Local rivalry contests between Oakmont and Quabbin as well as Murdock and Narragansett helped spice up last week’s Greater Gardner high school boys basketball schedule, but one unexpected showing in a contest decided by one point may be tough to top.
So, which player turned in the best performance of Week 9? Readers can offer their opinion by casting their vote in the poll below.
Our seventh poll of the season closed with Oakmont Regional’s Steven Mack atop the poll with 42.37% of the vote. He finished ahead of teammate Jaylen Kirkland, who placed second with 20.34% of the vote, while Narragansett Regional’s Kam LeBlanc took third with 15.25%
VOTE: Best performance in Greater Gardner girls high school basketball for Feb. 7-13?
Here are the candidates for the top performance in Greater Gardner boys basketball for Feb. 7-13.
Connor Geary, Quabbin Regional
The senior guard/forward scored 15 of his game-high 17 points in the second half and grabbed 11 rebounds to help the Panthers salt away a dominant 48-22 victory over a 12-win Clinton Gaels team in Barre on Feb. 11.
Geary also paced the Panthers with 16 points in a 66-46 loss to Oakmont and tallied nine points in a 55-48 loss to Littleton on Feb. 7
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Ben Gosselin, Monty Tech
The sophomore played a significant role in helping the Bulldogs earn a pair of victories over the Assabet Aztecs last week.
On Feb. 9, Gosselin’s fourth-quarter 3-pointer secured a 55-54 win at Bulldog Gym, while on Feb. 12 he knocked down three 3-pointers and led Monty Tech with 19 points in a 51-38 victory over the Aztecs in Marlborough.
Gosselin also scored 10 points in the Bulldogs’ opening game of the week, a narrow 57-51 defeat to Main South in Worcester.
Ryan Gray, Gardner High
The senior guard had his best shooting night from behind the arc in nearly a month has he knocked down five 3-pointers and scored a season-high 17 points in the Wildcats’ 61-47 loss to the Burncoat Patriots on Feb. 11.
Gray, who scored six points in Gardner’s 38-27 loss to Bromfield earlier in the week, had previously sank five 3-pointers during a 16-point effort at Murdock on Jan. 14.The second-leading scorer for Gardner, Gray leads the team in 3-pointers made with 28.
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Anthony Hill, Monty Tech
The senior entered the Bulldogs’ first game of a home-and-home series with Assabet on Feb. 9 averaging a little over six points a game, but he tripled his scoring output against the Aztecs.
Hill led all scorers with 18 points and he pulled down five rebounds to help Monty Tech squeak out a 55-54 win over Assabet at Bulldog Gym in Fitchburg. Hill did his damage from inside and out as one of his five field goals came from beyond the arc and he also knocked down a team-best seven free throws in the win.
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Ryan Hulecki, Oakmont Regional
The junior guard recorded the highest individual scoring effort of last week when he drilled three 3-pointers and poured in a game-high 24 points in the Spartans’ 53-48 road win over the Nashoba Wolves on Feb. 8.
Hulecki added double-digit scoring efforts in the Spartans’ other two games as well as the junior tallied 17 points against Quabbin and 18 points against North Middlesex to help Oakmont complete a perfect 3-0 week.
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Cole Patterson, Murdock High
The junior thrived for the Blue Devils in the midst of a busy four-game week, one which he opened with a 22-point effort in a 52-41 win over West Boylston on Feb. 7.
Patterson, who drained four 3-pointers against the Lions, followed the performance with 18 points and eight rebounds in a 70-62 loss to Tahanto two days later. The junior had a rough opening half against Narragansettt — and tough Warriors defender Kam LeBlanc — but he scored 12 points of his team-high 15 points in the second half while directing a Murdock comeback effort which fell a little short in a 50-37 loss to the Blue Devils’ rival.
The next evening, Patterson again paced Murdock (7-11) with 19 points as the Blue Devils escaped South Lancaster Academy with a 48-47 win.
Tyler Richards, Narragansett Regional
The senior forward scored 11 of his team-high 17 points in the second half and pulled down a team-best 14 rebounds to record a double-double in the Warriors’ 50-37 victory over Murdock on Feb. 11. Richards also recorded three steals and blocked a shot in the win which gave ’Gansett (6-11) a season sweep of the rival Blue Devils.
It was Richards’ third double-digit scoring effort of the week as the senior had tallied 14 points in a 48-45 loss to Tahanto and 10 points in a 61-35 defeat to Ayer-Shirley.
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Ryan Theriault, Narragansett Regional
The Warriors’ senior point guard nearly scored 13 points, nearly matching his season-high of 15, in his team’s loss to Tahanto on Feb. 7 before putting together a strong first half against Murdock on Feb. 11.
Theriault tallied four points, pulled down five rebounds, dished out three assists and collected a steal to help ’Gansett build a 27-5 lead at halftime against the Blue Devils.
Vote for your pick
(Players of the Week honorees are compiled from game reports and statistics called in by each school or from in-person, game-day reporting by a TGN sportswriter.)
