Sr. J. Martins Steps Up and Leads to a 63-58 Victory

Canton Bulldogs vs Taunton Tigers

    Once again THS had another strong outing defensively as it was much needed seeing as three of their key starters were sitting tonight. John Martins had an incredible night as he led all scorers with 30 pts as well as Sr. G Michael Quinn (#2) pouring in 17 pts. The Bulldogs were led by Sr. G Devin Foster (#4) who scored 25 pts. He himself had an amazing accomplishment as Foster eclipsed the 1,000 point mark late in the 4th. It was a free throw game late though as THS went nine for twelve from the line with a little over a minute to secure the victory. Taunton High gets its ninth victory of the year winning 63-58.

    The game started out slow offensively for both sides as the first points of the game weren't scored until Martins hit a three at the 5:47 mark. That was just a precursor to the sort of night he would have. The Tigers continued to put pressure on the Bulldogs going on a 7-0 run forcing Canton to call a timeout with 3:10 remaining in the 1st. Canton started to find its rhythm as they sank a couple of threes' late to keep the game close. Quinn made a great inbounds pass to a cutting Danny McDougal (#35) in the final seconds of the 1st giving the Tigers a 13-8 lead.

    The 2nd started out just as slow as three minutes ticked off the clock before either team scored. Coach Dacey called a timeout at the 5:35 mark to settle his players because it seemed as though they were forcing some shots. Aiden Pelot (#23) broke the drought as he got the offensive rebound and went straight back up with it to make it 15-8 at the 4:58 mark. But once again Canton hit some threes' late to keep the game close as Foster and Sr. G Ryan Lentol (#21) each buried one in the closing minute. The Bulldogs closed out the 2nd on a 10-2 run to make it 20-20 at half.

    Martins was fouled 13 seconds into the 3rd as he made both free throws to give THS a 22-20 advantage. But a few more defensive lapses would plague the Tigers as Coach Dacey called a timeout midway through the qtr for allowing the Bulldogs to take and make threes' on back to back possessions giving Canton its biggest lead 33-26. So. F Tyler Stewart got THS going again offensively as he had deft up and under move in the post to cut the Bulldogs lead to five. Martins then scored six straight points and Quinn had an And 1 take to the rim with 1:09 left in the 3rd to make it 36-35 Tigers. Martins capped off the qtr making another two free throws to make it 38 -38 going into the final qtr.

    Quinn broke the tie with a made three at the top of the key at the 6:41 mark to give the Tigers a 41-38 advantage. Martins made a great move baseline to make it 48-41 Tigers and was fouled about 30 seconds later coming up the court as Canton start pressuring the Tigers on their inbounds. The Bulldogs Coach seemed none to pleased with that call as he could be heard conversing with the referee and essentially dismissing him when the ref approached the Coach to explain his reasoning. By that stage of the game it was free throw time as both teams traded attempts with THS hitting 9 of 12 from the line in the final minute and Foster scoring 10 of his 25 in the final minute with a few threes' and a coast to coast take to the rim. In the end the Tigers held on in what was a great effort by both teams as the final score was 63-58.
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    With some key starters sitting out for the Tigers, they once again fell back on their defense which has been their calling card all season. With extraordinary performances all around, Martins stepped up in a big way, not just offensively but defensively as well as he was vocal all night trying to get his teammates into the right sets. I would once again like to congratulate Cantons' Devin Foster on his incredible career accomplishment as he surpassed the 1,000 point mark with about 30 seconds to go in the 4th. The Tigers next game is against the Mansfield Hornets this Friday, January 25th. Tip-off is at 6:30.

Jason Delgado

Jason is a Taunton Alum and sports journalist covering home games and meets at Taunton High School.