FRANKLIN — Franklin’s dream season is alive and well.
Locked in a four-point game with BC High, No. 3 Franklin closed on a 24-10 run highlighted by six points from Sean O’Leary to defeat the No. 6 Eagles, 66-49, in the Div. 1 boys basketball state quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon at Franklin High School.
Franklin will take on Catholic Memorial in the Div. 1 state semifinals. It will be the third time during CJ Neely’s tenure at Franklin the Panthers appear in the Div. 1 state semifinals, the last time coming in 2018.
“This is super special. I mean all of these guys have been together since sophomore year,” O’Leary said. “All of these guys want it. We’re hungry. We’ve been playing loose and have all the confidence right now.”
Franklin (24-1) held a 28-24 lead at the break, but a 7-0 run by BC High capped off by a James Jones three-point play gave the Eagles a 31-28 lead. Eagles’ 6-foot-9 center Dan Civello was mired in foul trouble for most of the night, picking up his fourth foul with 5:30 left in the second quarter. The Panthers began attacking the paint as the game went on with Justice Samuels connecting on consecutive layups to put Franklin up 37-34.
Franklin’s edge was four, 51-47, with 5:20 left when its premier player rose to the occasion. O’Leary, the Hockomock League MVP, buried a triple. Then, after Caden Sullivan had a layup, O’Leary connected on a three-point play to give Franklin a 60-49 lead with 1:40 left.
“We knew Dan (Civello) had four fouls so we wanted to attack him knowing he wouldn’t be as aggressive of a shot blocker,” Neely said. “I thought Justice a few times in a row in the biggest part of the game did that for us, especially when Sean (O’Leary) was out in foul trouble.”
Hansy Jacques got the hosts off to a fast start as he scored five points to give Franklin a 15-9 lead. Franklin’s lead got up to eight, 24-16, midway through the second quarter but Civello scored five straight around an Ivan Yhomby steal and slam to trim the deficit to 28-24 at the break.
