Still charged from last week’s upset win against top-seeded West Boylston, Bromfield came out strong Wednesday night, establishing an early lead and holding on to emerge victorious over Maynard 54-46. The Trojans now advance to the Boys Basketball Central Division 3 finals.
Both teams played well on the college court at WPI’s Harrington Auditorium. The first quarter was a seesaw battle that ended with Bromfield ahead, 12–10.
The Trojans dominated the second quarter, lead by Ben Brown (12 points, 6 rebounds) and Josh Lyvers (17 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists). In one play, Lyvers missed a driving layup and his momentum carried him to the base line. Darting all the way back, he leapt between two Maynard defenders, grabbed his own rebound and banked it in for the score. Bromfield took a comfortable 30–17 lead into the locker room at the half.
It appeared as if Bromfield was going to coast through the second half until Maynard was assessed a technical foul for a discrepancy in their score book. Steam was rising from the Tiger bench as the Trojans took their shots, then suddenly Maynard unleashed an aggressive man-to-man defense that caused several Bromfield turnovers. The Tigers scored 16 to Bromfield’s eight points, pulling within five to end the third quarter at 38–33.
It seemed like Maynard might continue bowling over the Trojans, but Hugo Al-Homsi (10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists) came alive in the fourth quarter, and the Tigers never got closer than three points. Helped by another technical foul against the Maynard bench, Bromfield continued to widen its lead and ended the game eight points up.
Beating fifth-seeded Maynard gives eighth-seeded Bromfield its second straight underdog win. In the district finals, the team will face Sutton, which is also coming off back-to-back underdog wins against second-seeded Whitinsville Christian and third-seeded South Lancaster. The game will be at WPI’s Harrington Auditorium Saturday, March 8, at 1:45 p.m.
Note: This article did not appear in the print version of the Press.
