Dartmouth finds way to win in Div. 2 playoff opener with starting point guard sidelined

DARTMOUTH — Powered by a new-look backcourt and a game plan that worked to perfection at both ends of the court, Dartmouth was able to hold off a fourth-quarter rally by Bedford and notch a 50-46 boys basketball win over the Buccaneers in the first round of the Div. 2 state tournament on the Coach Steve Gaspar Court inside the Carlin Lynch Activity Center on Thursday.

First-year head coach Nick Simonetti was forced to shake some things up in the team's backcourt after sophomore point guard Aiden Smith (16.0 points, 4.5 assists) injured his right foot at practice on Wednesday and had to miss the game.

Junior Elaijah Monteiro, who usually comes in off the bench as the team's sixth man, stepped in to do a nice job at the point and 6-foot-6, 230-pound junior center Hunter Matteson had a monster game in the paint on the way to finishing with a game-high 29 points and 15 rebounds.

Dartmouth also got solid ball-handling and passing efforts from senior Jake Chiquito, who has been starting in the backcourt with Smith, and junior guard Logan Kennedy.

"It was tough playing without Smitty, because we've been (one of) the team's top scorers all season," said Matteson, who came in averaging 22 points and 10 rebounds a game. "We got some big minutes from our guards and that was a key. We knew Bedford was going to be tough and our guards gave us the lift we needed."

Matteson, who finished the regular season with 1,002 career points after scoring a game-high 30 points in a 71-54 win over Dennis-Yarmouth, played well from start to finish, but really came alive down the stretch with seven points and two huge rebounds on the defensive glass in the final 3:59.

"He's been a double-double machine all season," Simonetti said. "We moved the ball well and we were able to get the ball inside to Hunter for high-percentage shots around the basket."

With Dartmouth clinging to a 48-46 lead with 12.2 seconds left to play, 6-foot-3 junior forward Donovan Burgo stepped up to the line and drained two clutch free throws.

"I was ready. We practice that situation all the time and I was happy to help seal the deal for my team," Burgo said. "Bedford was tough, but we did what we had to do to get the win and keep our season going."

After calling a timeout, the Buccaneers missed two shots in the final nine seconds and Matteson ended the game with his final rebound of the night.

Simonetti was able to watch five of Bedford's games on film, but when the Buccaneers came walking into the gym, he got a last-minute surprise.

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"We knew they were a thick team, but we didn't realize how tall they were," Simonetti said. "We noticed that they struggled against zones and we did a nice job packing our defense into the paint. They're more of an inside scoring team, so we wanted to let them shoot on the perimeter. They made eight threes, which was unusual for them, but we shut them down inside and didn't give them a lot of second shots. We also did a nice job rebounding the ball at both ends of the court."

With Smith out, Simonetti was afraid the Buccaneers would double team Matteson whenever he touched the ball, but they rotated three different defenders on him and were unable to slow him down.

"Hunter has the size and the talent to be a dominant player and he came to play tonight," Simonetti said. "He works hard to get open in the paint and he can go up strong and finish around the basket."

Smith, who was on crutches and had a boot on his right foot, said missing the game was tough and didn't rule out a return this season.

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"I was looking forward to playing, so sitting on the bench wasn't fun. This is the time of the year when you want to be on the court with your teammates," Smith said. "I tried to stay involved and support my teammates as much as I could. I would love to come back and play, but we're going to have to wait and see what happens with my foot."

While Simonetti would love to see Smith return, he isn't getting his hopes up.

"Aiden is optimistic, but I'm not entirely sure he'll be able to make it back," Simonetti said. "We would love to see him back in the lineup, but we have a pretty quick turnaround for our next game. If he can play, great. If he can't, we'll continue to take advantage of the depth we have in the backcourt."

WHAT IT MEANS: The win was the second straight for Dartmouth (17-4) which will take on the winner of Friday night's Round of 32 matchup between No. 5 Charleston (18-4) and No. 28 Tewksbury (10-10) at a time and date to be announced. ... Bedford wrapped up a 16-5 season.

KEY SEQUENCE: Kennedy scored four of his six points off the bench, including back-to-back baskets on a pull-up jumper and a drive down the lane to open the fourth quarter and give Dartmouth a 41-33 lead and some early breathing room before the Buccaneers rallied to make it anybody's game down the stretch.

STATS: Senior guard Eric Miles scored nine of his team-high 11 points on treys for the Buccaneers, who did not shoot any free throws and turned the ball over 10 times. Junior guard Justice Buchannan chipped in with nine points. ... Matteson and Burgo were the only Dartmouth players to get to the foul line, where Dartmouth made 13 of 18 free throws. ... Dartmouth, which did not commit a turnover in the action-packed fourth quarter, committed 10 turnovers in the first three quarters — four in the first and second, and two in the third. ... John Emile, a 6-foot-4 senior forward, made Dartmouth's only three-pointer of the game in the second quarter to help give Dartmouth a 27-22 halftime lead.

NOTES: Dartmouth entered the game averaging 69.8 points a game. ... The Buccaneers won the Dual County League Small Division championship with a 7-0 conference record. Their league opponents included Waltham, Concord-Carlisle, Weston, Boston Latin, and Wayland. They came in averaging 58.2 points a game and finished the season with an 8-2 record at home and an 8-3 mark on the road.

DARTMOUTH 50, BEDFORD 46

Bedford

Justice Buchannan 4-1-9, Camdyn Shoesmith 3-0-6, Justin Liberman 2-0-6, Ryan Cohen 1-0-2, Andrew Blunt 3-0-7, Trevor Forman 2-0-5, Eric Miles 4-0-11. Totals: 19-0-46.

Dartmouth

Elaijah Monteiro 2-0-4, Jake Chiquito 1-0-2, John Emile 3-0-7, Logan Kennedy 3-0-6, Hunter Matteson 9-11-29, Donovan Burgo 0-2-2. Totals: 18-13-50.

Bedford 12 10 11 13 — 46

Dartmouth 10 17 10 13 — 50

Three-pointers: B - Buchannan 1, Liberman 2, Blunt 1, Forman 1, Miles 3; D - Emile 1

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Dartmouth boys basketball beats Bedford in the 2023 Div. 2 Round of 32