With Dodds out again, Shanahan still able to hold off Unionville
EAST MARLBOROUGH >> For one quarter Friday night, the home fans at Unionville thought anything was possible, including what would have been an enormous home win over Bishop Shanahan in a nonleague Ches-Mont crossover matchup.
But then came the second, third and fourth quarters.
The Indians jumped out to a eight-point lead over Bishop Shanahan after one period on a sizzling seven for nine shooting from the field. But even without star forward Kevin Dodds, the Eagles came roaring back to take a 67-57 win over upset-minded Unionville.
Bishop Shanahan (13-2) was led by the hot shooting of Joe O’Malley and David Angelo, who both had game high 23-point performances. Angelo iced the game in the fourth quarter, going seven for eight from the free throw line as Unionville tried to muster a late comeback. Angelo was 12 of 14 from the line for the game.
“I take a lot of pride in my foul shooting,” Angelo said. “Every day after practice I take extra free throw shots and it is a big part of the game. We did not start well tonight so it was important to come back right away like we did in the second quarter. And without Kevin (Dodds) we got a little bit of scoring from everybody tonight. This was a total team win and we have great team chemistry on and off the court.”
The Eagles were without Dodds, who was out of the lineup for the second straight game again with flu-like symptoms, leaving Shanahan with one big man in Thomas Ford, who was saddled with foul trouble in the second half. Ford still managed to score seven points and grab seven boards.
But 16 for 34 shooting from the field will cure a lot of ills, and with a slim one-point halftime edge, the Eagles extended their lead in a third quarter, outscoring Unionville 19-12 to break the game open. Unionville (9-8) helped the Eagles’ cause by turning the ball over 13 times on the night.
Angelo started things off in the third period with a long 3-pointer, one of three treys on the night. Phil Chenard came off the Eagles’ bench to score nine points, including two big 3-pointers in the second half.
“That is what I try to do when I come off the bench,” Chenard said. “Especially when we are not hitting shots, I really concentrated to hit mine. We needed everybody tonight.”
Facing a 45-37 disadvantage after three periods, Unionville came out fast on the front-running Eagles and Connor Ash buried a corner three to draw the Indians to within six points at 47-41 with 5:45 to play. But Angelo picked up a loose ball after a scramble and hit a lay-up. Chenard buried a three from the left corner and the Eagles had a 13-point lead with a little more than four minutes to play.
Unionville cooled off considerably after the first quarter, finishing 21 for 50 from the field on the night. The Indians were led by Wyatt Hockenberry’s 17 points. Hockenberry drained four of the Indians’ 10 3-pointers on the night.
“We are dodging bullets right now with sickness and Thomas getting those four fouls,” Bishop Shanahan coach Ken Doyle said. “We got a little sloppy defensively in the first period and they hit some shots. We knew they would cool off and Joe O’Malley gave us a big boost in the second quarter and I think it was important to get right back in the game. This is game three of a seven-game-in-11-day block we have right now, so it was good to beat a good team like Unionville tonight.”
Bishop Shanahan 67, Unionville 57
BISHOP SHANAHAN (67): Chenard 3 1-2 9, O’Malley 7 7-8 23, Angelo 4 1-2-14 23, Ford 2 3-5 7, DiBeneditto 0 5-7 5, Ibarguen 0 0-0 0, Wilson 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 28-36 67.
UNIONVILLE (57): Furey-Bastian 3 4-6 12, Ash 5 0-0 12, Hockenberry 6 1-2 17, Zubillaga 3 0-0 7, Rafferty 4 0-0 9, Lankatis 0 0-0 0, Kucharczuk 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 5-8 57.
Bishop Shanahan 9 17 19 22 – 67
Unionville 17 8 12 20 – 57
3-point goals: O’Malley 2, Angelo 3, Chenard 2, Furey-Bastian 2, Ash 2, Hockenberry 4, Zubillaga, Rafferty.
