Bulldogs remain perfect following win against Bourne
Eleven, 27 and 67. That's the Bulldogs’ win record so far, the number of consecutive conference games the team has won and how many points it took to beat Bourne on Friday, respectively.
With his team undefeated and preparing for a South Coast Conference championship run, Head Coach Steve Carvalho said his players remain focused on taking the rest of the season one game at a time.
The team is looking to defend its Division 3 state championship title, but upcoming games against Bishop Stang (10-1), Dedham and Dartmouth will put the Bulldogs to the test.
“We still have a tough road ahead,” Carvalho said following ORR’s 67-61 over Bourne at home.
The game mirrored a previous match up on Dec. 21 when the Bulldogs defeated the Canalmen 77-63 while away. During that game, the two teams were evenly matched until ORR pulled away with minutes to go in the fourth.
Bourne entered Friday’s game with a 9-1 record, looking to even the score.
“I was expecting this type of game,” Carvalho said.
Until a 10-point run by ORR late in the fourth, both teams were either tied or within a few possessions of each other for much of the contest.
The match proved to be more difficult for ORR to win with center Matt Valles playing hurt. The 6-foot-5 junior sat out the previous game against Fairhaven where the Bulldogs clinched a spot in the South Coast Conference tournament after securing 10 wins.
Despite the injury, Valles put up 17 points for the Bulldogs, a team high.
Carvalho said senior Jared Nye stepped up defensively. Together, Nye and Valles swatted away several shots taken by Bourne.
“Jared had the biggest game of his career tonight,” he said.
Russell Noonan and Jacob Cafarella also made major contributions, each scoring 14 points.
The Bulldogs next game is away against Case High School on Tuesday, Jan. 26 at 6:30 p.m.