Oakmont survives late scare from Worcester Tech to win second straight CMass Class B title

WORCESTER — Can winning a second straight Central Mass. Class B title springboard a team to an MIAA state tournament championship?

It’s a question the Oakmont Regional boys basketball team is eager to find out.

Ryan Hulecki, Oakmont Regional’s newest 1,000-point scorer, poured in a game-high 21 points and his twin brother Brandon added 18 as the top-seeded Spartans survived a late charge from the second-seeded Worcester Tech Eagles, 55-48, to capture their second CMass. Class B championship in a row, Friday afternoon, at Worcester State University.

“It’s obviously a great accomplishment. To win in the first two years that the tournament has been run is pretty huge,” Brandon Hulecki said, “but we’re not satisfied, really. With the (state) playoffs coming up, that’s what we’re really looking at.”

Worcester Tech rallies in the fourth quarter

A short jumper by junior J.J. Hicks gave Oakmont (16-5) a 15-point lead, 38-23, in the third quarter and had the Spartans on the cusp of a blowout victory, but the Eagles used a flurry of late fourth-quarter layups from Keenan Fleming (15 points) and Steve Kett (10 points) to whittle the deficit down to six, 52-46, with 1:15 left to play.

Worcester Tech squeezed every last second out of the final 75 seconds of play by fouling and putting Oakmont at the free throw line. While a sound strategy, it was Brandon Hulecki whom the Eagles sent to the line for a pair of one-and-one situations. The Oakmont guard, who led the Mid-Wach B League with 87 free throws this winter, calmly made three-of-four attempts to get the Spartans across the finish line.

After back-to-back blowout wins over Monty Tech and Auburn in the Central Mass. Class B quarterfinals and semis, surviving a tightly-contested game and executing in pressure-filled situations to protect a lead down the stretch wasn’t necessarily a negative for the Spartans ahead of the MIAA Division 3 state tournament next week.

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“I think we showed some composure there late after we turned the ball over a few times and missed the (front end) of a one-and-one and they came down and made us pay,” Oakmont head coach Danny Ortiz said. “But the bottom line is we were able to close it down. That’s a good team and I think they’re going to do well in the tournament … We were able to make plays when we needed them and we’re thankful to come out with the win.”

The Spartans not only had to hold on down the stretch, but they needed to scratch their way past the Eagles (15-6) to take the lead in the first half.

Worcester Tech started fast with buckets in the post from Teriq Goodman and Worla Dra Zonyrah as well as a 3-pointer from Anton Farquharson as the Eagles built a 16-13 lead by the end of the first quarter.

Spartans take control in second quarter

Oakmont steadied itself in the second quarter behind the play of the Hulecki brothers with Brandon slashing to the bucket for a pair of layups — including a traditional three-point play following a Worcester Tech foul — and Ryan knocking down a 3-pointer, a midrange jumper and a layup, too.

As the Spartans surged on offense, they also clamped down on defense and held the Eagles to just one field goal — a 3-pointer by Fleming — in the second quarter to take a 26-19 lead at halftime.

“Coach always has a plan and we try to help off of guys that we think won’t kill us from deep and we kind of try to pack it in while trying to take away their guys,” Brandon Hulecki said.

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The targets of the Spartans’ defensive focus on Friday were the Eagles’ Farquharson and Goodman. The former scored five points in the opening quarter but was held scoreless the rest of the way, while the latter finished with six points. Both players were held well under their season scoring averages of 12.9 and 9.8 points, respectively.

“We were able to make stops when we needed them,” Ortiz said. “We talked before coming out that sometimes you’re not going to play your best basketball, but if you can play defense it will keep you in games.”

Only five players scored points for the Spartans on Friday. Steven Pridgen joined the Huleckis in reaching double figures with 12 points, while Jordan Pantojas and Hicks added three and two points, respectively.

Oakmont was ranked eighth among Division 3 teams in the set of power rankings announced by the MIAA on Tuesday, Feb. 21. Though it remains to be seen if their semifinal win over Auburn on Feb. 22 moves them higher, it’s fair to say the Spartans are feeling good heading into next week’s state tournament.

“We’re confident,” Brandon Hulecki said. “We took down Watertown last week and they were ranked 17th when we played them, so I’m pretty confidence in what we can do.”

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: HS boys basketball: Oakmont outlasts Worcester Tech for CMADA crown