by Julie Gowel ·
Friday, March 7, 2025
The boys varsity basketball team ended their season with a loss to the High School of Commerce in Springfield on Wednesday, Feb. 26. In what turned out to be their first and last postseason game, the Trojans were defeated 86-67.
Heading into the Commerce gym some 80 miles from home, Bromfield players looked ready to secure their spot in the tournament, even though the Trojans were seeded at No. 38, while the Raiders were the No. 27 seed.
Jake O’Neil (#15) goes up for a rebound. (Photo by Julie Gowel)
The game started strong for Bromfield, despite some protests on the refereeing from the stands. At one point in the first quarter, Commerce was passing the ball back into play from a foul but it bounced off the back of the backboard and went out of bounds. It should have been turned over to Bromfield, but there was no call from any of the three refs on the court. The play continued as the confused players scrambled, causing Bromfield to foul and giving the Raiders two foul shots.
With two minutes and eight seconds on the clock, Commerce went into bonus after Bromfield fouled five times, allowing the Raiders to shoot two shots for every subsequent foul for the rest of the quarter. Even with the advantage, the quarter ended with the two teams tied at 16 points.
The second quarter stayed tight throughout. With 54 seconds left in the half, the teams were tied at 32. Commerce scored, and then just before the buzzer, Bromfield landed a 3-pointer, putting them ahead at 35-34.
The second half of the game showed Bromfield struggling. The Trojans put Commerce in bonus with nearly four minutes left on the clock. After a string of missed passes, they ended the third quarter down 64-44. Senior co-captain Brady Quiron and junior co-captain Owen Balsis tried to steal the game back in the fourth, scoring 8 points each for Bromfield, but the fatigue was beginning to show.
With two minutes left on the clock, both teams went into bonus. With all the fouls called, the running game time was more than an hour and a half at that point, and closing the gap became an impossible feat.
“We played a great first half,” said Coach Tim Skaggs in a postgame interview. “The big difference in the game … I call it suburban basketball versus city basketball. Most students in Harvard have a stationary hoop in their yard and they’re shooting alone or with one other person. But if you go into the city, a lot of the kids are playing on a community hoop, driving to the basket, knowing how to absorb the contact and still finishing. That’s just something that comes with time and practice.”
The game was the last with Bromfield for Skaggs, who announced his resignation as coach earlier in the month. “It was sad, I will certainly miss the students,” he said.