No. 8 Bunker Hill Survives Past Massasoit in Region 21 Tourney Opener, 69-57

CHARLESTOWN, Mass. ---- The sixth-seed Massasoit men's basketball team received a career-high 31 points from Mark Georges (Brockton), but the nationally-ranked Bunker Hill Bulldogs held off a pesky Warrior squad, 69-57, in the Region 21 Tournament opening round on Wednesday night.

Massasoit concludes its season at 13-14 overall, while the third-seed Bulldogs (25-4) advance to the tournament semifinals vs Bristol on Saturday at 6 PM.

The Warriors controlled the tempo for much of the evening, as they held a high-octane No. 8 Bunker Hill offense that averaged 90.9 points to its second-lowest point total of the season.

However, Massasoit struggled from 3-point range, connecting on just 8 of 36 (22.2 percent) from downtown and shot only 37.2 percent (23 of 62) for the game.

The sophomore duo of Georges and Bobby Belezos (Holbrook) did its best to keep Massasoit within striking distance as the combo combined for 48 of the team's 57 points.

Georges finished 13 of 27 from the field for his career-best 31 points, marking the third time in his career he reached the 30-point plateau. He added six rebounds to his stat line.

Belezos shot 6 of 12 from the field, sank four 3s to total 17 points and added eight rebounds.

In the early goings of the first half, the Warriors controlled the pace, holding Bunker Hill scoreless for the first 4:31.

Belezos buried a 3 from the wing to go up 7-4, before the Bulldog offense woke up. BHCC exploded on a 19-4 run to hold a 23-11 edge with just under eight minutes left in the opening stanza.

Trailing 35-17 with 4:07 remaining in the half, the Warriors went on a run of their own, closing out the stanza on a 12-2 spurt, with Georges scoring eight of the points during the late rally. Massasoit trailed 37-29 at the half.

After intermission, Massasoit tallied the first four points, including a 3 by Belezos, to pull the Warriors within four points, 37-33.

Later in the half, BHCC led 48-42, before using a 9-0 run to pull ahead by 15 with an even 9:00 left in the contest.

Massasoit would get the lead under double digits just once for the remainder of the contest, when Lorenzo Espinoza (Stoughton) buried a 3 from the corner at the 6:23 mark. But, BHCC quickly responded and led by double figures the rest of the way.

STAT OF THE GAME
The Massasoit defense held Bunker Hill to its second-lowest point total of the season at 69 points. BHCC's lowest point total came in a 77-68 loss at Springfield Tech.

MILESTONES JUST MISSED
Mark Georges finished his time at Massasoit just three points shy of 900. Bobby Belezos finished the 2018-19 season only three points off of 450 for the season.

SOPHOMORE SALUTE
Wednesday night marked the final game at Massasoit for sophomores Belezos, Georges and Anthony Cabrera (Brockton).