Men’s Basketball Runs Out Of Steam Against Roxbury, 86-79

#10 Trey Jones
#10 Trey Jones

BROCKTON, Mass. ---- Massasoit trailed 17-0 to start the game and battled back to take the lead in the second half, but eventually ran of steam to Roxbury CC, 86-79, on Tuesday night.

Four Warriors finished in double figures, led by Leland Jackson with 27 points. Next in the scoring department was Trey Jones with 21, while William Baker and Mike Ward, each from Brockton, netted 10 in the loss.  

Jackson (10 rebounds) and Jones (10 assists) each finished with double-doubles and shot well from the field. Jackson finished 12-of-20 overall, while Jones was 7-of-17, featuring six 3-pointers.

Baker and Ward added nine and seven rebounds, respectively, while Jahleel Moise (Brockton) recorded eight points, 11 rebounds, six blocks and four steals.

Massasoit (2-5) fell behind by as much as 20-2 to start the game, as the Tigers buried three 3s and converted two three-point plays over the first six minutes of action.

The Warriors would mount a comeback, and pulled within one, 37-36, on a Jackson bucket with 2:05 left in the opening half. The Warriors trailed 42-40 at the break.

Roxbury came out of the gates firing again, embarking on a 12-2 run to begin the second half.

But the Warriors would not quietly on Tuesday, as they fought there way back into the game utilizing a 13-0 run, capped by three consecutive 3s from Jones to take a 55-54 lead with 14:08 left.

Unfortunately for the home Warriors, that was the only lead of the game. The Tigers scored on their next possession and ballooned the lead up to 70-57 (using a 17-2 run) and eventually held on for the seven-point victory. 

Charles Nedd-Araujo paced Roxbury with 27 points, featuring a trio of 3-pointers.

WHY MASSASOIT LOST: The game featured plenty of runs by each side, but the Warriors were just unable to match the Tigers intensity for all 40 minutes of action. Despite falling behind 17-0 to start the game, Massasoit took the lead in the second half. But a 17-2 run midway through the second half put the game out of reach. Massasoit also struggled from the line, going 5-of-16 at the charity stripe.

WARD HAS HIS WAY: Mike Ward came off the bench and was a major contributor for the Warriors. The freshman finished with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting and pulled down seven rebounds.

TEAM-HIGHS: Massasoit set season-highs in rebounds (47), assists (20) and 3-pointers made (8). The Warriors also shot its second-best field goal percentage (47.8) of the season.

NEXT UP: Massasoit is off until Tuesday, Dec. 2, when it hosts divisional rival CCRI at 7 p.m.