Toby Frost tries to break free from his Hudson opponents. (Photos by Rob Williams)
With a record of 13–7, the Bromfield boys varsity basketball team earned a first-round home game in the district playoffs. The eighth-seeded Trojans hosted the ninth-seeded Green Wave of Hudson Catholic High School Tuesday, February 27, when Bromfield hammered Hudson by a score of 70–43. Senior co-captain Ian Rothkopf led the team with 23 points. Bromfield now qualifies for a trip to the quarterfinals.
The Trojans came out pressing man-to-man and then reaped the benefits, including many fast-break buckets. Rothkopf hit many mid-range jumpers in the first half and Bromfield led by a score of 10–0 at one point. After stopping Hudson at the end of the half, the team went into the locker room up by 20 points.
The Trojans continued to build on their lead in the second half. Their aggressive defense led to many turnovers by the visiting team. Coach Scott Hoffman was able to use all the players who dressed and called the win “a complete team effort.” The seniors won their final home game in front of a full and vociferous crowd.
Forward Ben Brown goes up for a layup.
“It was nice to come out with a really strong start.” Rothkpf said, adding, “I thought we were fired up and showed that we were ready to play.”
Rothkopf grabbed six rebounds to go along with his 23 points, and senior co-captain Reed Harasimowicz added 16 points to the Trojans’ effort. Junior center Ben Brown had a double-double, 11 points and 13 rebounds, for the team. Junior Brian Morgan scored seven points while senior Chris Kenney added six.
Also scoring for Bromfield were junior Jon Fricchione, three points; senior Bryan Molinaro, two points; and senior Toby Frost, two points. Other Trojans contributing to the win were senior Tim Smetana; junior Salim Al-Homsi; sophomores Hugo Al-Homsi, Kevin Molinaro, and Sam Peisch; and freshman Cody Osgood.
Bromfield will travel to Westford February 28, to play number-one-seed Nashoba Tech in the second round of the Central Massachusetts district playoffs.
“[We’re] looking forward to playing Nashoba Tech because it means [they] are one game further along in [the] district [playoffs],” Rothkopf said.
