The boys varsity basketball team faced off against two tough teams the week of Jan. 7. On Monday, Jan. 8, Bromfield beat South Lancaster 61-44 at an away game. On Friday, Jan. 12, the Trojans lost to the Ayer Shirley Panthers 49-47 in the last 0.9 second of the game. Bromfield is in fourth place in the Midland-Wachusett D League with four wins and three losses.
The game against the South Lancaster Crusaders was fast paced and attended by the Ayer Shirley head coach to scout the Trojans before the teams’ matchup on Friday. High scorer and co-captain junior Ethan Russo gave both South Lancaster and Ayer Shirley something to worry about with his 29 points. The highest scoring player for the Crusaders, in contrast, had 13 points. Bromfield’s head coach, Tim Skaggs, said after the game, “This is a competitive conference. South Lancaster beat Gardner, Gardner beat us. We did a good job defensively.”
Friday’s game against the Panthers at Bromfield was neck and neck throughout, with the first quarter going to the Trojans 10-9. The stands were packed and spectators watched as both teams fought to gain a significant lead to no avail. The half ended with Ayer Shirley up 25-23. By the third quarter, the Panthers started to pull ahead of Bromfield, and with four minutes and 18 seconds left, Coach Skaggs called a timeout. “I told the players to get their composure, there was plenty of time left in the game,” he said.
The third quarter ended with Bromfield regaining some footing and nudging ahead 41-39. In the last quarter, with 10 seconds on the clock and the score tied at 47-47, it was Bromfield’s ball. There was a turnover and as the time ran out, Ayer Shirley broke away and sank a layup with 0.9 second left on the clock. With that, the Trojans lost the game. Skaggs noted that the defense Ayer Shirley played on Russo was key to the game. “They had a 6-foot-3-inch, very athletic player effectively covering Ethan. They played a box and one on him.” Russo’s point total for the game was 14, the highest for the team, followed closely by senior co-captain Luke MacLean with 12 points.
The Trojans faced Murdock (0-7) at an away game on Tuesday, Jan 16. They are scheduled to be back at home on Friday, Jan 19 to face Gardner (7-3) at Bromfield.
Julie Gowel is a Bromfield varsity basketball parent.
