HOLYOKE — The game was tied for the ninth time with less than 15 seconds left in the fourth quarter. No. 11 Holyoke, which had garnered possession on a jump ball, was looking to make sure it was the last time.
With the entirety of the John “Jinx” O’Connor Gymnasium standing, Jael Cabrera dribbled the ball up the court with determination dripping from his body. Just past half court, seeing his teammate Moe Silva putting himself in the position to set a pick, Cabrera dribbled from his left hand to his right and ran his defender into Silva. When Dracut’s defensive help arrived, he executed a hesitation move and drove toward the basket with one goal in mind — the Elite Eight.
Cabrera got a step on his defender, jumped in the air along with a low post defender. With his left hand, he shot the ball off the top right square of the backboard, and the ball then tickled seemingly every millimeter of the rim. Finally, it fell to the bottom of the net, and jubilation rang through the gym.
The game-winning bucket lifted the Purple Knight past No. 27 Dracut, 64-62, in the MIAA Division 2 Round of 16.
“They drew up a play for me in the final timeout,” said Cabrera. “They believed in me to make the shot like they always do — and they always give me the ball in clutch moments like that — and I’m just grateful to God. [My teammates] get me open. When they step up, and I’m not really stepping up, they get me open and allow me to make those plays.”
Dracut did not get a shot off with the 2.0 seconds given to them, which sent Holyoke into a quarterfinal matchup at No. 3 Burlington. That game had not been scheduled as of press time.
“[This is the] most important game I ever coached for sure,” said Holyoke head coach and alum Juan Maldonado.
The game was an intense battle all the way through. It began with the Middies closing the 13-4 gap at the end of the first quarter. They made it 13-8 by the end of the quarter, and then the game was handed to their superstar.
Adrian Torres was a menace to the stiff Purple Knights defense once the second quarter arrived. He used his excellent ball handling and driving capabilities to create shots for himself, and ended up with 14 points in the second frame. This included two completed and-ones, and was capped off when he dribbled around a double team, avoided oncoming low post defenders with a euro step, then floated the ball from about 10 feet for a two-point bucket to make the score 25-24 in Holyoke’s favor.
The Purple Knights knew they had a tall task with Torres, and they stuck to a game plan to contain him in the second half.
“We had to trust the game plan,” said Maldonado. “We wanted to tire him out. So, we didn’t do anything different in the second half. We were still going up on him — denying him full-court — but he started getting tired, so I’m proud of our guys to trust the game plan.”
The third quarter was tight for its entirety, as it saw eight ties, which defined the back-and-forth competition between Holyoke and Dracut.
At the start of the fourth quarter, the Middies scored a three-pointer to put them up, 49-44. Responding was Holyoke’s Roel Figueroa, who, driving to the basket, performed a spin move that led to a made layup alongside a blocking foul for a potential three-point play, which he completed at the foul line to make it 49-47.
This play sparked a 14-2 Holyoke run that put them up 58-51 about halfway through the final quarter of regulation. However, Dracut crept back into the lead after going on a 10-2 run that was capped by a three-pointer that bounced off the front of the rim before falling into the net.
A Middies foul shot put them up, 62-60, then an Adrix Madera layup off an offensive rebound knotted the game up.
After a limping Torres missed two free throws, Dracut grabbed the offensive rebound, but the Purple Knights were aggressive enough to force a jump ball that resulted in their possession, which led to Cabrera’s game-winner.
Cabrera and Figueroa were even on the score sheet with 18 points each, which led the way for the Purple Knights.
“[Cabrera] has been our motor — our heart,” said Maldonado. “He’s been our everything. Kid plays with straight passion.”