The Bromfield boys basketball team won consecutive games against league opponents Maynard and Murdock to improve to five and five overall, and three and one in the league.
Bromfield met Maynard, tied for second place in the league, as both were one-and-one in league action. The two teams were evenly matched in the first half in the game played Jan. 11. Tied at 25 coming out of halftime, Bromfield point guard Brian McCullough exploded for 13 points in the third quarter to blow the game open.
Maynard attempted to use a man-to-man press to open the half, but without a defender in the backcourt, they were unable to contain the speedy McCullough. Inbounder Nick Ashe picked up assists on three out of four possessions with baseball passes that found McCullough long. After a Jeff Yates three-pointer, Bromfield extended their lead over the Tigers to 14 after three quarters.
Bromfield contained Maynard in the third quarter, behind strong play off the bench from sophomore Matt Griffin, who finished with four points and seven rebounds.
Maynard’s freshman forward Kyle Howes was Maynard’s leading scorer, who made three three-pointers and finished with eleven points. Bromfield’s defensive force Jason Mandozzi held Howes, who is the Mid-Wachusett League’s leading scorer, to 10 points under his season scoring average.
Yates continued his tear on the boards, grabbing 12 rebounds to go with 17 points in the Trojans’ 59-48 victory.
Two days later, Bromfield traveled to Winchendon to face the Murdock Blue Devils. The Trojans, facing the six-and-two Blue Devils, expected a close game, and came out with a fast-paced offense that caught Murdock off guard.
McCullough dished out four assists on consecutive possessions to Yates, Ashe, and guard Luke Broganer twice, to give Bromfield a 19-8 lead after one quarter. The Trojans kept their foot on the gas through the rest of the first half, quickly upping their lead to 32-16 after two quarters.
Bromfield had nine players score in the game, including 14 from Yates, 13 from Broganer, and 12 from Ashe.
In his first game returning from a head injury, junior center Sam Shepherd didn’t score a point, but did manage seven rebounds and five assists in his time off of the bench.
Bromfield completely controlled the rebounding on both ends of the floor. Yates added nine rebounds, Ashe, six, and freshman Ryan Kennedy had six rebounds to go with his six points.
Bromfield won the game by a score of 64-33. Murdock’s two leading scorers, guard Peter Macarelli, who had 20 points, and John Hunt, who had nine, combined for all but four of Murdock’s 33 points.
The Trojans made 20 of their 32 shots on the game, which amounted to a shooting percentage of 63, their best of the year thus far.
