Too close for comfort, but this time the Cathedral boys’ basketball team closes out victory

After letting a pair of fourth-quarter leads slip away last week in losses to St. Mary’s and Arlington Catholic, the Cathedral boys’ basketball team made sure its late-game issues did not happen again in Tuesday’s Catholic Central League matchup against visiting Bishop Fenwick.

© Jim Davis/Globe Staff
Cathedral’s Julian Webb (12) puts up a shot against the defense of Bishop Fenwick’s Jason Romans during Tuesday night’s Catholic Central League game. Webb and the host Panthers held on for a 61-57 victory.

Cathedral was in control, leading by 13 points with just under two minutes remaining, when the Crusaders went on an 11-0 spurt to cut the deficit to two points with 24 seconds left. But sophomore Julian Webb drained a pair of free throws and classmate Wesley Odiase recorded a timely block on the defensive end to secure a 61-57 win.

For a Panthers team that starts four sophomores and an eighth-grader, closing out games has become a learning experience.

“We have to do a better job of closing out games but tonight we did,” said Cathedral coach Jamall Griffin. “We managed timeouts better, played offensive and defensive substitutions to get better ball handlers on the court. We were able to do that tonight and we have to build on it.”

Playing without leading scorer Kamari James, Odiase paced the Panthers (5-5) with a team-high 15 points and 14 rebounds, using his size and speed to control the paint. Sophomore Matthew Drayton added 14 points and Nahseen Fenton provided a boost off the bench with 10 points.

Cathedral used a 15-2 run right before halftime to lead 32-25 at the break. Another 8-1 burst at the end of the third quarter gave them a commanding 47-35 lead after three.

“I feel like tonight we played more together as a team and focused on that when they came back,” said the 6-foot-5-inch Odiase. “Knowing Kamari is out, it tells me I have to step up and fill that role so we can win games until he comes back.”

Fenwick junior Max Grenert netted a game-high 27 points, keeping the visiting Crusaders (6-4) within striking distance for a fourth-quarter run. After a pair of layups from Drayton made it 59-46, Fenwick rattled off five quick points and then Jason Romans and Mike Yentin connected on back-to-back triples off turnovers to cut the deficit to 59-57.

Griffin called a timeout to regroup and the Panthers closed out the win, avenging a 63-61 loss to Fenwick on Jan. 18.

“Fenwick never quit and that’s a testament to who they are,” Griffin said. “If there was a tournament, they’d be in it. The CCL is competitive top to bottom and you never know. This is a good win.”

Apponequet 58, Dighton-Rehoboth 42 — The trio of Mike Henricksen (17 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists), Coleman Moynihan (16 points, 10 rebounds), and Patrick White (13 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists) helped the host Lakers (7-2) pick up the win and secure the top seed in the South Coast Conference tournament.

Attleboro 42, Franklin 40 — Evan Houle collected 10 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists and Justin Daniels added 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists as the host Bombardiers (7-2) held off the Panthers (4-5) for the Hockomock League win.

Durfee 53, Bishop Stang 51 — Sage Paradis (8 points) banked in the winning layup with 0.5 seconds remaining to lift the visiting Hilltoppers (6-2) to the nonleague victory. Jevon Holley led Durfee with 16 points and set up Paradis for the last-second bucket.

Duxbury 70, Silver Lake 55 — The Dragons received stellar play from upperclassmen Owen Burns (17 points), Cam Reagan (15), Shaun Cass (11), Kyle Pandisco (10), and Miles Tate (9) in the Patriot League victory.

Monomoy 61, St. John Paul II 25 — Aidan Melton (20 points, 15 rebounds) used all of his 6-foot-4-inch frame to put up a double-double and secure the Cape & Islands League win for the host Sharks (2-1).

Seekonk 58, Wareham 56 — Senior Kyle Blanchard had 20 points and fellow senior Nathan Clarke scored 12 as the host Warriors (4-5) escaped with the South Coast Conference win.

