SHREWSBURY – An intra-town rivalry was renewed Friday night as the Shrewsbury Colonials and Saint John’s Pioneers went head-to-head in a boys varsity basketball matchup.
In front of a Shrewsbury High School gymnasium packed with passionate fans from both schools, Saint John’s ultimately emerged victorious, soundly defeating Shrewsbury by a score of 70-33.
The game was only close toward the start. After a fairly even first quarter in which the Pioneers led the Colonials by only one point, Saint John’s increased their lead considerably throughout the remainder of the game.
“The kids played really hard, played intelligently, they did all the right things. I’m just so proud of them,” Saint John’s coach Bob Foley said.
Noah Basgaard led the Pioneers in scoring with 18 points, including eight free-throws on ten attempts. George Eierman added 13 for Saint John’s.
Foley said the win was particularly special because of the relative youth and inexperience of his team.
“We’re missing four players who are all hurt, so these kids were all [on] JV at the beginning of the year… we have nine sophomores on the team… I’m just so proud of what these kids have accomplished,” he said.
Foley recognized Seann Katubi, who scored 9 points, and Francis McGonagle, who scored 15, for their effort in the game.
“Those are two kids that at the beginning of the year weren’t even playing, and to handle all that pressure with the big crowd… they handled it all and did what they had to do,” he explained.
The boisterous Saint John’s fan section seemed to especially appreciate the effort from McGonagle. On several occasions throughout the game the crowd chanted “thank you, Francis!”
As for Shrewsbury, Jason Nickerson and Jax Roderick led the team in scoring with 6 points each. Nickerson was perfect from the free-throw line, while Roderick drilled two three-point shots.
“We didn’t play well [and] we didn’t shoot it well. Saint John’s came into our house and punched us in the mouth [and] we didn’t react to it,” said Shrewsbury Head Coach Adrian Machado. “Credit to them; they had a young, hungry team.”
The game was also Shrewsbury’s senior night. Each senior was individually recognized before the start of the game.
Machado mentioned Scott Hanam as one particular senior who he thought had a standout performance.
“We’re going to miss him… he plays just about every minute… we just can’t make shots around him, so it makes his job a little difficult. He shows up every day and gives us his best,” he said.
Though Saint John’s handled Shrewsbury for the majority of the game, the rivalry was still alive and well. Saint John’s fans, many dressed in formal attire and sunglasses, waved newspapers to distract opponents at the free-throw line. Shrewsbury fans, dressed in all black, made sure the Pioneers knew when they made a mistake.
“It’s special with Shrewsbury,” Foley noted. “We’re only a mile apart.”
The loss drops Shrewsbury’s record to 4-14. The Colonials will end their season against North High School on Monday. Machado called North High the “best team in the state.”
“Our focus is trying to get better,” he said. “I’m going to focus on us [and] trying to get better at what we do.”
Saint John’s ends their season on a four-game winning streak to bring their record to 9-11. The Pioneers will wait to see if they have advanced to the playoff tournament.
“Hopefully, with a win here, we’ll be in,” Foley said.
