Bishop Feehan Boys' Hoops Holds on for Win Over Norwood Mustangs

It wasn't pretty, but in the end the Bishop Feehan boys' basketball team isn't going to complain as they held on for a 50-47 win over a feisty Norwood Mustangs team and improved to 3-1 in a difficult opening stretch of the season Friday night at home.

Both teams struggled offensively and combined for 37 turnovers (Feehan with 21 of those) but Feehan got a strong 10-point third quarter from junior Evan Cabral and eight-points from senior captain Brenden Fowler in the fourth, which made the difference.

After struggling down the stretch in a loss on Wednesday the Shamrocks knocked down six key free throws, including four from Chris Adams, to keep the lead.

Head coach Matt Freeman wasn't pleased with the team's effort on offense but proud of the way his team defended.

"Turn the ball over all game and you can't win consistently when you turn the ball over like that," he said. "We did get some big stops down the stretch, which made the difference."

The game doesn't count towards the tournament record for the Mustangs and coach Rich Cormier used a much larger rotation of bench players than normal but the team still wanted to win.

"I thought the guys gave a great defensive effort," said Cormier. "I thought we got some good shots just didn't knock them down. Even if it doesn't count you never want to lose."

The Mustangs were led offensively by seniors Troy Sousa-Semper (12 points) and Sean O'Neil (11 points) but it was not enough down the stretch. With Feehan leading, 44-41, inside the final minute, the Mustangs had two shots to tie and both rimmed out.

The Shamrocks had a balanced attack on offense with nine scorers but only Fowler and Cabral made it to double digits. Fowler also had a great block with 21.9 seconds on the clock to keep Feehan up by three.

This was a big comeback win for the Shamrocks after the loss to their cross-town rivals, according to Freeman. "After that very emotional defeat on Wednesday, we had opportunities to get chances to win that game and let it slip out. It was our home opener and against our arch-rivals so we were feeling it."

Norwood play next on the Dec. 28 in the Rockland Holiday Tournament against the host Bulldogs, while Feehan will play the same night in the annual North Attleboro Tournament.