BRIGHTON EDGES ARLINGTON IN OVERTIME 66-62
Arlington, MA. 3/3/18. After a year of waiting, the Arlington Boys basketball team got their chance on their home floor for some payback against Brighton, the team that had narrowly eliminated them from the state tournament last year.
It was not to be. Behind a 20 point 12 rebound performance from their massive center and division one football recruit, Jerrod Clark, the Bengals came from behind to outlast the Spy Ponders 66-62 in overtime in the Div 2 North quarterfinals and end Arlington’s season for the second year in a row.
“Division one athletes are division one for a reason” said Arlington coach John Bowler. “It usually means you can play multiple sports. We tried to tire him out, but he played the whole game. Up and down the court. He’s amazing. He made some tough moves at the end and made his foul shots.”
This loss will be difficult for the Spy Ponders to swallow as they squandered several chances giving up an 11 point lead, committing four consecutive turnovers at the end of regulation and failing to convert in a tie game, with possession and 27 seconds left.
Surprisingly, Brighton opened in a man to man defense, and Arlington feasted on it cruising to a 20 point first quarter to lead by six at the end of one and extending it to 11 at 29-18 with 4:50 left in the second.
Brighton coach Hugh Coleman switched to a 3-2 zone, and, with the help of Arlington’s foul trouble, it worked. The Spy Ponders, with sophomore sensation Bensley Joseph sitting for the entire quarter and joined for part of it by junior co-captain James Gascoigne, failed to score for the rest of the half while Brighton went on an 11-0 run to tie 29 all at the break.
The two heavyweights traded blows for the entire second half with neither team able to build a significant lead. Still, Arlington had many chances.
Leading 54-53 with three minutes left, they got the turnover bug and did not manage a shot on four consecutive critical possessions.
But, against the Spy Ponders’ tight man-to-man defense, the Bengals couldn’t do much better managing only one free throw from senior Howard Laqu with 29 seconds left to tie the game at 54. In what was a key to the outcome, the foul that sent Laqu to the line also sent Gascoigne to the showers with his fifth.
Even so, Arlington had the last chance in regulation with the ball and 27 seconds left. They held for the last shot, but senior co-captain Dom Black’s deep three with Brighton players hanging on him was well wide.
In overtime with Gascoigne on the bench, Brighton’s Clark and 6 foot 5 inch senior accomplice Quincy Taylor owned the boards, and the Bengals went repeatedly to Clark on offense. The big man delivered, scoring seven of their 12 in the extra session.
Fouls played a huge role in the game as Arlington battled to contain Clark and Taylor (13 points). Brighton had 18 free throws (making 13) in regulation while Arlington had just three. Worse, the Spy Ponders had to play important minutes without Joseph, and, with the game on the line, Gascoigne’s absence was critical.
Bowler reflected, “For the game they had 27 opportunities from the line to our nine…that’s a lot of foul shots. And six of ours came at the very end. The game came down to that really.”
Despite his foul trouble, Gascoigne submitted a stellar game for Arlington contesting the much bigger Clark and leading his team with 18 points, two of which came on a spectacular slam-dunk put-back.
Arlington’s senior co-captains closed out their careers appropriately. Ben Wasco had 15 points and seven rebounds. Black, versatile to the end, added 10 points, four rebounds and four assists.
“It was a battle, back and forth, the way a tournament game should be,” Bowler concluded. “They just made one or two more plays than we did.”