Westford Academy Boys’ Basketball lost to Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School (LS) in a hard fought 62-52 away game on Friday, Feb. 7 resulting in their record becoming 8-8.
Lincoln-Sudbury secured the lead early and refused to let it go. The game was a battle through the first half but LS amassed a significant lead in the third quarter. Westford fought back and started to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter, eventually whittling down Lincoln-Sudbury’s lead to just two points before ultimately falling short of the victory.
WA was committing an abundance of fouls in the first quarter which allowed Lincoln-Sudbury to get ahead early.
“We weren’t moving our feet very well, we weren’t defending the way we’re capable, and they took advantage of [that],” head coach Chris Bramanti said.
While their gameplay still wasn’t perfect, the Ghosts cleaned up their plays in the second quarter and were a lot more competitive with the Warriors. Senior forward Alex Wilson and junior forward Teddy Hirbour were both playing physically and setting the tone throughout the second and third quarters, helping to keep the score close.
“When you play through contact, you create shots [and] you create opportunities,” Bramanti said.
One of Hirbour’s physical plays came at the end of the first half but was answered almost immediately by a Lincoln-Sudbury three-pointer before the teams headed to their respective locker rooms. According to Bramanti, moments like that are huge when it comes to the team’s morale at halftime.
In the beginning of the third quarter, the Warriors were raining threes and Westford called a timeout. They made some adjustments in an attempt to slow down Lincoln-Sudbury’s success in shooting behind the arc, and while the adjustments helped, they didn’t solve the problem. The Ghosts fell behind and were staring down a 14 point LS lead towards the beginning of the fourth quarter.
In the final quarter, senior captain Vishal Rampur was leading the comeback with well-timed, efficient passes down the court. Rampur and the rest of the team started to work off of each other and play their best as a team. They quickly chewed down Lincoln-Sudbury’s lead to make it a close 48-46 game but the shooting ability and defense of the Warriors was enough for them to survive and close out the win.
“[Lincoln-Sudbury is] a really good team. They’re aggressive, [and] they played aggressive the whole game. When you play aggressive at this level, it can affect a lot of different things.” Bramanti said.
The Ghosts will be playing at Waltham High School on Thursday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m.
