MacEwan: Boys played tough throughout season
By Sean Sweeney JOURNAL CORRESPONDENT

The Spartans fought hard ending the season with a 15-6 record. FILE PHOTO

The Oakmont boys' basketball team started this season 10-1. The Spartans had a great non-league slate early on and had run roughshod over Mid- Wach C teams. The road then got bumpy, as it had several losses - five out of nine at one point - but no more than two in a row as it tried to improve its positioning in the Central Mass. Sectional Tournament.

Time to dispel the rumor - the wheels didn't fall off the Big Green Machine.

In fact, Head Coach Gary MacEwan said earlier this week that he was pleased with his team's performance, which saw its season end in the sectional semifinals three weeks ago at WPI's Harrington Auditorium.

"People thought we were dead and buried," he said. "I think failure is a part of our success. We were able to find out our weaknesses and work on them. We really weren't looking like we were in trouble. I always thought we were on course. We didn't want to play our best basketball until (the tournament)."

In the tourney, Oakmont found itself laying waste to Nipmuc in the first round before taking league rival Clinton to overtime in the quarterfinals.

Then it was a semifinal date with local rival St. Bernard's, the favorite to win the Central Mass. title. Oakmont lost to the Bernardians, 76-54.

"We cut it to 10 points with eight minutes left," MacEwan said. "I was very proud of our team that night."

He complimented the play of John Griffin during that game, as Griffin worked his way to the basket with some nifty dribbling and footwork.

MacEwan found the 10-1 start refreshing, as there were some question marks coming in.

"We were exceeding expectations (at that point)," MacEwan said. "We had some returning seniors and we thought the juniors were going to need some time to adjust. I was very pleased with where we were in the season."

Players such as Kyle Anderson, Max Shenk, Blake Sheldon, Greg Beaudoin and Griffin lifted the Spartans to new heights during the season.

"Everyone contributed and we saw improvement from everybody," MacEwan praised.

Oakmont finished the season 15-6. "It was a rewarding year. We made it to the final four of our bracket, and I thought we did a fantastic job this year. We're going to continue to grow, our program is solid: Randy Jepson is doing a great job at Overlook. Lincoln Styles is doing a great job with our freshman program. Eric Dawley's JV's only had one loss, and Jack Salo is doing a good job when the players move up to varsity," MacEwan said.