SHREWSBURY — St. John’s boys’ basketball coach Bob Foley doesn’t spend too much time thinking about his own coaching successes, but unfortunately for him, his Pioneers teams win so much that he keeps reaching new milestones.
Foley became the winningest coach in New England high school basketball history just last year with his 879th victory, and on Friday night at Coaches Pavilion, he reached career win No. 900 as the Pioneers held Sutton scoreless for the first 4:54 of the fourth quarter to pull away for a 72-62 victory.
Senior big men Sean Burke and Hunter Gorgas dominated the Sammies’ guard-heavy lineup as Burke, who hails from Sutton, racked up 22 points and 17 rebounds, while Gorgas contributed 17 points and nine boards.
“Every year, he’s just so selfless doing stuff for us, whether it’s scouting or watching extra film, so it’s nice every once and a while to see him get rewarded for his hard work,” Burke said.
Foley has been coaching since high school hoops since 1963, starting with a six-year stint at Uxbridge High. He also coached at St. Peter’s/St. Peter-Marian for 11 seasons, but has spent most of his career at St. John’s, where he has racked up 694 wins over the past 38 years and shows no signs of slipping.
“Good kids are good kids, and I’ve been blessed through all my years with good kids,” Foley said. “I have a great coaching staff and my wife supporting me, and just every day is fun. There’s no such thing as age as long as you feel great.”
Foley said he hasn’t even thought about the next big milestone of 1,000 wins.
“I didn’t even think of 900,” Foley said. “I have one goal every year, and that’s to win 10 games and make the tournament and see what happens.”
His current team has played to an 8-5 record considering its tough schedule and a broken foot that has kept out standout point guard Tyler Mola.
“It was really special tonight, and that’s a credit to him not just as a coach, but as a man, he really inspires us to play hard and play our best,” senior Steve Bucciaglia said.
St. John’s has a week off before hosting at 7 p.m. South High next Friday,. The Sammies (6-4) face their second straight Division 1 opponent, heading back home to play North High at 6:30 p.m. Monday.
Sutton took an early 9-5 over the opening three minutes, but St. John’s responded with an 8-0 rally that included an open-court steal and dunk by Burke to take lead for good en route to a 22-17 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
Sammies freshman Trevian Grenon (18 points) hit the first of his five 3-pointers to cut the St. John’s lead to 26-25 with 4:35 remaining in the second quarter.
However, the hosts went on a 6-0 run out of a timeout and finished the first half on a 13-4 rally, including seven points from Gorgas to go ahead, 39-29, at the break.
St. John’s held a 48-40 advantage in the third quarter, but Grenon scored eight points, including a pair of 3s over the final three minutes of the period as Sutton didn’t go away, cutting the deficit to 50-48 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Pioneers regained control in the final period, however, as Burke and Gorgas combined for eight points during a 12-0 stretch. They pulled away for a 62-48 lead on after a Nathan Bangandozou layup with 3:14 remaining.
Senior Jarod Buffone (22 points) finally broke the Sammies’ cold spell with a deep 3-pointer with 3:06 left to play, but Sutton couldn’t make a late comeback.
“Since I left, there was always talk whether we’d beat them or they’d beat us, so it was definitely a fun experience to play against my friends,” Burke said.
—Contact Carl Setterlund at sports@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @tgsports.