Late Push Leads Men’s Hoops Past UCAP, 67-60

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BROCKTON, Mass. ---- Things looked grim for the Massasoit men's basketball team, trailing by seven with 3:30 left to play against UCAP on Saturday afternoon. But the Warriors exploded on a 16-2 run to close out the game to earn a 67-60 on Fan Appreciation Day at the Asiaf Field House.

After scoring three consecutive baskets to pull within one, 58-57, Trey Jones (Mattapan) buried a deep 3-pointer from the wing with 1:21 left to give Massasoit's its first lead since the 12-minute mark of the second half.

On the ensuing UCAP possession, William Baker (Brockton) picked the Pointer's point guard's pocket and went coast-to-coast and converted an old fashion three-point play to put an exclamation point on the victory.

"I thought Baker took over down the stretch for us," head coach Jim Stapleton said. "Baker did everything down the stretch and that helped. His three-point play was huge for us.

"Trey (Jones) made a big shot for us with just over a minute. It wasn't an advised shot, but I give him credit because he hit it."

Jones finished with a team-high 21 points, featuring three 3-pointers, along with four rebounds and three assists.

Jahleel Moise (Brockton) netted 16 points, 10 in the first half, on 8-of-12 shooting. The sophomore postman added seven boards and eight blocks.

Baker scored all nine of his points in the second half and had four steals, while Aidan Ryan (Carver) chipped with eight points. Alex Paul (Weymouth) came off the bench to add six points and six boards in the win.

Massasoit struggled with UCAP's trapping defense for the majority of the first half, committing 13 turnovers. In total the Warriors made 23 miscues on the afternoon.

"All we had talked about yesterday and today was that our enemy was the dribble, and all we wanted to do was dribble," Stapleton said. "And we got trapped and we discussed that at nauseum, but it didn't seem to sink in until desperation time."

During that desperation time, Massasoit scored 16 points over the final 3:30 to come up with a big come-from-behind victory.

Next up for Massasoit is a road contest at CCRI on Wednesday slated for 7 p.m.