Hudson boys basketball enters postseason on high note with win over Lunenburg

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Hudson boys basketball enters postseason on high note with win over Lunenburg
Hudson’s Jake Attaway fights for separation from a Lunenburg defender. (Photo/Dakota Antelman)

HUDSON – A strong fourth quarter performance helped the Hudson High School boys basketball team secure a win on the road in Lunenburg on Friday.

The victory marked the end of this year’s regular season and now sends the Hawks into their playoff bracket on a high note. 

“All around, we got a good win and it’s good this time of year to get one,” Coach Mike Notaro told the Community Advocate. 

Hudson holds narrow lead through three quarters

Hudson took a narrow but clear lead in the first quarter of its game against Lunenburg. 

Things then remained close, with Hudson bringing a four point, 36-32 advantage into halftime.

Lunenburg rumbled in the third quarter, briefly taking a lead over Hudson before the Hawks were able to answer. 

Though the Hawks regained their lead, Notaro said he saw issues in his team’s play.

“We’ve been stressing to these kids that you’ve got to play defense,” he said after the game. “It almost looked to me like they took the first three quarters off.”

As Notaro voiced frustrations about their start, he said he was pleased with the way his team closed this contest out.

Lunenburg scored just five points in the fourth quarter, allowing Hudson to turn a five point, 56-51 lead into a 72-56 final score. 

“I’m happy with it,” he said of that 16-point win.



Hudson faces physicality

As Hudson came out on top, Lunenburg, at times, threw its weight around with a physical style of play on Friday. 

“[We were] just telling them keep your cool,” Notaro said of his advice to players in those situations. 

He further tried to steer things away from that physicality, he said, leaning into Hudson’s inherent strengths.

“When we run, we can run with or better than anybody we play against,” he said. “We know that’s our game.”

Hudson to kick-off postseason

Hudson was led in this win by familiar scoring stars Jake Attaway and Jackson O’Brien. 

Both in the midst of strong seasons, Attaway and O’Brien dropped 16 and 15 points respectively against Lunenburg. 

Mikey DiCarlo also posted a double digit scoring day with 11 points of his own.

Beyond those points scored, though, Hudson is now closely eyeing its upcoming playoff schedule. 

They’re facing what Notaro described as “a tough bracket” that will immediately pit them against Quabbin on Monday.

While the Hawks have beaten Quabbin twice this year, Notaro cautioned that “it’s hard to beat a team three times.” 

“We’ve just got to come to play,” he said of the outlook moving forward. “If we play the way we can, we can go far.” 

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