March 29, 2024

First-Place Falcons Win Thriller in Double Overtime

H.S. Boys Basketball: D-R 76, GNB Voc-Tech 75, 2OT

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NEW BEDFORD - There was a laundry list of factors that could have led to a loss Friday night for the Dighton-Rehoboth boys basketball team.

The Falcons blew a nine-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The Bears hit a miracle three-pointer at the buzzer to force overtime.

D-R trailed in overtime, battled back to take a lead, but saw GNB Voc-Tech force a second overtime with another buzzer-beater.

Finally, the Falcons trailed by one with a minute left in the second overtime.

But every time the Bears clawed back, the Falcons responded.

Sophomore forward Ryan Ouellette hit two free throws to tie the game with 46 seconds left in double overtime and senior captain Shane Mello hit the game-winning free throw with 9 ticks on the clock as the Falcons prevailed in a double-OT thriller, 76-75, Friday night in New Bedford.

“It was a tremendous road win for us,” D-R coach Bill Cuthbertson said. “It says a lot about our kids to be able to survive a buzzer-beater in regulation, a buzzer-beater at the end of the first overtime, then fall behind in the second overtime, and be able to come back and win. It says a lot about our kids. I’m really proud of this group.”

GNB Voc-Tech senior guard Ethan Almeida scored six points in the final 7 seconds of regulation to force the first overtime. He hit a three-pointer with 5.5 seconds left to cut D-R’s lead to 61-59. Ouellette followed with a free throw to put the Falcons ahead by three, 62-59, but Almeida launched a runner from the top of the three-point line that clanged off the back rim as the buzzer sounded, only to fly straight up and straight down through the net to tie the game at 62 and send the packed house at GNB Voc-Tech into a frenzy.

The first overtime mirrored the end of regulation as Ouellette hit a free throw to put D-R up 71-69 before the frantic final 18 seconds in which the Bears missed a shot, D-R turned the ball over, the Bears missed another shot, and finally Voc-Tech senior forward Connor Dreher hit a shot at the buzzer to tie the game and send it to another overtime.

After Ouellette’s two free throws tied the game at 75, junior wing John Marcille came up with a big blocked shot to get possession back and set the stage for Mello’s game-winning free throw. Mello took possession near midcourt and was fouled on his way to the basket.

“I didn’t want to turn it over,” Mello said after the game. “I was trying to drive and kick it out, but before I could pass it I got tripped up and got the foul. I should have hit two free throws, but I got the first one, we played defense and got the win.”

“We wanted the ball in his hands,” Cuthbertson said about the last possession. “He got fouled and got to the free throw line. We felt really good about that, about him having the ball late in that situation.”

The win keeps the Falcons in the top spot in the South Coast Conference Blue Division. They are 8-4 overall, 4-1 in SCC Blue games and 5-2 in SCC play overall. With eight games left in the season, the Falcons need only two more wins to qualify for the MIAA playoffs.

D-R is back in action Tuesday in Swansea against Case, which snapped Fairhaven’s eight-game winning streak Friday night with an overtime victory. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

REPORTERTODAY.COM MVP: Ouellette had a monster game for the Falcons as the sophomore big scored 26 points in addition to being very active on the glass. “He certainly was a big piece tonight,” Cuthbertson said. “His presence inside was key. He had a lot of big baskets for us. We’re starting to develop some inside-outside balance, and Ryan’s a big piece of that.” Ouellette, a 6-foot-5 forward/center, had 12 of those points in the third quarter as the Falcons turned a three-point lead at the break into a nine-point lead entering the fourth.

RUNNING WILD: While Ouellette paced the Falcons after halftime, it was point guard Patrick Palazzi who was driving the bus in the first half. The speedy junior had 13 points at the break and finished with 23 overall. “Pat was very aggressive taking the ball to the basket, which is his strength,” Cuthbertson said. “He certainly showed his ability to do that tonight. He had a lot of big baskets for us, no question about it.”

ROAD WARRIORS: The Falcons came into this week without a road win this season, but ended the week with two quality wins away from Dighton. Tuesday’s come-from-behind victory at Old Rochester put the Falcons in first place in the SCC Blue Division, and Friday’s win at GNB Voc-Tech cemented their spot at the top. “We’re starting to play better on the road, but we’re nowhere near where we need to be in order to beat some of the top teams on the road,” Cuthberson said. “We’re making progress though.” The Falcons are a perfect 5-0 at home this season but that mark dips to 3-4 away from the Falcons Nest, including the 1-1 record in the holiday tournament at Oliver Ames against Cardinal Spellman and Classical. Of D-R’s eight remaining games, four are on the road (Seekonk, Fairhaven, Apponequet and Tuesday’s game at Case).

QUICK HITS: Marcille came into this week as the seventh-leading scorer in the South Coast Conference with a 14.4 points per game average, but had a quiet night Friday. He hit a three-pointer early in the game, D-R’s only three of the evening, and finished with seven points after getting into early foul trouble. He was very active on defense and made some crisp passes, including on inbounds plays late in the contest. … Junior forward Shea Hackett is hoping to be back next week after missing time with a high ankle sprain. … Cuthbertson said he has a lot of studying to do as the Falcons prepare for Case (7-6) on Tuesday. “They play very good defense. They’re very hard to score on,” he said. … Dreher led the Bears with 18 points and Almeida added 10 as nine different players scored for GNB Voc-Tech (5-7). “I think both teams worked really hard, it’s a shame someone had to come up short,” Bears coach Jeff Wildrick said. “This could have been anyone’s game. It could have been our game but it ended up being theirs.” … After the game, Mello said he can see the improvement and growth in the team over the last few years. “The past two years, we’ve lost games like this over and over,” he said. “I see a team that can win. We persevered and came out on top. That’s what good teams do. We got one more road game in this stretch against Case. Hopefully we come out on top, get a win and come back home excited.” … Ouellette came into the week as the fifth-leading rebounder in the SCC with 7.8 per game. … Grady Courcy hit a layup to tie the JV game at 57 in the final minute, and Rian Pontes hit two free throws with 37.2 seconds left to push the Falcons over the Bears 59-57 as the team improved to 8-2 on the season. “The chemistry on this team is amazing,” coach Eric Courcy said. … Elsewhere in the SCC Friday night, Old Rochester beat Somerset Berkley on the road 74-69 and Apponequet bested Seekonk 67-62.

DIGHTON-REHOBOTH 76, GNB VOC-TECH 75, 2OT
Dighton-Rehoboth 18 11 22 11 9 5-76
GNB Voc-Tech       12 14 16 20 9 4-75
Scoring
Dighton-Rehoboth: Myles Mendoza 2, Ishmael Christmas 4, John Marcille 7, Shane Mello 11, Ryan Oullette 26, Pat Palazzi 23, Shayne O’Neil 3
GNB Voc-Tech: Shane Poitras Jr. 9, Alex Polanco 13, Mason Gomes 5, Colin Wildrick 3, Brennan Rosa 7, Serrone Ramos 5, Elijah Rodriquez 5, Ethan Almeida 10, Connor Dreher 18
Three-Point Goals
Dighton-Rehoboth: John Marcille
GNB Voc-Tech: Alex Polanco, Mason Gomes, Elijah Rodriquez, Ethan Almeida 2

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