FITCHBURG – That was a little closer than everybody wanted.
Needing to win its season outright and facing a subpar Notre Dame team, the Mahar boys summer basketball team escaped a close one on Tuesday, winning 54-49.
“I talked before the game, making sure that we stay focused and playing up to expectations and we never did that the entire evening,” said Mahar summer coach Enver Softic. “As a result, we ended up struggling. We had some kids who had been away who were reluctant to shoot because they knew they hadn’t shot in awhile. They were turning down shots they normally would take.”
Notre Dame had won two games going into Tuesday’s contest.
Mahar improved to 6-3 with the win and needs to win its final two games, which includes a game against fourth-seeded North Middlesex in the team’s final game, to clinch a playoff spot.
“They’re the type of team that can beat us because they hustle and they bang a little bit,” said Softic about North Middlesex. “When we don’t do that, We’re just average right now.”
Tuesday’s game was closer than the final score indicated.
Notre Dame led 46-42 with four minutes left as Mahar went over seven minutes without completing a basket, going 0-for-5 during that span. Mahar tied it up at 46 at the 2:17 mark thanks to a rebound and jumper from Daesean Watson (10 points, eight rebounds). The play was part of a 12-0 run for Mahar to go up 54-46 with 17 seconds left.
“It was good to finish that way,” said Softic. “That took some focus on the kids’ part, but obviously, it shouldn’t have been that close.”
Deven Patch connected on a 3-pointer to top-off the run, giving him 23 points on the night.
Mahar led by 11 with 12 minutes left in the second half, up 40-29. Notre Dame slowly took advantage of Mahar turnovers and off-shooting to go up by four, using a 17-2 run to do so.
Mahar led by five, 30-25, at halftime. They couldn’t shake Notre Dame in the first half either, with their largest lead coming with five minutes left in the first half, going up by five at 23-18. After Notre Dame pulled as close as two points, Mahar went up by five again at 28-23 with two minutes left in the half thanks to a 3-pointer from Patch. Patch had 15 points in the first half.
Mahar went down, 17-13 midway through the first. They had previously tied the game at 13 after going down 13-6 to start the game. Notre Dame also led 10-5 through the first four minutes.
Mahar continues its quest to make the playoffs on Thursday against Monty Tech at 6 p.m.