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Melifonwu jumps for a rebound against Tyler Simmons (25) and Fred Taylor (21)
Photo Credit: Jeremy Rice
Obi Melifonwu (30) draws a charge against Auburn's Kyle Minton.
Photo Credit: Jeremy Rice
GRAFTON, Mass. - The Auburn boys basketball team opened its season with a road win over Grafton, 61-48, Friday night.
Kyle Minton led the way with 16 points. Tyler Simmons scored 13, including to key 3-pointers just before halftime that helped the Rockets (1-0) take a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
DJ Scavone score 12 points, mostly on rebounds, and Michael Thomas added nine points.
"The last two days of practice were a little suspect, but I think it was just because we were anxious to get into our first game," said Auburn coach Andy Niedzwiecki. "We came out with great intensity tonight. We did a really good job on the defensive boards."
The Indians (1-1) came in confident after a great 47-46 win at home against Tantasqua Tuesday night, and after finding themselves tied at 12 early in the second quarter, confidence was high on the Grafton bench.
The Rockets went on a 16-8 run until inside of one minute remaining in the half. Then Simmons made a clutch 3-pointer from the top of the key. After a layup by Minton and a free throw by Grafton's Obi Melifonwu, Simmons hit again as time expired to push the Auburn lead to 36-21 heading into the locker rooms.
The Indians played from behind the whole second half, and though they closed the gap several times, never recovered.
Grafton's size up front in Melifonwu and Lonnie House challenged Auburn early, but the Rockets eventually found ways around the Indian's length advantage.
"That was a great effort by our guys against a team with that size," said Niedzwiecki.
Melifonwu led the Indians with 13 points. Nick Treu had 12, while Brendan Stock score nine and House and Josh Levy each scored six.
"I thought the effort could have been much better," said Grafton coach John Patraitis. "I told the guys I didn't think we had the same effort tonight [as Tuesday against Tantasqua. We didn't have the same type of energy or enthusiasm. You've got to bring that every day in this league."
Both teams return to the court Tuesday, Dec. 20 for a 7 p.m. tip-off. Grafton hosts David Prouty while Auburn travels to Millbury.
Auburn used a stifling 1-3-1 full-court zone which led to several turnovers and forced Grafton to work hard just to get the ball into their own forecourt. The aggressive Auburn defense did not leave much room for Grafton's outside shooters to get a clean look, leading to many missed 3s. This D also made layups a real challenge. I wonder what Grafton's shooting percentage was...it appeared to be quite low. Kudos to the Auburn D. Grafton's House has a nice inside game, but he sat for long stretches. Besides, Grafton has adopted a "hoist 'em up" strategy the last few years, which tends to ignore the post players.