Spartans take first round of sectionals
By Sean Sweeney Journal Correspondent

(Top left) Kyle Anderson's goes for the basket as he tries to score against the Nipmuc Warriors in the first round game of the sectional games on Tuesday, Feb. 27. The Spartans won 61-53.

The ghastly memories of the Clark Tournament have been banished from the minds of the Oakmont boys' basketball team.

Slamming the door on last week's terrible loss to Uxbridge, the Big Green Machine returned to peak performance Tuesday, Feb. 27, as the No. 6 Spartans were able to hold off No. 11 Nipmuc Regional, 61-53, in a Central Mass. Division 2 Sectional First Round game at the Oakmont Gymnasium.

Oakmont will now face No. 3 seeded Clinton for the third time this season and the second time on the road. That game will be played tonight.

While victorious, it took Oakmont several minutes to get things started. Hampered by several turnovers, the Spartans fell behind quickly, 5-0, before a Blake Sheldon 3-pointer closed the gap for the time being. But the Nipmuc Warriors got the lead back to five points before the two teams traded many baskets - including another Sheldon trey and an assist from him to Jeff Ruberti in the paint - to make it 17-17 after a John Griffin free throw.

(Top right) Max Shenk tries for the 2-pointer during the Spartan's victory.

Over the next two minutes, Nipmuc got a reverse lay-up by senior Anthony Carloni and a wide-open trifecta by Andrew Vanslette (four 3-pointers), before the Spartans said enough is enough. With 4:22 left, Oakmont began a half-closing 12-2 run that left Nipmuc completely shell-shocked.

"They are used to responding when they get down a lot," said Oakmont Head Coach Gary MacEwan. "It's like they always spot teams points. The bad thing was, we knew we could come back. We showed our confidence and our patience at the end of the half to get that run."

Trevor Burt came off the bench and started the run with a fadeaway 13-footer, which followed an offensive rebound and a steal. Griffin (nine points, six steals) then went 2-for-4 from the line in two trips to make it 22-21 Nipmuc, before he came up with a steal seconds later and quickly dished the rock to Sheldon (12 points, three 3-pointers, four rebounds, three steals).

(Bottom) Spartan Greg Beaudoin defends the home court during the Tuesday night game. The Spartans face off against Clinton tonight. Journal Photos/Brittany Durgin

The junior then leaned back and launched a swiftly descending 3-pointer that caressed the nylon to give Oakmont its first lead of the game.

A minute later, Nipmuc's Brandan Reagan knotted the score at 24-all with a shorty in the lane, before Oakmont scored the last seven points of the half to take the lead for good. Sheldon came up with a steal and a layup, before junior Greg Beaudoin (seven rebounds) came up with a monster hoop following an offensive rebound.

Alex Tambling ended the half's scoring with nine second remaining, hitting a big 3-pointer to give Oakmont a 31-24 lead heading into the intermission.

Nipmuc fought back to get the score to within three points early in the second half and four points on several occasions, but the Spartans were just too much for the visitors, who had gotten lost on South Ashburnham Road just after 6 p.m.

"They didn't quit," MacEwan said of the Warriors. "They came back, we missed some free throws and we got into foul trouble, but we kept our poise, and that is something we took from the Clark."

Oakmont led by as many as 12 points with just over six minutes remaining, following a pair of Kyle Anderson (nine points, four steals) freebies from the charity stripe.

With four minutes left, Reagan hit a pair of foul shots to make it 54-48 Spartans. Oakmont traveled on the next trip, but when Nipmuc came back the other way, Max Shenk came up with a gigantic block. That led to an Anderson layup - which was Oakmont's final field goal of the game - to start a 5-2 run for ORHS.