by Julie Gowel ·
Friday, January 30, 2026
Noah Petrossi (#30) and Alex Senykoff (#44) defend the Bromfield hoop from a Gardner opponent. (Photos by Hannah Taylor)
The Bromfield boys varsity basketball team lost to the Gardener Wildcats 64-43 on the Trojans’ home court Friday, Jan. 23. A costly first-quarter stretch of turnovers created a deficit the Trojans could not overcome in a game that saw Bromfield tied for the Midland-Wachusett Division 4 fourth-place standing.
Bromfield scored first, less than a minute into the game and opened with a defensive strategy designed to slow Gardner’s offense, according to head coach Anne McWaters. “[The defense] worked well but then we had a string of turnovers that just gave [the Wildcats] easy fast break buckets.”
With two minutes left on the clock, junior Jonathan LeGrand provided a spark, scoring off his own rebound. Sophomore Nick Becker followed with a 3-pointer, and senior Jake O’Neil landed a layup in the closing seconds. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to close the gap, and the Trojans ended the quarter down 21–7.
The second period was a defensive improvement for Bromfield, but scoring remained hard to come by. The Trojans held Gardner in check for long stretches but didn’t score until six minutes into the quarter.
With two minutes left before halftime, a quick steal by junior Noah Petrossi led to an easy layup, and sophomore Isaac Balicky added a 3-pointer in the final 30 seconds, cutting into the margin. Bromfield went into the break trailing Gardner 31–14.
Charlie Gowel (#24) leaps to defend Bromfield’s basket from Gardner as teammate Nick Becker (#21) jumps to catch a rebound.
The second half showed the Trojans’ renewed energy. O’Neil scored at the top of the third quarter and later added two more points from the free-throw line. The Wildcats, however, continued to capitalize on transition opportunities, and with three minutes still to go in the period, Bromfield had entered the bonus, trailing Gardner 43–19.
Junior Charlie Gowel added a basket in the third, and Balicky knocked down another 3 at the buzzer. Gardner still held a commanding 25-point advantage heading into the final quarter.
The Trojans continued to battle despite foul trouble and lineup changes in the fourth quarter. O’Neil connected on a 3-pointer, and Petrossi added another as Bromfield worked to chip away at the lead.
“I think if we hadn’t had that stretch of about three to four minutes in the first quarter where we just kept turning the ball over, it would have been a much closer game,” said McWaters. “Once we corrected that, we were much better.”
Despite the loss, McWaters pointed to progress from an earlier meeting with Gardner. “On the positive side, we played them better this time around than in the first matchup,” she said. “The season is about making progress, and I think we did that.”
Bromfield’s Jan. 26 game against Trivium was postponed due to snow with a makeup date of Jan 28. The Trojans were scheduled to host Murdock on Tuesday, Jan. 27, and will travel to Ayer Shirley on Friday, Jan. 30, for a 5 p.m. game.