No. 14 Holbrook falls to unbeaten David Prouty; Bulldogs' underdog run ends in Final Four

FRAMINGHAM – Rich Gifford said it.

“Today, there were only three teams left" in the Division 5 boys basketball tournament, the Holbrook High boys basketball coach noted. "The one (seed), the two and us.”

Top-ranked Taconic (22-2) had already reserved itself a spot in the state-title game, and it was awaiting for a winner to emerge between undefeated David Prouty (23-0), the No. 2 seed, and the 14th-seeded Holbrook Bulldogs (20-5) Wednesday night.

As Holbrook senior captain Owen Burke walked off the court at Framingham High, the championship game matchup had been decided. The school's latest 1,000-point scorer, alongside teammates clutching their jerseys for the final time, wiped both sweat and tears away as Holbrook suffered a season-ending loss, 85-58, in the Final Four.

More:Armani Perkins' big second half powers Holbrook boys basketball into Division 5 semifinals

“It was remarkable," Burke said of the run. "We didn’t think we’d get this far – I don’t think anybody did."

In the prior rounds, Holbrook defeated No. 51 Falmouth Academy (70-23 win), No. 19 Calvary Chapel (44-41 win), No. 22 Mount Greylock (75-60 win) and No. 3 Hopedale (60-46 win), the best keepsake of them all, in the Sweet 16.

BY THE NUMBERS

30: The amount of points Holbrook junior guard Armani Perkins scored scored in the loss. He shot 12-for-15 from the free-throw line and also grabbed 6 rebounds.

77.2 percent: The Bulldogs shot at a 17-for-22 rate at the free-throw line as a team.

28: The amount of points Holbrook scored in the third quarter after entering halftime in a 43-19 hole. The Bulldogs trailed 57-47 to start the fourth and came within single digits at one point in the third.

30: David Prouty's largest cushion, which came midway through the fourth quarter.

Rounding out the Holbrook scorebook, Burke scored 8 of his 10 points in the second half, freshman Allen Brown had 6 points, senior Malachi Desire had 5, junior Jail Fernandes had 3 and Marquis Dobay-Lindsay had 2.

More:Younger brother lends a hand as Holbrook's Owen Burke surpasses 1,000 career points

For David Prouty, senior guard Braeden White netted 38 points, senior guard Cam Hoekstra had 15, junior guard Alec Fournier had 12 and junior guard Tyler Patchen had 9.

KEY PLAYS

After Burke ended the first half with just two points on a pair of free throws he made with 12 seconds left in the second quarter, he lofted a floater through for his first field goal at the 6:10 mark of the third.

Holbrook still trailed by 26 points, but it was the early ignition to the Bulldogs' winning the quarter 14-point margin to swing the momentum.

Perkins scored two pivotal baskets in the run, an and-one layup and a floater of his own off an isolation play, to bring Holbrook within single digits, 51-42, with two minutes left in the third quarter. The Bulldogs entered the fourth quarter down, 57-47.

“Just play hard," Perkins revealed the halftime message. "We were down in the beginning of the game and we tried to fight our way back out of it.”

“They played hard every night, every game all season long. It didn’t surprise me they came out with a run in the third quarter," said Gifford.

But in the end, David Prouty unraveled a 28-11 fourth quarter avalanche to comfortably clinch the win and take its 23-0 campaign into the Division 5 state title game against No. 1 Taconic at the Tsongas Center on the campus of UMass-Lowell on Saturday at 4 p.m.

“(David Prouty) came out hot, very good defensively," said Burke, who ended with 10 points. "We started attacking the hoop more and in the end, we made it close. We went on a nice big run, made the game interesting. They got us in the last quarter, but it was a good game.”

“They were very good," Gifford praised David Prouty. "We knew they were very good coming in and we knew we had to play very, very well to stay in the game. We didn’t shoot the ball particularly well. They blitzed all the screens.”

Holbrook converted just one field goal in the first quarter (to trail 18-8) and four in the first half, compared to David Prouty's six made three-pointers, in the opposition's booming 43-19 halftime lead.

THEY SAID IT

The Bulldogs began the season on a red-hot 10-1 start in which they outscored opponents by an average of 18.2 points per night and scored a total of five wins by 29 points or more.

In the tournament, the team won its first four games by 47, 3, 15 and 14 points respectively.

“Just coming into the first couple playoff games, we were already (doubted) to lose in the first round and stuff like that," Perkins said. "But we brought it together as a team and made it to the Final Four.”

“When you get this close, it’s disappointing to lose," Gifford said. "Later on down the road, they’ll understand that what they did was have an unbelievable season.

“I’m always proud of them. They’re as good a bunch of kids I’ve ever coached at Holbrook.”

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: Holbrook High boys basketball loses in Division 5 semifinals