Oliver Ames Boys' Basketball to Play Familiar Foe in State Tourney

The Oliver Ames boys' basketball team will head into the Massachusetts Div. 2 South Tournament in a familiar position against a familiar foe.

The 11-9 Tigers drew a No. 17 seed and will travel to No. 16 Falmouth in the preliminary round Tuesday at 7 p.m. The winner will travel to No. 1 Scituate for a Thursday match-up.

Undoubtably, Falmouth (12-8) will have revenge on its mind. The Tigers defeated the then-top-ranked Clippers in the State Tournament last year. Just a few days ago, OA once again defeated Falmouth in the preliminary game of the Harry Lehmann Tournament in Bridgewater.

"It’s funny how this works sometimes," OA coach Don Byron said. "We did this with Duxbury a couple years ago. We did it with Stoughton one year, where you just get done playing them and then you go do it all over again."

Last year's experiences will come in handy should the Tigers win, as well. While a win on Tuesday means a trip to top-ranked Norwell, beating the top ranked team is not something OA hasn't done before.

Even with a lower seed, playing in the Hockomock League is an advantage, Byron said.

"That’s OK," Byron said."That’s the exact situation we were in last year. Then, we went down to Falmouth and beat them down there. I think parody across the board is pretty evident. We rely on the fact that we played a good schedule and I think we’ll hang in there."

Tip-off time for OA vs. Falmouth is set for 7 p.m.