OA Ends Sharon Boys Basketball's Playoff Hopes

The Oliver Ames varsity boys basketball team held on at the buzzer for a 65-62 victory over visiting on Friday night.

Trailing by 10 after three quarters, the Eagles rallied back. Junior forward Ian Beach tried to tie the game with a last-second shot, yet fell short.

The loss eliminated the Eagles (3-11) from a state tournament berth.

"It was a great effort," Sharon head coach Bruce Jackman said.

"We played hard and we had a chance to steal one at the end, but it just wasn't meant to be."

Oliver Ames (9-5), meanwhile, is one win away from reaching the state tourney.

"Hats off to Sharon. I thought they were terrific," OA head coach Don Byron said.

"They were in a situation where they had to win and for all those kinds of reasons, this was a tournament-level game; a win or go home type of game for them. And they played that way."

Jackman said Beach played his best game of the season.

He had 9 points and 6 rebounds off the bench.

"We got a real good game out of Ian Beach. He stepped it up big time," Jackman said.

"I would've loved to see that last shot go in for him."

Sharon cut into OA's 10-point, third quarter lead through rebounding and defense.

OA committed eight turnovers in that span, and Sharon junior forward Kevin Bartas and senior center and tri-captain Sam D'Arcy were strong inside on the defensive end.

However, OA's defense forced Sharon to commit 19 turnovers on the night.

"There were times where we did some times inefficiently – especially on the offensive side – but I think we continued to play defense," Byron said.

"They caught inside and they were able to do a little bit of damage with a couple of their big kids (D'Arcy and Bartas), and I thought we could have done a little better on that end.

"But other than that, I was happy to get out of here with a victory because we knew it would be tough."

While the Eagles had a shot to steal the victory in the end, the first three quarters put them in a hole, committing 15 of their 19 turnovers.

"We turned the ball over way too many times to put ourselves in that situation," Jackman said.

"If we didn't turn the ball over (as much), then it would've been a different outcome."

Sophomore guards Brian Mukasa (15 points, 7 assists) and James Fritzson (15 points, 5 assists) led Sharon on offense.

Senior Nick Bruha led OA with 24 points.

Both teams play again at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Sharon hosts Foxborough, while OA hosts Stoughton.