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Not the same at Oliver Ames

Abington, MA - Feb. 5 - Oliver Ames Dylan Pompilus (34) guards Abington’s Jake McSharry (0) during a boys basketball game. PHOTO BY MATT STONE — BOSTON HERALD

Abington, MA - Feb. 5 - Oliver Ames Seun Sorinmade (2) tries to steal the ball from Abington’s Kingston Maxwell (11) during a boys basketball game. PHOTO BY MATT STONE — BOSTON HERALD

Abington, MA - Feb. 5 - Oliver Ames Justin Grimaldi (30) takes the ball during a boys basketball game. PHOTO BY MATT STONE — BOSTON HERALD

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By Matt Feld

mattwfeld@gmail.com

As the state tournament looms, Oliver Ames has the Div. 2 bracket on notice.

Behind scoring tandem Cole Craffey and Justin Grimaldi, Oliver Ames has won eight straight games, sits as the No. 5 seed in the latest MIAA power rankings, and is in control of Davenport in the Hockomock League.

Craffey spent his freshman and sophomore years at Oliver Ames before transferring to Brimmer & May for his junior season. The combo guard returned prior to his senior campaign and has done nothing but impress with an ability to score inside and out (16.2 points a night).

Grimaldi, a junior, is pouring in 14.4 points and over four rebounds per game. Knock-down perimeter shooter Seun Sorinmade is making over 50 percent of his three-pointers.

“I knew we had a few more weapons than past years coming into the season but the question was going to be, ‘how do we get our best shots?’” Oliver Ames coach Eric MacKinnon said. “All of our guys had to buy in that it’s about us not about them, and they have. They are great about getting the ball to the hot hand.”

While the Tigers (15-4) have numerous scoring options, their glue is pass-first point guard Jacob Lok. He’s averaging 5.1 assists a night with an 86-33 assist-to-turnover ratio. The junior’s value as a distributor registered in the Tigers’ Jan. 31 win over Mansfield in which he played 30 minutes and did not register a basket.

“Jacob is our guy that gets other people the ball,” MacKinnon said. “He is not going to have 18 points in a game necessarily, but you can rely on him giving you six to seven assists while minimizing his turnovers.”

This season has already included some history for the Tigers. The win over Mansfield was the first over the Hornets since Jan. 11, 2008 (some members of the roster weren’t born yet) and gave them sole possession of first place in the Davenport division. The win snapped a 27-game losing streak to the Hornets.

The Tigers showed little signs of a letdown. Over the past week they knocked off league foes Foxboro and Canton and picked up an 18-point non league win over Div. 3 contender Abington.

“Against Mansfield I don’t think we played great offensively but we held them to 48 points,” MacKinnon said. “We’ve found different ways to win. Even when we don’t have it offensively, we have been able to be successful. Everything is about clinching the league title going forward.”

Oliver Ames can clinch its first league title since 2021 with wins over North Attleboro and Stoughton this week.

Notes

For the fourth straight season, Whitman-Hanson captured the Patriot League Keenan on the girls side. Mike Costa’s group defeated Duxbury, 62-47, on Tuesday to clinch a share before knocking off Scituate 63-33 on Friday night to win the crown outright. Senior captain Taryn Leonard scored 23 points in the Panthers win over the Dragons.

“Our kids understand that expectations are a privilege and shouldn’t be seen as pressure,” Costa said. “I couldn’t be more proud of this program. Our girls take pride in preparing for every game knowing that they are going to get every team’s best shot.”

Kat Cheesebro is forever a part of Dartmouth basketball lore. Dartmouth’s superstar guard broke the school’s all-time scoring record with a 34 point-performance versus top-ranked Bishop Feehan on Tuesday night. Cheesebro, who needed 16 points to break the mark on both the boys and girls side heading into the night, scored 20 of her 34 for the evening in the first half. Cheesebro now has 1,859 points to her name.