Big Blue boys’ run ends against Arlington Catholic

SWAMPSCOTT – All season long, the Swampscott boys basketball squad had battled back against some difficult foes in the Northeastern Conference for victories. Last night, in the first round of the Division 3 North sectionals against Arlington Catholic, it appeared as though the Big Blue would do the same thing.Trailing 49-42 with 3:33 remaining, and down 51-48 with 1:30 left, the Big Blue evened the game against the Cougars when guard Ryan Squires connected on a game-tying three. Yet 6-6 center Joseph Wosolowski’s time-defying shot gave the Cougars the lead for good, and teammate Dennis Woods hit a pair from the line to give the tenth-seed Cougars a 55-51 win at Swampscott.The reward for Arlington Catholic will be tipping off against second-seed Watertown later in the week.”They clearly outrebounded us, and got to the boards late in the game,” said Big Blue coach Paul Moran, whose club ended its year at 13-8. “Our kids worked hard, and it’s the story of our season. We worked hard, and we got there, but we lost to a better team.”That determination of Swampscott’s saw it claw back in the waning moments. Center Scott Leffler, who hadn’t scored since the first period, had a couple of baskets that sandwiched one by Squires to bring the Big Blue to within 49-48. Leffler, who was fouled on his second hoop, missed the free throw, and Arlington Catholic’s Jacob Hart (team-high 16 points) converted on a short jumper seconds later. Squires (13) answered by drilling his third three-pointer to deadlock the score, but Wosolowski’s bucket put the Cougars back on top with a minute to go. The Big Blue had a chance to tie the score with under 20 seconds remaining, but turned the ball over in the Cougars’ end.”We did a good job on the defensive boards down the stretch,” Joel Burke, the Arlington Catholic coach, said of his team’s play in the final minutes. “We were up by two at the half (26-24), and I really didn’t think we played that well. That changed when our big guys touched the ball in the final quarter. We had seen Swampscott play a couple of times, and thought we’d have a chance if we just executed.”The Big Blue was ice-cold upon entering the final quarter, though down by a point (36-35). Guard Joe Granato extended the lead to four (39-35) by connecting on a three, then Wosolowski had a putback of a teammate’s miss to increase the score to 41-35. Guard Trevor Wheeler got one back on a freebie, but the Cougars (14-9) continued to hit their shots, while Swampscott could only score from the line (the Big Blue would not register its first field goal until 4:50 remained). Arlington Catholic converted several misses by Swampscott into several fast-break baskets to take seven-point margins on several occasions.”Their big guys (Wosolowski and forward Devin Lally-McGurl) were like pit bulls, the way they worked out there,” said Moran. “We knew that they’d (the Cougars) be tough, and it was a challenge, but the rebounds just didn’t go our way.”Not much scoring took place in the opening stanza, with both squads missing shots frequently. The Big Blue held a 9-6 lead at the end of the period, yet the margin seesawed throughout the second quarter. The Cougars took a 16-15 lead after a pair of Wosolowski free throws, and the margin grew to four after a Granato three-pointer. Another three by Granato pushed the Cougars into a 24-22 edge near the end of the half, yet Swampscott’s Charlie Baker hit a short jumper to tie the game. However, Wosolowski got the rebound of a Granato miss and got the bucket before the buzzer sounded to lift the Cougars to the 26-24 halftime favor.