The Massasoit men's basketball team defeated Bristol Community College 77-74 in overtime to win the Region 21 Championship. This victory earned Massasoit its first ever trip to the NJCAA National Tournament. Bobby Belezos led Massasoit with 19 points, including four 3-pointers in overtime. Rollsky Edouard also hit a game-tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation to force overtime, where Massasoit was able to pull out the victory despite fouls taking three starters out of the game. Massasoit's head coach, Jim Stapleton, praised his team's resilience in overcoming a nine point deficit late in the second half to win their first regional title in program

1. Warriors Capture Region 21 Title in Overtime Thriller Over
Bristol, 77-74
Posted: Mar 04, 2018
Tweet Tweet
Video Box Score
MASSASOIT COMMUNITY COLLEGEMASSASOIT COMMUNITY COLLEGE
7777 7474
BRISTOL COMMUNITY COLLEGEBRISTOL COMMUNITY COLLEGE
GAME LEADERS
MASSASOIT COMMUNITY COLLEGEMASSASOIT COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Like 41
MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE | ROSTER | HOME | COACHES | STATISTICS | MORE+
Final 1 2 OT T
MASSASOIT COMMUNITY COLLEGE (20-6) 35 29 13 77
BRISTOL COMMUNITY COLLEGE (24-8) 31 33 10 74
! "
SPORTS SCHEDULES INSIDE ATHLETICS FACILITIES HALL OF FAME
HISTORY RECRUITS MASSASOIT.EDU

2. CHARLESTOWN, Mass. ---- The Massasoit men's
basketball team captured the Region 21
Championship in thrilling fashion on Sunday
afternoon, defeating Bristol 77-74 in overtime to
punch its ticket to the NJCAA National Tournament
for the first time in program history.
With the victory, Massasoit (20-6) earned its second
regional crown in program lore and its first as a
NJCAA Division III program. As Region 21
Champions, the Warriors will head to the NJCAA
National Tournament, hosted by Sullivan County CC
(NY) for the first time in the 50 years of basketball at
Massasoit.
Big-shot Bobby Belezos (Holbrook) led the Warriors
in scoring, finishing with 19 points, featuring four 3-
pointers and went a perfect 7-for-7 at the charity
stripe. Mark Georges (Brockton) added 16 points,
going 10 for 11 at the line.
Tournament MVP Rael Handy netted 13 points,
grabbed nine boards and dished out five assists,
while Rollsky Edouard (Holbrook) drained a trio of
3s, one that sent the game to overtime, as he tallied
14 points. Center Mark Munroe (Quincy) added
eight points and nine boards and Jared Costa-
Haywood (Stoughton) scored seven clutch points off the bench, including a pair of free throws in the game's
final seconds to secure the win.
The Warriors started slowly against the top-seed Bayhawks, playing less than 24 hours after the 82-80
barnburner win against Bunker Hill on Saturday. Bristol jumped out to a 13-5 lead through the first seven
minutes of action.
A game that saw plenty of runs, Massasoit climbed back in and a jumper by Rael Handy (Easton) gave the
Warriors their first lead of the game 20-19 with 7:35 left in the half.
Bristol rallied to retake the lead, before the Warriors closed out the first half on a 7-0 run, highlighted by an
Edouard four-point play, as Massasoit led 35-31 at the break.
It appeared in the second half that the Warriors had run out of steam as the Bayhawks went on a 22-9
burst out of the gates, spearheaded by Bristol's Corey Green, to own a 55-46 advantage with just under 14
minutes left to play.
Despite things looking glim for the No. 2 seed Warriors, head coach Jim Stapleton, in his 17th season with
Massasoit and winningest coach in program history, stressed how the guys showed resiliency down the
stretch.
"I think the seven guys that played a majority of the minutes, somehow, hung together," Stapleton said.
"Jared (Costa-Haywood) gave us a lot of contributions. Bobby (Belezos) was big for us. Midway through the
second half we revamped offensively because we were becoming to stagnant."
MASSASOITMASSASOIT
COMMUNITYCOMMUNITY
COLLEGECOLLEGE
BRISTOLBRISTOL
COMMUNITYCOMMUNITY
COLLEGECOLLEGE
Pts: Bobby Belezos - 19
Reb: Team - 8
Ast: 2 Players (#5, #12 - 4)
BRISTOL COMMUNITY COLLEGEBRISTOL COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Pts: 2 Players (#1, #15 - 17)
Reb: Joshua Winbush - 12
Ast: Alex Holloway - 6
TEAM STATS
FULL STATS
Field Goals(22-57) (25-66)
Field Goal %38.6% 37.9%
Rebounds35 40
Assists12 14
Turnovers21 20

3. DISCLAIMER | DISCLOSURE | SITEMAP | CONTACT | DIRECTIONS |
PRIVACY & USAGE POLICY
A timeout that led to a revamping of the offensive game plan saw the Warriors respond with a 9-0 run to
even up the score at 55-all with 6:03 left.
"The other thing is we fell down by nine because we were missing shots," Stapleton said. "We caught a few
breaks, they missed a few shots and (Mark) Munroe made some big plays for us down low to get us back in
the game."
A helter-skelter final five minutes of action saw Bristol lead 64-61 until Edouard splashed a game-tying 3-
pointer from the top of the key with 12.1 seconds left as the game went to overtime.
In the overtime period, which saw three Massasoit starters foul out, Belezos drained a pair of 3-pointers
and Georges made 3-of-4 free throws as the Warriors led 75-72 with 22.4 seconds left. After a dunk by
Bristol's Joshua Winbush pulled the Bayhawks within one, Costa-Haywood was fouled with 10.8 seconds
left. The sophomore calmly stepped to the line and sank both free throws and Bristol's game-tying attempt
was off the mark, giving the Warriors their first-ever trip to Nationals.
"The guys were pressure players today," Stapleton said. "Rollsky with the big 3 to send it to overtime,
Bobby's big 3s in overtime, Mark Georges making 3-of-4 late free throws and Jared making the biggest two
free throws of the season. All of that with three starters fouled out. We survived. So I guess now we get to
go to New York."
The NJCAA Division III Tournament, hosted by Sullivan County CC (Loch Sheldrake, NY), will take place from
March 15-17.
All-Tournament Team
Rael Handy, Massasoit (MVP)
Mark Munroe, Massasoit
Rollsky Edouard, Massasoit
Corey Green, Bristol
Zecarre Veiga, Bristol
Jamaurie Coakley, Bunker Hill
Emir Alagox, Northern Essex