WA Boys’ Basketball defeated Chelmsford 43-40 at home on Sunday, Jan. 14, improving their record to 4-4.
Right out of the gate WA came out strong. Junior Vishal Rampur won the tip for the Ghosts and shortly thereafter senior Jon Coughlin scored the first points of the game with a mid-range jump shot.
The following possession, Chelmsford answered with an and-1 and a made free throw. This was the only time throughout the entire game that Chelmsford led WA.
WA’s energy was high and they did not give up another basket for the rest of the quarter. Junior Nate Pitts and Coughlin combined for three 3-pointers in the first eight minutes of the game, allowing WA to hold a comfortable 13-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.
WA stayed hot in the second quarter, attacking the rim various times, one of them being an acrobatic and-1 by senior Nick Russo, adding to WA’s 15-0 run.
Two made free throws by the Lions ended WA’s run, but the Ghosts stayed intense and senior Rajit Talluri had a strong finish along with a drained free throw, adding three more points to the board. Both teams got in a bit of foul trouble with five fouls apiece with three minutes remaining in the half. The fouls resulted in made free throws by sophomore Teddy Hirbour, Talluri, and Chelmsford as well.
WA’s head coach Chris Bramanti called his first timeout of the game at the 2:36 mark in hopes for his team to stay out of foul trouble the rest of the half.
After the timeout, Chelmsford hit a three and defended well, keeping the Ghosts from scoring the rest of the quarter. The Lions took a timeout with less than five seconds left in the half in hopes to score at the buzzer. Their last second shot attempt was unsuccessful and WA had a comfortable lead of 24-12 at the end of the first half.
The third quarter began with Talluri scoring a fast break layup, adding to WA’s lead. Chelmsford tried to gain momentum, but a top-of-the-key jumper by Rampur increased the difference of the two teams once again.
Halfway through the third quarter, Chelmsford’s head coach got a technical foul which Rampur drained a free throw off of.
Coughlin hit his third three-pointer of the game with two minutes remaining in the quarter, and junior Chris Butts finished a layup off an assist by Hirbour, pulling WA even further away from Chelmsford.
The Lions managed to go on a 6-0 run in the last minute of the third quarter, closing the gap. The third quarter came to an end with WA leading by 11, the score being 35-24.
The final eight minutes of the game began with solid defense by WA and two emphatic blocks by Russo. However, the Ghosts struggled offensively and had to take a timeout to regain momentum.
WA and Chelmsford exchanged free throws due to aggressive defense from both teams. Chelmsford scored on back-to-back possessions, scoring an and-1 off of a putback and more free throws, tightening the score to 40-35.
Russo fouled out with 1:45 remaining and the Ghosts took their third timeout of the game. WA made a costly turnover which resulted in another two points for Chelmsford, who were then trailing by only three.
The game came down to free throws, and Chelmsford quickly drew another foul and hit two additional free throws making the difference only 1. The Lions took their final timeout with 27 seconds left in the game.
WA had the ball in the final seconds of the fourth quarter and Talluri got an offensive rebound off of a missed shot. Talluri kicked out to Rampur who Chelmsford spastically fouled to stop the clock. With only a few seconds remaining, Rampur locked in and drained both of his free throws.
Chelmsford was unable to score in the last five seconds after Rampur’s free throws, and WA won 43-40 after a hard fought fourth quarter.
Despite a late game comeback, WA played smart and aggressively throughout the entirety of the game, and their defense was the difference maker in defeating Chelmsford.
“Our defense from the start really put a statement on the other team about what a struggle it’s going to be for them to score on us,” Rampur said. “From the start, our energy was amazing and at an all time high which really helped us get a big lead.”
The team intends on making it to the state tournament this year and to do so they need ten wins in the regular season.
“Our goal for this season is to win the DCL and make it to the state tournament,” Russo said. “[This] will be tough, but I have confidence in our team.”
WA Boys’ Basketball will play their next game at home on Wednesday, Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. against Weston.
