Boy’s Basketball falls to Algonquin 71-53
Senior Ashwin Vasan moves to block an Algonquin player
January 30, 2018
On Saturday, January 27th, Westford Academy Varsity Boys’ Basketball faced off against Algonquin at TD Garden during the fifth annual Good Sports Invitational, losing 71-53.
The game started well for WA, as they established a lead in the first quarter, 13-9. During quarter one, Algonquin seemed more nervous than WA, as they had more shots and not enough baskets.
By the second quarter, WA’s lead proved to be short-lived. It seemed as though the anxiety that had plagued Algonquin diminished. Algonquin’s defense stacked up against WA, causing the quarter to end 27-14, with Algonquin in the lead.
After half-time, WA continued to struggle against Algonquin’s defense. On top of that, Algonquin pushed offensively as well, rushing down the court with turnovers throughout all of the second half.
WA was pushed around on defense a lot throughout the second half, but it didn’t stop them from having some great shots by players like junior Benjamin Lawrence and three-pointers by senior Ashwin Vasan.
Algonquin continued to push down the court during the fourth quarter, widening the gap so far that WA had no chance of catching up. By the last half of the fourth quarter, Algonquin pushed even harder, going from 58 points to 71 points, ensuring that their lead would not be threatened.
The game ended 71-53, and despite Algonquin’s large lead, WA still fought as hard as they could, making great shots and penetrating Algonquin’s stacked defense.
Reflecting on the game, Coach Bramanti said they knew it would be a difficult matchup.
“We knew Algonquin would be a tough team to play. I thought we started out very well, but once Algonquin started making shots, we lost a bit of confidence and let the game get away from us,” he said.
Bramanti also went on to thank the crowd that attended the TD games.
“The fact that we had two travel teams shoot at halftime, and many former players (both boys and girls) in attendance and just about 1,000 Westford fans speaks volumes about how basketball is part of this Westford community and something that we the community can all be a proud of,” she said.
