BRIDGEWATER, Mass. — After cruising through much of the winter, Bridgewater-Raynham hit a rare test of adversity this week.
A nine-day layoff for the No. 8 Trojans led to their second loss of the season, a two-point loss to unranked Mansfield on Sunday. The low-energy performance was uncharacteristic. But it taught them an important lesson, that their championship dreams could shatter in March if they don’t come to play on any given day. Safe to say, they were motivated upon returning to the court Wednesday.
A Top 10 matchup with No. 7 Oliver Ames wasn’t hard to get up for, and B-R ultimately responded with a strong 62-53 win in a tournament-level game. But the victory also came with its own dose of adversity. Oliver Ames star Justin Grimaldi’s three-point play early in the second half sent B-R star Cason Faulk to the bench with four fouls. Fellow senior Cam Santos was also riddled in foul trouble. But the Trojans (12-2) found a way.
“We were able to snap out of it and bounce back against a really good team,” B-R coach Doug Alves said.
Here are seven standouts and takeaways from the Top 10 MIAA boys matchup between Division 1 and Division 2 contenders, including a special moment for an Oliver Ames player.
Aiden Pires, Bridgewater-Raynham
Class of 2027, 6-0 guard
When Faulk went to the bench with his fourth foul, Pires took the game into his hands in the third quarter. Pires, who made two early triples in the first quarter, experienced a short heat check after Oliver Ames took a brief lead. He was automatic from the mid-range, where he pulled up for two successive jumpers, and moments later, he drilled a four-point play as he fell to the court as the Trojans created separation on their visitors. Pires, who finished with 17 points and four assists, helped seal the game late in the fourth with a transition assist following a sweet crossover and another pull-up mid-range shot to go up eight with two minutes to go.
After transferring from Catholic Memorial – where he took most of the shots – Pires has transitioned well to a new team where there are other scorers around him.
“Obviously everybody has their culture, and he had to adapt to our culture here at B-R, but he has,” Alves said. “He’s getting better every single day. … He had to kind of defer a little bit. I still want him to be himself and he still is and he’s a really good passer. He’s definitely getting better every day and a huge piece for us for sure.”
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Mateo Jackson, Bridgewater-Raynham
Class of 2028, 6-3 forward
Have a night, Mateo Jackson. With others in foul trouble, the sophomore broke out with one of the best games of his career as he took on a bigger scoring load, finishing with 16 points and 11 rebounds. The big physical forward was a force in the paint, which included several big rebounds and one post play where he overpowered a smaller defender. But I was even more impressed with his skill and athleticism. He made a move from the perimeter where he spun on a defender for a lefty finish, and he made several smart cuts to the rim and curled around one defender to get to the cup. The play of the night came in the third quarter, when he grabbed a steal and took it coast to coast for a ridiculous one-handed dunk.
“He made a huge jump from last year to this year,” Alves said. “He bought into the weight room and obviously he had a nice little dunk there, he’s gotten more explosive. He’s one of those kids, I look at his hands because it seems like whenever the ball comes off the rim, if he’s anywhere near it, he’s coming up with that basketball. He’s tough on the offensive glass, finishes inside, passes well out of the post, too.”
Justin Grimaldi, Oliver Ames
Class of 2026, 6-3 guard
It was a special night for Grimaldi, who scored his 1,000th career point in the third quarter. The senior entered Wednesday needing 20 points to hit the milestone. With 14 at halftime, it almost seemed like Grimaldi was hellbent on getting it over with. He opened the third quarter with seven consecutive OA points, hitting the mark when he cut through B-R’s defense and hit a runner off glass with 6:22 left in the period.
The game briefly paused for a celebration, as Grimaldi posed for photos with his family, which had brought balloons and posters to B-R in anticipation of the moment. His 23-point performance was a symbol of his development over the years. At first just a catch-and-shoot 3-point shooter, Grimaldi has evolved into a three-level scorer and one of the best scorers in the state. Several of his buckets Wednesday came on great backdoor cuts – a product of his chemistry and partnership with point guard Jacob Lok but also how much he’s learned how to be effective against different defenses and coverages.
“He just deserves the recognition he’s getting in the whole state,” Oliver Ames coach Eric MacKinnon said. “Everybody we play, they’re face-guarding him, every scouting report is about Justin. We’re really happy he got the milestone, we’re really happy that it’s over with now so he doesn’t have to think about it, he can just play. He’s worked really hard.”
1,000! With 6:22 left in the third quarter,
Oliver Ames senior Justin Grimaldi slices through the defense and kisses it off the backboard to cross 1,000 career points. #hockomock pic.twitter.com/bBzUpPAcM1— Ryan Lanigan (@R_Lanigan) February 4, 2026
Zaire Maddox, Oliver Ames
Class of 2026, 6-3 forward
Is Maddox the most athletic player in MIAA basketball? He’s at least in the conversation. The senior forward was jumping out of the gym on Wednesday, and no one was hanging with him — not on the dunk he flushed in the first quarter, several of the rebounds he brought down or the inbounds pass he flew for to get a bucket. He finished with 11 points, including a 3-pointer.
“He’s one of the better athletes in the region, I think, and he’s really tough downhill,” MacKinnon said. “He rips and gets to the rim. He’s actually a pretty skilled guy. We can put him on anybody defensively. We’re comfortable putting him on Kingston Maxwell from Abington and Cason Faulk and all these guys. He always guards the biggest and best player or a guard, so he’s had a great year. Averaging about a double-double for us.”
Takeaways
1. Oliver Ames suffered its second loss of the season on Wednesday, and both of its defeats have come to Division 1 title contenders in Attleboro and B-R. The Tigers were competitive in both games and shouldn’t be down on those efforts. MacKinnon attributed B-R’s size and athleticism as contributing factors to the loss. OA won’t have to deal with as much of that in the Division 2 tournament, but having that experience should only help them. Other Div. 2 title contenders like St. Mary’s and Masconomet will present similar size and athleticism, and if the Tigers can make another deep run and face one of those teams, it won’t be anything they haven’t seen.
2. Wednesday’s performance more resembled who B-R really is than the one that struggled on Sunday. The Trojans played uncharacteristically slow against Mansfield and let their opponent win energy plays. Alves was happy to see his team push the pace in transition, bring energy defensively and keep Oliver Ames off the offensive glass.
3. B-R’s depth was put to the test on Wednesday with Faulk and Santos mired in foul trouble, and their teammates answered the call. Outside of Pires and Jackson, several other role pieces stepped up, including Jack Lambert – the quarterback for the football team – who hit a 3.
“Resilience and relentless,” Alves said of his team. “We’re pretty tough. We can hit you from all different areas.”