Whitman-Hanson 62, Plymouth North 41 — Captained by Nate Amado (27 points) and Cole Levangie (17 points), the visiting Panthers (7-0) clinched at least a share of the Patriot League title — W-H’s sixth title in eight years — by steamrolling the Eagles en route to their 30th consecutive win.

Girls’ basketball

Whitman-Hanson 45, Plymouth North 43 — The Panthers (5-2) netted their fourth consecutive win by taking down the previously unbeaten Eagles (6-1). But the Patriot League showdown needed every last second of clock to decide a winner.

With the score tied at 43, senior Reese Cordero rimmed out a potential game-winning 3 from the left corner. But junior guard Lauren Dunn (10 points) was there to scoop up the rebound, flipping the ball in as the buzzer sounded.

“Especially at the end of games, you always want to crash the glass because teams just tend to watch the shot,” said W-H coach Michael Costa. “It was pretty awesome.”

Junior Abby Martin had a team-high 14 points. Costa has been proud of his team’s defense, which has helped the Panthers contend against some of the league’s toughest squads.

“We’re just as good as these teams,” he said. “It’s just about carrying ourselves that way and having the confidence that, when we step on the floor with these teams, that we can actually win.”

Bishop Stang 68, Durfee 43 — Bridget Markey (16 points) and Abby Fernandes (13 points) headlined a balanced attack for the visiting Spartans (3-4), who took down the Hilltoppers (1-5) in nonleague action.

Danvers 46, Gloucester 28 — Junior guard Kristina Yebba recorded 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 steals to guide the Falcons (3-3) to a Northeastern Conference road victory.

Foxborough 52, Canton 41 — Senior Katelyn Mollica had 15 points to lead the host Warriors (7-2) to the Hockomock League win. Senior Jordyn Collins and freshman Erin Foley each had 11 points for Foxborough.

Franklin 64, Attleboro 27 — Olivia Quinn scored 15 points and Kaleigh Houlihan had 11 points and 10 rebounds as the Panthers (9-0) won their third straight Hockomock League title.

Nauset 60, Dennis-Yarmouth 44 — Seniors Avery Burns (20 points) and Makayla Hutchinson (15 points) helped the Warriors remain perfect (7-0) with a Cape & Islands win over the Dolphins.

North Quincy 48, Pembroke 27 — Orlagh Gormley scored 21 points and Ava Bryan added 15 to lift the host Raiders (5-3) to a Patriot League win.

Scituate 61, Hanover 51 — The host Sailors improved to 6-1 in the Patriot League behind 14-point performances from seniors Lila McGuiggan and Jolie Rojik.

Seekonk 53, Wareham 28 — Lauren Tortolani scored 13 points to lead the visiting Warriors (7-1) past the Vikings in the South Coast Conference.

Somerset Berkley 66, Bourne 36 — Allie Powers (15 points), Abby Gajewski (13 points), and Gabriella Nugent (11 points) paced the visiting Raiders (6-2) to a South Coast Conference win.

St. John Paul II 47, Monomoy 36 — Skylar Gonsalves notched a game-high 19 points for the host Lions (6-1) in the Cape & Islands matchup.

Boys’ hockey

Cohasset 5, Rockland 3 — Bernie Mulcahy and Dylan Cosentino each netted two goals to lift the visiting Skippers (3-3) over the Bulldogs in a South Shore League game at Rockland Ice Arena.

Dighton-Rehoboth/Seekonk 6, Bourne 1 — Aiden Boothe scored a pair of goals to propel the Falcons (6-0) in the South Coast Conference game at New England Sports Village in Attleboro.

Girls’ hockey

Natick 5, Walpole 3 — Behind a hat trick from senior captain Claire Maxwell, the visiting Redhawks (5-0) soared past Walpole in a Bay State Conference victory at Rodman Arena.

Ethan Fuller, Andrew Lin, and Steven Sousa also contributed.