Facing its biggest test yet, 15-0 Norwell boys basketball relies on Nick Adams in clutch

Posted by author February 4, 2025 Basketball

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NORWELL — Nick Adams knows how to pick his spots.

Sometimes he’ll defer to teammate Ronan Coffey to run the show for the Norwell High basketball team, but, unafraid in the most pivotal moments, the senior captain will never back away from taking big shots.

Adams pocketed a pair of 3-pointers in overtime as the undefeated Clippers staved off Abington, their stiffest challenger yet, 69-63, on Monday. Adams finished with 17 points in the win, and Norwell improved to 15-0.

Both teams entered play in the top 4 of the Division 3 power rankings — Norwell at No. 3; Abington (12-3) at No. 4.

“Nicky is unselfish to a fault,” Norwell coach John Willis said. “Nick’s been a double-figure scorer his sophomore year, junior year and he still is right now, but he’s capable any night of getting 30.”

Adams drilled his first OT 3-pointer from the top of the key on the opening possession of the extra four-minute frame to give Norwell a 56-53 edge. His second came from the left corner with 59.8 seconds to go, as the Clippers asserted a commanding 63-56 lead.

Adams was also the primary defender on Abington swingman Kingston Maxwell, who entered play averaging a South Shore League-best 22 points per game.

“He’s a great teammate, great player,” Coffey said of Adams. “It’s super nice to know he’s there. He’ll hit a shot. He’ll do anything for us.”

Adams is averaging 12.9 points per game this winter. As an All-Scholastic pick last year, he finished in double figures in 18 of the team’s 20 regular-season games as Norwell advanced to the Division 3 Elite Eight.

On Monday, Adams scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half.

“I don’t feel the need to score as many points as I (could),” Adams said. “I’d rather be unselfish and make the better pass for a better shot.”

Such a mindset unlocks the rest of his teammates. Coffey, who went 13-of-17 from the free throw line, finished with 18 points; sophomore forward Jack Luccarelli had 17; and junior guard Keegan O’Hare had 10. The Clippers have four players averaging greater than 8 points per game on the season.

This was just the second time all year that Norwell played a single-digit game, the other was a 58-51 win over Plymouth South on Jan. 27. The Clippers entered play vs. Abington with an average margin of victory of 30 points.

Adams dubbed Monday’s thriller “probably the best game we’ve played all year.”

“With all due respect, (Norwell is) a great team. I think everyone knows that,” said Abington coach Peter Serino, whose team had won 10 of its last 11 games coming in. “I think we’re on their level. If a couple things go the other way, I think we can play with them. We’re not satisfied with playing a close game.”

Flashback to last year, the circumstances were similar. Norwell had won 13 straight to open the season, and the Green Wave played spoiler with a 59-56 victory on Jan. 31 to deal the Clippers’ their first of only two regular-season defeats.

This year’s matchup flipped to the other side. On goes the perfect 15-0 start.

“Peter and I were talking before the game — this was a throwback to 20 years ago, when Norwell and Abington played and the place was packed,” Willis said. “It was that way tonight. … The game could’ve gone either way, we just made shots when we needed to.”

One of those big shots came off the fingertips of Luccarelli, who drilled his second 3-pointer of the game in overtime from the left corner.

“Jack’s another one — he’s had some big, big games,” said Willis of the sophomore Luccarelli, who also averages 11 rebounds per game. “He’s unselfish and he shares the ball, but, man, he rebounds the ball like a bull. He can do just about anything on the floor.”

Coffey dropped in 6 of 8 free throws in the extra period to ice things. Norwell scored 16 points in OT. Said Willis, ““Any time you have Ronan Coffey out there handling the ball, I like our chances.”

For Abington, Maxwell scored a game-high 24 points, half of which came in the third quarter. Senior captain Jake McSharry scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth and junior Tyler Staiti, who less than two weeks ago tallied his 1,000th career point, finished with 10.

“We’ve got to be better,” Serino said. “We left a lot of plays out there. We didn’t come close to playing our best game, but it’s a good experience for us. Hopefully we’ll get a chance to see them again down the road.”