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Milford boys basketball stops Hollis Brookline

By Hector Longo - Staff Writer | Jan 22, 2019

MILFORD – At some point, the lessons and the battle scars will pay dividends.

Tuesday night, it was Milford High putting its on-the-job training to proper use, playing a solid four quarters and knocking off a hungry Hollis Brookline boys squad, 55-49.

The result further muddled the Division II standings which now seeds HB at 6-3 and the Spartans knocking on the door of the upper half at 5-4.

“They have athletes, they’re big and they compete,” said Spartans’ coach Dan Murray, whose club was clearly outsized up front. “I thought we did a good job of battling on the boards.”

The Spartans simply refused to give up the lead, holding a 29-26 advantage at the half that was sliced to 43-41 after three.

Milford did what it could to value possessions in the fourth, working for good shots and draining clock.

When the Spartans needed a big shot, Max Fortin was there, draining a 3-point bomb with two minutes left to put Milford on a 50-45 lead.

“I liked that one,” said Murray of the senior’s dagger from the left foul-line extended. “It was a transition three in rhythm. His feet were set and he was ready (to fire).”

HB never recovered even with Grant Snyder hitting a pair of baseline hoops in scramble mode for the Cavs.

Spartan Gavin Urda’s stick-back hoop inside the final minute to make it 52-47 was an absolute crusher.

Fortin led the winners with 16 points, and Jake Greska added a dozen. CJ Jones had eight and Sam Santiello seven.

“Fortin grabbed some huge rebounds for us, too,” said Murray. “And we put Gavin (Urda) on Snyder. I thought he did a really good job slowing him down, especially in the second half.”

Snyder did lead all scorers with 19 for the Cavaliers. Max Stapelfeld added nine and Quinten Wimmer had eight.

“The guys played hard, that’s all I can ask,” said HB coach Cole Etten, whose club travels to 8-1 Pembroke on Friday night followed by a trip to 7-1 Oyster River. “It’s my responsibility at the end to put them in a spot where they can win. This is a good learning experience for everybody.”

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