Danvers stays perfect to reach third title game in four years

BOSTON ? The Danvers Falcons kept their unblemished record intact (26-0) after a hard-fought playoff battle with the Bishop Feehan Shamrocks Tuesday night at TD Garden. The Falcons pulled out a 51-40 win to advance to the Division II championship game Saturday at the DCU Center in Worcester.
This will be the Falcons? third trip to the final in the last four years. They will play Marlboro at 4 p.m.
Devan Harris was the leading scorer for Danvers, collecting 17 points and pulling down 7 rebounds. Devonn Allen controlled the offense at the point guard spot and finished with 13 points. Peter Merry made a huge impact on the defensive end of the floor and scored 7 points. He also pulled down 8 rebounds and had 5 blocks. Vinny Clifford also made a big impact with 9 points and 4 rebounds, but his play in the final minutes set him apart.
The Falcons came out ready to play in the first, especially on defense. Merry?s presence on the inside made driving the lane a tough go for Feehan. The Falcons rotated well and always had a hand in the shooter?s face.
Allen came out and hit two deep threes to get the Falcons going offensively, and Harris tried to pound the ball inside. After one, Danvers held a 14-8 lead.
The shooting cooled down a little bit for the Falcons in the second quarter, but they managed to hold the lead because of their defensive effort. Allen used his quick hands to strip the ball and force turnovers. Merry blocked a jump shot. The Shamrocks kept moving the ball from side to side with no way to get a clean look.
Allen had 8 points at the half, while Harris had 6 points and 4 rebounds. The Falcons led, 22-13, going into the break.
The Shamrocks came out with an agenda in the third quarter. The second the ball hit Harris? hands in the post for Danvers, two bodies swarmed him and forced either a bad shot or a bad pass. On the other end, Feehan hit a couple threes to get right back into the game.
But the Falcons were able to recover and regain the momentum before they fully lost it. Rudy Rashad Francois hit a big three for Danvers to put the lead back to 7, and he helped turn up the volume on the defensive pressure. Francois didn?t necessary rack up big numbers, but coach John Walsh knows that he is really a key to the team?s success.
?Yeah, he?s really a spark plug for us,” Walsh said. “It may not show up on the stat sheet, but we sure see it.”
The Shamrocks had to throw the ball way up into the air to get it over Merry?s reach, and even then it didn?t go in.
They stuck to their plan and kept throwing the ball into the paint. Merry took the ball down low and got some big points when it mattered. The Falcons also continued to dominate on the glass, out rebounding the Shamrocks, 25-14, after three quarters.
Feehan made a bit of a run at the end of the quarter to get right back in it, but Danvers responded with a 10-0 run of its own. After three, the Falcons led, 37-31.
Both defenses came out to play in the fourth quarter. The Falcons held Feehan scoreless for the first three minutes of the quarter, but they were only able to score 3 points on their end. Both teams clogged the lane and forced the tough jumper.
Feehan started to make a run around the four-minute mark of the final quarter. The Shamrocks got to within 4, but that was when the Falcons closed it out. Michael Nestor and Harris each came up with a big steal around the two-minute mark, and Allen made a beautiful cut to the basket to bring the lead back to double digits with just over a minute remaining.
On the thought of going back to a third state final, Walsh said, “It feels good, I?m happy for the kids. We kind of have a new group of guys contributing, so it?s great to see.”
Clifford was one of the few members of the current team who contributed to the other two state final teams. And he sees it as a chance to show his leadership.
?I was on those other teams, you know, so when I see guys like Rudy getting that tech, I know I have to step up and be a l