BrocktonPost
By Lisa E. Crowley
BrocktonPost
WORCESTER--In a 21-point loss Brockton High’s boys basketball team took the second place medal in the MIAA Div. 1 Championship, a finish that wasn’t hoped for, but one that showed a different type of mettle for Brockton’s boys.
Being second is hard to swallow.
It stinks actually, but after a tenacious battle in Saturday’s state finals, Brockton saw their title hopes sink behind Springfield Central’s pinpoint perimeter shooting and foul line give-me’s that led the Golden Eagles to a 67-46 victory--its first state championship since 1991.
While Brockton had to eat second place—they did so with dignity and grace.
There were no tantrums, and while some players hung their heads in dejection and others received hugs from family and friends, in all Brockton took the loss well.
As they should have.
It was a great run, by a group of young men Brockton High Principal Susan Szachowicz has called a great group of athletes, who are not only leaders on the court, but also in the hallways and corridors of Brockton High School who take sports, academics and their community seriously.
“They are a wonderful group of young men,” Szachowicz said.
During the season, the Boxers went 19-2, a mark few in the division expected. When the season opened, Brockton was unseeded.
At the end of the season, the team was the #1 seed in the South section of the Div. 1 tournament.
They almost made the top seed stick—rolling into the state final behind an overtime win against Madison Park.
However, Springfield Central was the #1 seed in Div. 1 Western division.
After a 19-1 season, the Golden Eagles capped it’s incredible season with an offensive takeover that began in the third quarter and decided the game by the middle of the fourth quarter.
On Saturday night at the DCU Center with about 5 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter, Brockton’s Boxers—whose defense outshined its offense all year long--couldn’t stop the steady bombardment of timely 3-pointers from Springfield Central’s Tyrell Springer, and a corps of guards and forwards who kept sinking their shots as Brockton’s rolled around the rim or crashed heavily off the boards.
Brockton led the game 27-20 at the start of the 3rd period. By the 5:15 mark, Central had reeled off 9 straight points to tie the game.
Brockton was hanging on to a lead at 33-31 with about 3:40 in the quarter, but at about 1:50 Central took a 36-35 lead and never looked back.
Brockton continued strong rebounding in its offensive zone, but lobs and missiles to the basket bounced off the rim, around the rim, off the backboard, off finger tips and eventually turned into breakaways and points for Central.
In a blink of an eye, at the end of the 3rd quarter, Springfield had taken a 5 point lead, 42-37 going into the fourth quarter.
Brockton opened the fourth with a 2-point basket and played tough defense as the Boxers tried to slow the Golden Eagles’ momentum, but after that basket, Brockton couldn’t post another point for nearly 4 minutes.
Springfield didn’t have the same problem.
The Golden Eagles racked up another 12 points to lead 56-42.
Just as Brockton reclaimed its scoring touch, hope was squelched at about 3:26 and again at 2:56 when Springfield netted two, 3-pointers to take an insurmountable 62-42 lead.
Brockton hustled to add 5 more points, but Coach Bob Boen began putting in second-string players and essentially all Springfield had to do was run out the clock for the championship.
While we at BrocktonPost.com know how it feels to come up short in a championship game—Brockton’s boys should be proud.
They had a great run, and while people say no one ever remembers who came in second, we will here at BrocktonPost.com.
We had fun chasing the team around the tournament and while we would have loved to post the winning story, sometimes even when you lose you win, and that’s the case here.
Brockton’s boys rolled over nearly all-comers during the season and they won the South Sectional when very few thought they would go so far.
And while the copper medal hanging around their necks for second place may feel to the players as tinny as people saying stuff like, “at least they got to the final,” and “few even get that far,” etc., Brockton’s players showed us their true mettle Saturday night as they watched Springfield Central hoist the State Championship above their heads.
Losing with grace is harder than winning with grace.
It takes real mettle to watch the victor celebrate and not lose it or act out.
It takes courage.
You have to be fearless to work and strive as hard as you can and know you still may not win the game.
Win or lose it takes mettle.
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