COHASSET – With the pressure at its highest on Friday evening, Randolph’s boys basketball team showed its grit.

Seniors Chance Miller (20 points) and Daren Nash (17 points, seven assists, four steals) made heroic plays all night as the Blue Devils won an overtime thriller on the road against rival Cohasset, 76-69.

“This one’s important,” said Randolph coach Demetrius Warren. “We just wanted to win one on a Friday. Hopefully, no school on Monday. But it felt good. That was a tough battle. Good team. Well organized, very structured. Love the facility here, but a good game. Just glad we pulled it out in overtime.”

It was Cohasset’s first home game since legendary Skippers coach Bo Ruggiero officially stepped down from the team, and the crowd was roaring with anticipation for what was in store. Randolph (7-5) was unfazed to start, jumping out to an early nine-point lead minutes into play.

However, the Skippers (3-8) came to life behind its young core of players. Freshman Drew Canal sank a floater to end the first quarter, as Cohasset closed the frame on a 15-0 run to jump ahead, 21-15.

The trend carried on into the second quarter, as sophomore Will Palmer drilled a three-pointer with five minutes to play in the half as the Skippers constructed a 30-20 lead. They would maintain a 10-point lead at intermission, up 40-30.

Cohasset’s Daniel Baker, center, is fouled by Randolph’s Javier Lopez, left, and Jayden St. Val during an overtime thriller Friday night. (Staff photo by Stuart Cahill/Media News Group)

Yet Randolph emerged from the locker room motivated and punched right back. Nash kick-started things with a quick six points to open the third quarter, trimming it to a one-point game at 40-39.

The Blue Devils were far from finished. They embarked on a 17-0 run to start the second half, jumping ahead 45-40 with four minutes remaining in the third. Miller threw down a two-handed slam during the sequence, and it felt like Randolph was about to run away with things.

Not so fast. Cohasset had one final gasp. Trailing by five with 4:22 remaining in regulation, sophomore Carter Tighe sank a three-pointer of his own, bringing Cohasset within 55-53. The Skippers kept fighting, using a 7-0 run to take a 57-55 lead with two minutes to go. The schools traded buckets the rest of the way.

With his team down, 61-59, and the clock ticking down, Nash drove to the cup and hit a contested layup with 6.4 seconds remaining, as Randolph forced overtime.

“It looked like they were kind of guarding me in man,” Nash said. “My teammates trust me, so I had to drive to the paint. That’s what I do.”

Once the extra session began, the Blue Devils were able to pull away. Javier Lopez came through in the clutch at the free throw stripe to finish with five points in the frame, while Jayden St. Val added four points as the Blue Devils out-scored the Skippers, 15-8.

In addition to Miller and Nash, St. Val added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Blue Devils. Jayden Harvey came off the bench to add 13 points for Randolph.

Junior forward Chris McSweeney finished with a team-high 19 points to go with 12 rebounds for Cohasset, while Palmer finished with 14 points in the effort.

Jim Willis took over as Interim Coach for Cohasset following Ruggiero’s departure after serving as his assistant for 18 seasons. Willis himself knows a thing or two about managing a team, having led Cohasset to new heights in boys soccer as well. Despite a difficult situation, he is hopeful his young team can gain momentum as they go.

“(It’s) tough,” Willis said. “I miss my friend, but the kids are awesome. I’m a pretty organized guy, so taking over in the middle is fighting my own organizational stuff. But the kids make it fun to come to work every day, and they’re great. So, as long as they keep working for me, I’m going to have fun.”