetti, made it 44-29. But even when he missed, his teammates bailed him out; junior Michael Carbone tipped back Connaughton's errant three at the buzzer to take a 17-point lead into the fourth quarter.

And while BC couldn't make a game of it again -- out of a Connolly timeout at the six-minute mark of the fourth, Prep responded with a 14-2 run -- a message clearly has been sent that this will not be a one-horse Catholic Conference race.

"They got us at their pace, slowing it down, running their sets, being physical," Connolly said. "They did a good job at that."

Bowdoin-bound Bryan Hurley led BC High with 15 points, while Roberts led on the glass with nine boards.

"Bryan plays a good game for us, he tries to get everybody involved," BC High head coach Bill Loughnane said of Hurley. "He probably wishes he made a couple of those shots, but you know, that happens in the game of basketball."

EASING BACK INTO IT

With a big black brace over his right knee, Macomber wasted no time making his impact felt in his first game action of the 2010-11 season, crashing to the floor but nailing an off-balance three-pointer to tie it up at 4-4 in the first minutes of the defensive slugfest.

Macomber has made a quick recovery from the MCL injury he suffered in the preseason, thanks to an intense twice-a-day rehabilitation program -- "I was doing alot of stuff," he laughed. Three first-half fouls kept him on the bench, but he admitted that getting up to speed on conditioning, and getting back on the same page with Connaughton -- with whom he shared a great chemistry in their surprise run to the Division 1 North finals last year -- may take a hot minute.

"I felt good," Macomber said. "I'm just trying to get back into the flow of things, this is obviously different from practice. But this felt good, playing in front of big crowds, we always get nice crowds. It's alot of fun."

Struggling to find the next words, he finally sighed with a big smile and a chuckle, "I'm just pumped to be back."

CHELSEA, Mass. – Facing an unfamiliar opponent, No. 18 BC High had to adjust on the fly. It’s not as though the Eagles had the opportunity to advance scout Tuesday’s opponent at the BABC Holiday Classic at Chelsea High School.

The Eagles faced off against Mount Si of Snoqualmie, Washington and came out a little flat, falling behind 19-9 by the end of the first quarter.

But BC High stuck it out, ratcheted up its defense to draw even at the half. Senior point guard Bryan Hurley took care of the rest in leading the Eagles to a 57-44 win, pouring in a game-high 17 points, including five 3-pointers.

“We obviously didn’t have a scouting report on them,” Eagles head coach Bill Loughnane said, “so we had to adjust after the first period and I thought the guys did a really good job of that.”

The Wildcats were paced to their early lead by senior swing man Dallas Smith, who scored the bulk of his team high 13 points in the first.

However, the Eagles (4-1) did a better job containing Smith and disrupting looks to basket in the second quarter, when they erased a 10-point deficit to draw even before the half.

Mike Corcoran drained a three and then Hurley transitioned a steal into an uncontested pull-up with 20 seconds remaining in the half to make it 27-27.

“We were giving [Smith] open looks and we just couldn’t stop him,” Loughnane said. “I know we needed to do something to try to take him out of the game. I think our defensive intensity really picked up in the second half.”

It also helped that Hurley caught fire at just the right time, pushing the Eagles ahead in the second half.

Junior forward Dan Curtis also reached double figures for the Eagles, chipping in 12 points.

“We need Bryan [Hurley] to play well for us if we want to win games,” Loughnane said. “This was just another case and point of that happening.”

It’s not the only time a Hurley has been depended upon to lead the Eagles to victory. Bryan’s older brother Chris was the fulcrum to BC High’s Division 1 state title in 2007, the school’s first basketball championship in 90 years.

“They’re different,” Loughnane said of the brothers Hurley, “but it’s a different team, too. We need points from Bryan to win. Back when Chris was playing, we were huge, we were enormous. We had six guys over six-foot-six. He had to distribute the ball a bit more.

“I wish the Hurleys had another one though, I’d be happy about that.”