Hollis Brookline boys basketball pulls away in 2nd half to beat Coe-Brown in D2 playoffs

HOLLIS - James Arthur isn’t your prototypical point guard, but he commands the floor.

And when he took command of the offense in the second half, nothing could stop the Hollis Brookline High School boys basketball team.

HB led by seven at halftime, but broke the game open in the second half as the No. 1 Cavaliers defeated No. 8 Coe-Brown Academy, 58-43, in Friday night’s Division II boys basketball quarterfinal.

The win punches HB’s ticket to the final four, where the Cavaliers will take on No. 5 Hanover (16-4) at 7:30 p.m. on Monday at the Rochester Rec Center.

“This is the game we got knocked out of in last year’s playoff, so this was a big one for us to get over that hump,” HB coach Ryan Kelley said. “This is a very big game for the program, for this group.

"This is my third year at Hollis Brookline and this is the farthest (we’ve gone). I can’t remember when we had this much noise (from the fans). When you’re not used to being there, that can add a lot of weight, and I thought we handled that pressure.”

HB (19-0) took an early lead, using its height and length to its advantage, beating the Bears (12-8) around the rim on both ends of the floor. Senior forward Alton Williams (seven rebounds, four blocks, three steals) used his 6-foot-6 frame to disrupt Coe-Brown plays in the paint and Arthur, a junior forward, scored 11 of his game-high 21 points in the first half to help the Cavs build a 26-12 lead.

Baskets from sophomore guards Grant Hayes (12 points), Grady Mulligan (10 points) and Abel Szatko (eight points) helped Coe-Brown finish the half on a 7-0 run which cut HB's halftime lead to 26-19.

Then things started to click. The Cavaliers continued to dominate the inside game, with Williams scoring 12 of his 14 points in the second half. But HB also started to push the tempo and free throws that weren’t landing in the first half connected in the second.

Sophomore guard Marco Bergskaug (11 points), Arthur and Williams helped HB take a 39-29 through three quarters, and the trio continued to pull the Cavaliers ahead in the fourth.

HB went 2 for 6 from the foul line in the first half, but shot 6 for 10 in the second. Williams was a perfect 4 for 4 and Arthur’s 3-pointer with two minutes remaining was a dagger through Coe-Brown’s heart, putting the Cavs up 54-38.

Eight players contributed to the scoring column, but it was Arthur’s command of the offense, especially in the second half, that set the tone.

“He’s turned himself into a (floor) general for us,” Kelley said. “He is not a prototypical point guard, but that is what he has played for us. He does have a command over the offense and a command over the ball.

"As a result, us getting into our sets and getting into our shots has become a lot easier this year. His inside game, his outside game, he has no problem getting to the rim. He obviously doesn’t have a problem going outside. But it’s really just getting everybody where they’re supposed to be which has been the biggest difference this year.”

Arthur believed that the Cavaliers would be able to take control of the game after halftime.

“This whole season we’ve been a second half team,” Arthur added. “We work so hard in practice. If it’s close in the first half, so be it. With how hard we run, there’s no match conditioning-wise. This is the result of playing with these guys since middle school. That chemistry does so much for us.”

Now that HB has dispatched one Bear squad, the Cavaliers will prepare for another, this time the Hanover Bears, for Monday’s semifinal. Hanover upset No. 4 Pembroke, 63-49, on Friday night.

The Cavaliers were clicking offensively, but Kelley also highlighted their defensive performance, particularly how they were able to do so without getting into foul trouble.

“I think we’re actually pretty deep, but you can’t have your top three scorers sitting down,” Kelley said. “Sometimes we have a tendency to reach, sometimes, and a tendency to swing. I thought we did a better job (Friday). Fortunately we are going uphill with that one. That’s good, that’s going to be key.”