No. 2 Westport boys basketball upset by No. 15 Mashpee

Story updated.

WESTPORT — Don't put too much stock in those seeding numbers.

No. 15 Mashpee scored the big numerical upset on Wednesday night, edging No. 2 Westport 62-58 in the Division 4 boys' basketball South first round at Cariglia Gymnasium.

"They play in a tough league," Westport coach Scot Boudria said. "They battle really good teams, and it (came) down to the wire with some of those good teams. They were seniors. We were sophomores, some juniors, a freshman."

Down nine points with 1:20 remaining, Westport (16-5) corrected what had been shabby foul shooting to connect on six straight free throws and close to 60-57 with 35.6 seconds to play.

Mashpee senior guard Kendall Rose (21 points) made both ends of a 1-and-1. Westport missed a 3, rebounded, and Max Powers made the second of two free throws with 8.9 seconds to go. Rose missed a 1-and-1 with 8.4 seconds left but teammate Nick Santos rebounded.

Westport played without senior captain Conor Lecomte, who suffered a right foot fracture in the last game of the regular season.

"When your leader and your glue has a hurt foot, a lot of the intangibles kind of fall through," Boudria said. "We could have won, but Mashpee played better at the end."

Westport junior center Nick Payne after the 2nd-seeded Wildcats lost to 15th-seeded Mashpee by 4 points ⁦@Westport_Sports⁩pic.twitter.com/onkBwf6ECb

— Greg Sullivan (@GregSullivanHN)February 27, 2020

Powers, a junior forward, poured in 25 points, 10 in the third quarter. Sophomore guard Aidan Rock scored 14 points and had one of Westport's modest total of two 3-pointers.

Until the final 80 seconds of the third quarter, Westport had a frightful shooting night. The Wildcats in the first half were 5 for 28 from the field, 9-for-20 at the foul line, committed 14 turnovers and endured a 4:50 second-quarter stretch without scoring.

Mashpee (12-11) went on a 7-0 run in the last minute of the first half for a 28-19 lead.

Down 40-29 with two-and-a-half minutes left in the third quarter, Westport finally came to life and scored 14 straight points for a 43-41 lead late third.

Westport's last lead was at 47-45 on a Rock drive and last tie at 50-50 on a freshman Max Mendell drive. It was a 53-51 game before Mashpee got consecutive 3s from Hughes and Rose and a fast-break bucket from Hughes to lead 60-51 with 1:51 to play.

Email Greg Sullivan at gsullivan@heraldnews.com. Follow him @GregSullivanHN.