Brockton 81, Newton North 60

By Brendan Hall, Globe Correspondent

In one of the most anticipated matchups in recent weeks, Brockton remained undefeated by knocking off Newton North, 81-60, the Tigers’ second loss in six days after starting the year 13-0.

The score might be a little deceiving – this was a game through three quarter.

But after a third quarter that saw five ties and six lead changes, the Boxers (16-0) blew open the doors in the fourth quarter. Brockton’s deep corps of guards – led by Jarrad DeVaughn, Tim Young and Shawn Yard – forced five steals and seven turnovers overall in the first 3-1/2 minutes of the quarter, yielding a 20-1 run in the process.

Louis Montes led the Boxers with 18 points and seven rebounds, while Newton’s Greg Kelley had 20 and 11.

“They’re better. They’re very talented, they’re very quick and they wore us down a little bit,'' said Newton North head coach Paul Connolly. "My big three are very good players; Greg Kelley, Geoff Woodberry and Craig Marriro are three really good players, and did a nice job for us. Tevin Falzon had some big points for us. But that’s a very seasoned team.”

The Tigers’ three best players – Kelley and senior guards Craig Marriro and Geoff Woodberry – looked good early despite heavy defensive pressure from Montes (on Kelley) and Brockton’s rotation of guards. But by the fourth quarter, the Boxers’ backcourt defenders were consistently stripping the Tiger guards and forcing bad decisions.

“Those two guards (Marriro and Woodberry) are very nice guards, but going back and forth against five of our guards, they got pretty tired,” Brockton head coach Robert Boen said. “I think Kelley was pretty tired after having two of our guys (Montes and center Michael Neufville) on him. They got him the ball nice in the first half. Second half, I think we wore them down.”

Here are a few stats...

Sr. F Louis Montes, Brockton
18 points, seven rebounds

Sr. G Jarrod DeVaughn, Brockton
10 points, all in the second half

Jr. F/C Greg Kelley, Newton North
20 points, 11 rebounds (only five points in the second half)