Hollis Brookline responds to big loss with big win over Oyster River

HOLLIS – The Hollis Brookline High School boys basketball team seems to have a knack for bouncing back.

After losing by 31 points in its opening game of the Chick-fil-A Holiday Tournament last week, HB responded by winning its next two games, including a narrow victory over rival Souhegan.

But the Cavaliers carried none of that momentum in their return to Division II play Tuesday, falling to Bedford 63-35. Bad practices followed on Wednesday and Thursday, and things didn’t get any easier Friday night, with Oyster River in town.

So what did HB coach Mike Soucy say to his team to get them ready for the Bobcats? Not a whole lot.

“I just walked into the locker room, and I didn’t go in there until about 1:30 left in the jayvee game, and I said ‘are you guys ready,’ ” Soucy said. “They said yes and I said let’s go. That’s all I gave them.

“They had a focus tonight that unmatched anything I’ve seen.”

The Cavs led by nine points at halftime, stretched the lead to 17 midway through the third and cruised to a 61-37 win over Oyster River.

PJ Flaum had a game-high 19 points, including four 3-pointers, and provided a spark for HB when it needed it early in the game. James Wilson was also in double figures with 11 points, four of which came early in the second half when the Cavs (1-3 in Division II) were trying to build on the lead.

“(Flaum) is a spark for us,” Soucy said. “He’s probably our best offensive player all-around, and he’s our best shooter. He’s going to go out and compete every night.

“James is just a worker. We’ve got a couple of sets that we want to try to get him off on and we did right out of the half. It was flawless. Execution was great by everybody that touched the ball.”

The execution was there all night for the Cavs, and it didn’t hurt that they were aggressive on the boards, outhustling the Bobcats for rebounds.

“The execution at both ends of the floor was just unbelievable,” Soucy said. “Best I’ve seen in a long time out of this program.

“Mike Chase was unbelievable in that area (rebounding) tonight. He’s undersized, he’s a 6-foot kid, but he’ll go out there and battle with anybody. I want that toughness, I want that tenacity, I want that never-quit attitude. These guys are capable and they know it.”

Chase added nine points for HB, while Connor Walsh and Cam Stapelfield each had six. Jacob Smith was the only Oyster River player in double figures with 10 points and Nick DiVeglia added nine. Bobcat center Liam Grenier had just two points after sitting out most of the first half and the third quarter in foul trouble.

Grenier picked up his third foul of the game under a minute into the second quarter. With him on the bench, the Oyster River offense stalled and HB slowly built a lead, going up 23-13 on a layup by Stapelfield.

The lead was 27-18 at the break, and a methodical 8-0 run by the Cavs made it 35-18 with 4:03 remaining in the third quarter. Six of those points came from Wilson, including a perfectly executed play just 11 seconds into the half.

“We try to get him off a little bit because he can finish,” Soucy said. “He’s another one that just never stops. As a coach that’s what you want to see out of all of your players.”

The Cavs continued to pour it on, making sure the Bobcats never had a chance to get back in the game. HB went up 47-27 on a 3 by Flaum with 6:06 left in the game, and another 3 by Chase made it a 23-point game with 3:34 to play.

“I think these kids understand that they have all the capability in the world to win games in this league, but it takes a certain amount of commitment and a certain amount of discipline,” Soucy said. “They get it and they’re willing to put forth the effort. They did it tonight and it was just unbelievable.”

HB gets two more big tests next week, as the Cavs will host Souhegan (4-0) on Wednesday before Portsmouth (4-0) comes to town on Friday.