The Chieftains (14-1) demolished the Winthrop Vikings, 86-46, staying undefeated in the NEC.
Since Thursday was also Senior Night, the starting lineup included senior guard Jake Rollins, center John Sanger, and center Hunter Rossi, who played alongside senior captain Devin O’Brien and junior captain Jimmy Farrell.
Despite lineup changes, the Chieftains rolled the Vikings from the opening tip-off, and all the seniors played extremely well on this special night.
O’Brien was lights out from deep, nailing four and leading the team with 30 three-pointers made. O’Brien finished the game with 14 points and is now averaging 11.8 on the season. He looks to lead his team in heading into the home stretch.
“The boys came to play tonight; guys 1-16 contributed and played their role in this win,” said O’Brien.
The Chieftains’ defensive effort was great, as they forced an extreme amount of turnovers but also hit an astounding 13 trey balls.
The game’s leading scorer, Farrell, hit five triples in two quarters and finished the game with 17. Farrell has shown this season that he has the ability to get a bucket whenever he wants and is turning into an elite-level scorer, averaging 18.5 points per game to go along with 6.1 assists.
Rollins has been one of the more efficient scorers for Masco when seeing time on the court, as he is wise with the ball and takes a good shot selection. He picked up three nice buckets in this game getting him six points.
“It was an awesome win as per usual, we just have to keep this energy going and finish the season strong,” said Rollins.
Rollins has been playing with these three seniors ever since he was in the youth program and had the outlook one would hope to have with their teammates.
“This is a special group of guys. I have been playing with them since I was a kid and couldn’t have asked for much more,” he said. “I’m starting to feel old with them now.”
Big men Rossi and Sanger have been played during pivotal minutes for the Chieftains this year. Rossi has started a number of games and averages six rebounds per game, and Sanger added six of his own Thursday night.
“I’m proud of the way our seniors came out tonight. I want to thank the community for coming out and supporting these young men. I talk about the culture that we want to bring here and that doesn’t just start in the locker room, it also spreads throughout the community,” said head coach Jaycob Morales. “It was a true blessing to see these seniors shine tonight and for them to get their flowers, they are taking steps in the right direction to continue building something that is bigger than me and them when it is all said and done. Hopefully, we can continue this momentum and continue to give these seniors the season they deserve.”
Two of the more electrifying plays of the Chieftains’ season happened in this game, when on a fast break, junior big man Jamason Vella punched a one-handed dunk. Then, a couple of possessions later, sophomore forward Thomas Denton came down the lane in the half-court set and also jammed it with one hand. Vella and Denton both had good nights beyond the impressive dunks, with Vella finishing with 15 points and seven boards and Denton adding 14 points of his own.
“We all are focused on winning the league. We have two games left to clinch it and that’s all that’s on our mind; we will practice hard and win these next two games,” said O’Brien
Masco still has a two-game lead over the entire conference. This week, they have two league games against Danvers and Beverly, which will determine their fate in the NEC.
“It’s a new page this week. We got Danvers coming up and we know that they have some great shooters and tough players,” said Morales. “Even with them being undersized last game, they’ll still come in and bring their all, but we will match that same intensity. We are ready to protect the house Tuesday night against Danvers.”
After easily handling the Falcons in the last contest, the Chieftains look ahead to Tuesday night, hoping for a similar result, but this time on their home court at seven.
Score by quarter:
1st: M 25 W: 3
2nd: M 24 W: 11
3rd: M 27 W: 13
4th: M 10 W: 19
Masco leading scorers: Farrell 17 pts, Vella 15 pts, Obrien 14 pts, Denton 14 pts
Winthrop leading scorers: Schetimo 17 pts, Parco 6 pts, Crocker 6 pts