Roxbury, MA – In many tight games, whoever has the ball last, wins the game.  This was the case Thursday as the Mustangs lost a buzzer beater to Roxbury Community College by a 73-71 score. 

Despite 34-point effort from captain Corey David, and a strong work effort from all who hit the floor, CM fell short.  The lead changed 24 times throughout the contest with each team hitting shot after shot. 

A Cal Horowitz free throw tied the game at 71-71 with 28 seconds on the clock.  After a time out, Roxbury ran the clock down for the last shot.  A tired group of Mustangs held down the fort forcing Roxbury away from the basket.  A last-minute shot from 20 feet banged off the rim into several hands and ended up in a Roxbury Centers hands who followed up with a dunk to seal the victory.

After the game Coach Gonyea was a bit deflated but recognized a positive.  "We came out and played well, shot well, played together, and controlled what we did and the game tempo.  We were right where we wanted to be with a hot shooting team.  A defensive stand in the final seconds proved successful, but a careening shot with a 6'8" center who plays up by the rim was able to grab a tipping ball and put it in.  There really was nothing we could have done.  I was really proud of how we battled-- after the miserable performance the night before in Augusta.  We sat Josh today as he was really hurting and wanted to save him until he was close to normal as possible.  His contribution could have made a difference but these are the choices we make each day.  At the end of the day, many kids stepped up and played quality minutes.  I feel like we took a nice step forward today."

"Corey really took the team and put it on his back today," Gonyea said.  "He was cool, calm, and collective and demonstrated leadership traits which we will need moving forward.  Without Josh in the lineup, Corey is expected to pick up the slack."

The Mustangs are back in action Saturday with a road game at CCRI.