BRAINTREE, Mass. — Bishop Feehan got an early-season wake-up call on Dec. 22. In a loss to Archbishop Williams, the Shamrocks gave up 85 points – which is still the most they’ve given up to an opponent this season. Since then, they’ve taken a greater commitment to the defensive end.
And a month after that loss, they got some revenge.
Star forward Brody Bumila said the team got together an hour before its bus ride to Braintree. Feehan was a little extra motivated for this one, and it showed. Fueled by a strong defensive start, the Shamrocks grabbed a commanding early lead and held off a strong second-half rally from Jadon Beatty and the Bishops for a 78-64 victory on Friday night at Volpe Gymnasium.
“We really wanted it bad,” Bumila said.
Feehan led by as many as 19 in the first half and by 12 at halftime before Archbishop Williams got hot in the third quarter. The hosts cut their deficit to seven entering the fourth quarter and momentum was on their side. But the Shamrocks had the perfect start to the final period. They hit three 3-pointers on their first three possessions – two by Brayden Nassaney (North Attleboro, Mass.) sandwiched around one from Kaden Baltazar (Rehoboth, Mass.) – that quickly restored their lead to 16. They didn’t look back.
Feehan coach Dean O’Connor continuously praised his team’s defense. The Shamrocks set the tone early on that end and held Archies to just 26 first-half points; they also limited Bishops star Jack Olinto to five points. When Archies cut its deficit to seven, the discussion in the Feehan huddle was about defense, because they knew how explosive their opponent could be.
“I just think we’ve come a long way defensively since then,” O’Connor said. We kind of changed our defense and we’ve gotten better. They certainly had our attention defensively.”
Feehan – which is No. 6 in the MIAA's Div. 1 power rankings as of Friday – improved to 9-3 overall and 3-1 in the Catholic Central League while Archbishop Williams – No. 9 in the MIAA's Div. 2 power rankings – fell to 8-4 overall and 3-2 in the league. Here are five standouts from the matchup.
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Jadon Beatty, Archbishop Williams
Class of 2028, 5-10 guard
Hometown: Dorchester, Mass.
Beatty was easily the most explosive player on the floor, a twitchy guard who impacts the game on both ends with his speed, pace, skill and active hands. He also showed he can get hot in a hurry. Twenty-six of his game-high 31 points came in the second half, including a 14-point barrage in the third quarter. That period included a three-point play where he got a steal, then made a spin move in transition into an athletic finish off glass through contact. That seemed to get him going.
He proceeded to drill three 3-pointers in quick succession, all of them contested, including one ridiculous step-back triple from NBA range. Beatty nearly single-handedly willed a comeback with his display. I also had him for at least eight steals – his anticipation and quick hands are elite – and one really well-timed block at the rim. Beatty is a blur on the court with a great feel for the game coupled with high confidence. He’s fun to watch.
Brody Bumila, Bishop Feehan
Class of 2026, 6-9 forward
Hometown: Raynham, Mass.
NCAA: Texas (baseball)
Another night, another monster stat line for Bumila, who finished with 29 points and 16 rebounds. He’s just an impossible matchup on a nightly basis in the MIAA with his size, strength and athleticism, and Friday was no different. Archbishop Williams did everything they could and threw multiple bodies at him all night, but there was only so much the Bishops could do. Bumila is so good at getting early positioning in the post and under the hoop, and he had a six-inch height advantage on Archies’ tallest player.
On one inbounds play, he simply jumped higher than a defender for a catch and had an easy dunk. Several of his buckets came on his own putbacks, too, and he put constant pressure on Archies’ interior defense to draw fouls. Bumila was the first one to be critical of his performance as he went 1-for-7 from the free-throw line. (Side note: I don’t envy the referees who have to officiate such a unique player like Bumila, and they certainly heard from the home fans when they made calls against the Bishops.)
I had Bumila for 19 points and 12 rebounds in the first half; he was slowed down a bit in the second half as Archies put more bodies on him, doubled him and clogged the paint, but his presence opened up the court for his teammates to hit wide open shots.
Egan Gill, Bishop Feehan
Class of 2027, 6-0 guard
Hometown: Foxboro, Mass.
The MVP of this win might be Gill, who put in a terrific two-way performance while playing all 32 minutes. He was the primary defender on Beatty, a really difficult matchup, while also engineering Feehan’s offense as the point guard. He finished with nine assists, several of which came on really impressive post entries to Bumila, as he lobbed passes to the big man in perfect spots for him. He hit a catch-and-shoot 3 and made a strong finish off glass as part of his seven points, and even though Beatty went off for 31 points, I thought Gill did a good job making it tough on him. On the last play of the first half, Gill did an excellent job denying the quick Beatty the ball, and he was disruptive with strong contests. Some of the shots Beatty made were otherworldly, and you just have to tip your cap.
“Egan’s come a long way,” O’Connor said. “He’s a great defender. He takes pride in guarding a guy like that, as tough as it is. He’s tireless. He played the whole game. He didn’t come out. He’s very unselfish. He played the whole game, and he guarded that guy the whole time he was out there. …
“Offensively, he kind of runs the ship for us and he’s done a really good job. He played a lot last year as a sophomore, but now he’s the guy at the point and we need him to be the quarterback out there and he’s done a really good job of doing that. He’s very unselfish, he couldn’t care less about scoring. He can score, but he’s trying to set up his teammates first and then if he sees an advantage, he’ll try to take it. His effort defensively the last couple games has really set the tone for us. Putting pressure out front, and he’s really come a long way.”
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Jake Webster, Bishop Feehan
Class of 2026, 6-3 forward
Hometown: Cumberland, R.I.
Bumila isn’t the only paint bruiser for Feehan. Webster put up 21 points, 11 rebounds and four assists in the victory. He hit a couple of timely shots, including an early third-quarter 3-pointer that halted Archies’ brief momentum, and a nice finish off the glass midway through the fourth quarter immediately after Archies had cut its deficit from 16 to 10. I had Webster for three offensive putbacks; the senior co-captain provided the Shamrocks great energy and senior leadership in a tough environment.
Lucas McNally, Bishop Feehan
Class of 2026, 6-2 guard
Hometown: Attleboro, Mass.
McNally’s numbers may not pop off the page – he finished with five points – but he played an important unselfish role, contributing where he needed to. He had a great sequence in the third quarter that slowed Archies’ rally, hitting a 3-pointer before making a play where he made a jump stop in the lane and pivoted before finding a cutting teammate for two. I also noted him for a good pass to Webster for a dunk in transition and a strong reverse layup finish.
