Westford Academy boys’ varsity basketball pulled out a win against the Boston Latin Wolfpack by a score of 63-41. A strong second half helped propel the team to victory and gave them a game plan to work from for their next game.

The boys won the opening tip and began the first quarter playing with equal intensity of that of Boston Latin, but than began to fall behind in rebounding and offensive rebounds by the Wolfpack led to outside shots. Soon, the Ghosts struggled to rebound their own shots, leading to more chances for Boston Latin. The first quarter ended deadlocked at 11.

The second quarter opened with a senior Jason Hughes hitting a three pointer and this kick started the offense for WA, as their aggressiveness began to rise. Senior Scotty Callahan drove to the basket and fought through a Wolfpack flop to finish his layup.

Rebounding also saw improvement in the second quarter, as offensive rebounds for the Ghosts translated to second chance points. While Boston Latin remained close in the offense, it was clear WA had picked up their game significantly. Junior Jon Glidden hit a last second mid range jumper to end the first half, with WA leading by a slim score of 25-24.

However, this slight lead would soon blow open for WA. The Ghosts came out of the locker room firing, hitting shot after shot. Callahan and Glidden began this push with 2 point shots. Boston Latin, embellishing fouls throughout the second and third quarters to gain possession, eventually were able to draw a foul from their efforts.

Despite these embellishments, WA held strong on the defensive side of the court as well, contesting shots resulting in misses for Boston Latin. WA was also able to draw fouls on them and rebound the ball on both ends of the floor.

The Ghosts’ obvious plan was to crash the net and get all high percentage shots inside the paint to ensure scoring. This plan worked when WA sent their big men inside and allowed their smaller players to pass on the perimeter until an opening was found in the paint.

As they implemented this strategy, WA controlled the game for 6 minutes into the second half, going on a 15-0 run during that time period. After breaking their scoring drought, Boston Latin still found themselves down 44-28 at the end of the third quarter.

The start of the fourth quarter represented the close play seen in the first half of the contest, with each team matching one another on offense, point for point.

WA also found that their third quarter tactic was not as easy as before, with the Wolfpack defense playing physical in the paint to prevent high percentage looks. However, the Ghosts were still able tom draw fouls inside to find points to hold their lead in the final quarter.

Boston Latin evidently began to give up, attempting more difficult shots and turning over the ball. WA began to sub in their bench players to sit their starters, and “garbage time” ensued. WA dominated the paint for the remainder of the game to seal the deal at home.

The boys tip off against their next opponents, Acton-Boxborough, during a varsity double header this Friday at 7pm.