North defeated Marshfield High School 58-55 in a thrilling overtime win in the Reggie gym Friday, March 4.  This Round of 16 victory propelled the Tigers to the Elite Eight. 

The game started at a breakneck pace with North establishing a lead early. Marshfield was able to bounce back after two consecutive blocks, and forced turnovers and misses. The half finished with North up 27-22.

Marshfield entered the fourth up 41-36. According to sophomore guard Jake Lyons, the energy shifted when he stole the ball for a wide open layup to cut Marshfield’s lead to 2 points. A turnover from Marshfield freshman Luke Richardson led to Lyons making a clutch three-pointer to restore North’s lead. 

“It’s always a game of runs and we knew that we would find one to get back on top,” said Lyons.

Seniors Nicky Spinelli and Teagan Swint, captains, extended the lead to 51-46 after a three from Spinelli. With one minute remaining, Marshfield Senior guard Jake Brilliant hit a three to cut the lead to 2. After a poor inbound pass, Marshfield senior guard Matt Ellwood forced overtime with a basket.

“It’s a clean slate going into overtime, a fresh game, four minutes, just the better team is going to win,” said Spinelli.

Spinelli was proved right as North took a 57-51 lead after buckets from sophomore Julian Zakak and junior Mathaios Stamm. Entering the last minute, Marshfield junior guard Noah Feldman cut the lead to 4, and a sneaky pass left North only up two points with 30 seconds remaining. Zakak hit a clutch free throw to extend the lead to 58-55 and a Marshfield player missed 2 key free throws, ultimately securing the win for North.

“We knew we needed a hot start in overtime, so we went out and hit some big shots,” said Zakak.

North crushed Braintree 48-40 in the Elite Eight game at home Friday, March 7. The Tigers will advance to the Final Four.