Clark Tournament - Shepherd Hill 73, Westboro 52: Jason O'Regan's 21 points powers Rams to Large School crown

WORCESTER – When Jason O’Regan was a freshman, he had 17 points and eight rebounds in the Clark Tournament Large School final to help Shepherd Hill knock off Nashoba by four points.

He never thought it would take him until his senior year to return to another Clark Tournament title game.

“No, not really,” he said.

But that’s what happened and he and the fourth-seeded Rams took full advantage of the opportunity by defeating No. 6 seed Westboro, 73-52, Saturday night at Kneller Athletic Center for the Large School championship.

The 6-foot-5 O’Regan scored a game-high 21 points.

“It’s even more special,” O’Regan said. “It’s my last game here obviously as a senior and I’m just glad I ended it with a plaque.”

“He’s really developed into a leader this year,” first-year Shepherd Hill coach Mike Byrnes said of O’Regan. “A great player and he’s been huge for us.”

In O’Regan’s sophomore year, team MVP Mike Rapoza hurt his back in the Clark semifinals and the Rams lost to Groton-Dunstable. Last year, the Rams finished 5-14 and didn’t qualify for the Clark Tournament.

Shepherd Hill beat visiting Westboro, 78-77, on Feb. 2. Cody Adams had 21 points, including the winning free throw with five seconds left. Kenny Flynn scored 24. Matt and Michael Doherty each scored 20 for the Rangers.

Shepherd Hill (16-6) has won four games in a row and eight of its last nine. Westboro fell to 12-10.

The Rams closed the third quarter on a 10-2 run to extend their lead to 51-39. Adams and Domenic Caspariello began the surge with 3-pointers. A fast break layup and foul shot by Adams capped a 16-0 run that boosted the lead to 65-39 with 3:41 left.

Adams scored 20 points and Flynn had 17 for the Rams.

Michael Doherty led Westboro with 17 points and his twin brother Matthew had 15.

O’Regan made only 3 of 12 shots in the first half, but he scored 16 points after intermission.

“I knew I had to get down low, body down low,” O’Regan said. “We all did a great job of that. We owned the boards.”

O’Regan scored seven consecutive points to give the Rams a 34-27 lead with 7:31 left in the third. Matthew Doherty hit back-to-back 3-pointers to pull Westboro within, 34-33. Then the Rams put the game away with a 28-6 surge.

O’Regan scored the final two baskets of the half to give Shepherd Hill a 31-27 lead. Flynn scored 11 points in the half for Shepherd Hill and Michael Doherty had 11 for the Rangers.

Westboro lost to Bartlett, 72-61, in the final last year and captured the last of its ninth Clark Tournament championships in 2007.

“It’s more frustrating having it twice in a row in two years,” Matthew Doherty said. “It kind of hurts, but we’ll come back better and stronger.”

There were six lead changes in the second quarter before Matthew Doherty made two foul shots to tie the score, 27-27.

Shepherd Hill shot 40.6 percent (13 of 32) from the field prior to intermission and Westboro shot 33.3 percent (10 of 30).

Flynn scored 8 points in the first quarter to help Shepherd Hill grab a 14-13 lead. A goaltending call on Flynn gave Westboro an early 13-6 lead, but Flynn scored a layup that ignited an 8-0 run to end the quarter.

In the first quarter, Shepherd Hill shot 42.9 percent (6 of 14) while Westboro shot only 26.3 percent (5 of 19). The Rams also out-rebounded Westboro, 17-6, but turned the ball over six times. Westboro didn’t have any turnovers.

Flynn opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer to push Shepherd Hill’s lead to 17-13, but Michael Doherty and Matthew Doherty each sank 3-pointers to spark an 8-0 surge that put Westboro on top, 21-17.

Shepherd Hill and Westboro could meet again in the Central Mass. Division 2 Tournament. Shepherd Hill will begin play in the tournament at home on Thursday in the quarterfinals against Monday’s winner between Burncoat and Groton-Dunstable.

Westboro will visit Grafton in the Division 2 quarterfinals on Thursday. If the Rams and Rangers both win their quarterfinal games, they’ll face each other in the semifinals.

Westboro and Shepherd Hill split their first four meetings in the Clark Tournament. All were in the opening round. Westboro won the last one, 73-55, in 2002.

—Contact Bill Doyle at william.doyle@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillDoyle15.