Oakmont ousted from tournament
By Sean Sweeney Journal Correspondent

Oakmont's Blake Sheldon puts up a three pointer to help his team get back in the game during action in the Divison 2 semifinal against St. Bernard's. Oakmont lost the game 76-54, which eliminated them from postseason play. Journal Photo/Jeffrey W. Boudreau

WORCESTER - The last two Central Mass. Division 2 Boys Sectional Champions duked it out at WPI's Harrington Audiorium this past Tuesday night, and it was the most recent titleholder of the two who came out on top.

Buoyed by four players with 15 points apiece, the second-seeded Bernardians of St. Bernard's defeated No. 6 Oakmont Regional, 76-54, in the sectional semifinals.

St. Bernard's (19-2) now advances to the Central Mass. Finals, where it will try to defend its crown against top-seeded Tantasqua Regional of Sturbridge. The Warriors defeated No. 4 Hudson in the other semifinal tilt, 70-54.

The best two teams in Division 2 will meet tomorrow evening at 5:15 p.m. at WPI.

James Maloughney (15 points), who surpassed Joshua Ferraris as the career scoring leader with just under five minutes remaining in the first half, scored the first bucket of the night for the Bernardians, as his baseline jumper 12 seconds in gave St. B's a 2-0 lead. John Griffin answered for Oakmont, as he weaved through the trees in the paint in order to score.

Jeff Robert puts in a lay-up during Oakmont's thrilling 66-61 overtime victory over Clinton to advance to the sectional semifinals. Journal Photo/ Rick Jollimore

"He brought his best when his best was needed," Oakmont head coach Gary MacEwan said of Griffin. "His athleticism really was effective, and we took advantage of their 1-3-1. We got it to the hoop, but we had to finish a few possessions."

It wouldn't be that close again, as St. Bernard's scored the next eight points. Peter Saba (15 points), Tim Henault (15 points) and Matt Granchelli all contributed to the run, with Granchelli hitting a big 3-pointer to make it 10-2 for the Bernardians.

Griffin scored the next basket for Oakmont - as well as the Big Green Machine's next hoop after that. Griffin scored the first six points for the Spartans, but after his third basket of the night, Mount St. Bernard's erupted as it went on a 16-9 run, in which Oakmont only had two field goals.

The run concluded as Maloughney hit a baseline jumper on a Michael Mercier (15 points) assist to give him 1,439 career points - one more than Ferraris. He ended the night at 1,445 points.

"He's a great kid and a tremendous basketball player," Pierce said. "We're glad he was able to accomplish this, and we're glad it was over tonight. The guys were all trying to get the ball to J-Mo, so they were behind it as well."

But the Spartans tried their level best to chop the trees down, keeping them off-balance with a stifling defense that created quite a few first-half turnovers. After Maloughney's record-setting basket, ORHS was able to cut the St. Bernard's lead to 10 points (35-25) after an 8-2 run. Blake Sheldon and Griffin combined for five straight points in 43 seconds, including Sheldon's first of three 3-pointers.

"When we cut it to 10 points, I thought a George Mason would come out of here," MacEwan said, referring to George Mason's inexplicable run at the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight in 2006. "But it wasn't meant to be."