The student news site of Westford Academy

WA Ghostwriter

The student news site of Westford Academy

WA Ghostwriter

The student news site of Westford Academy

WA Ghostwriter

Cambridge defeats Boys’ Basketball

McCord at the free throw line.
McCord at the free throw line.

By Tim DeLouchrey
Sports Editor

Boys’ Basketball took a tough loss to Cambridge on December 22, 2014. They were defeated by a final score of 66-51.

Cambridge, the third ranked team in the state, broke the ice in the first quarter, getting on the board with two early free throws. Senior captain Eric McCord scored back to back baskets to start the game for Westford Academy. Cambridge was hot shooting to begin the quarter however; they took an 11-6 lead when WA burned their first timeout.

WA went on a mini-run after the timeout, topped off by a breakaway layup by junior Pat Coffey to bring the Ghosts within a point; the score at that point was 13-12 with Cambridge on top. Cambridge’s senior Demetrius Woodson hit a deep three-pointer off of the bench to shift the momentum back in the Falcon’s favor. Senior captain Dan Cornelius hit a runner after however to bring WA back within two. With just seconds left in the quarter, sophomore Jakigh Dotton from Cambridge completed a traditional three point play. The Ghosts trailed 21-14 at the end of the quarter.

The second quarter was the Ghost’s best, as they outscored Cambridge 18-14 in that specific time period. Cornelius and McCord led the way for most of the quarter, with Cornelius hitting a big three to open up and successfully sinking a free throw as well, while McCord piled in six more points. WA took their first and only lead in the second quarter off of a McCord hook shot putting the Ghosts up 22-21. Senior forward for Cambridge Tevin Charles retook the lead for Cambridge and scored a few more points to give the Falcons the lead. Sophomore John Glidden was also able to make his mark on the quarter as well, hitting a deep jump shot to help WA stay competitive. Senior Chris Imbriaco followed up with a three-pointer to tie the game at 27.

Juniors Nick Fiorillo and Coffey connected on three pointers in the second quarter as well, but due to smooth execution from Cambridge, they were then tied at 30. The half ended with the Ghosts trailing 35-32 with Cambridge’s senior Isaiah McLeod leading all scorers with 13 and McCord leading the way for WA with 12.

Coffey opened up the second half with a three pointer to tie the game, giving the WA fans plenty to cheer about. McCord picked up his third foul shortly after however, causing head coach Chris Bramanti to sit him, as he was in foul trouble. Cambridge took advantage of the McCord-less Ghost’s defense, scoring six straight points. At the end of the third, Cambridge had jumped out to a 50-43 lead.

Both teams played high level defense to start the fourth quarter, as no one scored until McLeod, who had been a huge problem for the Ghosts all night, hit back to back three pointers to give Cambridge a 56-43 lead with just 4:49 to play in the game. Cambridge carried that momentum swiftly, outplaying the Ghosts for the remainder of the game and winning by a final score of 66-51. Cornelius and McCord finished respectively with 11 and 15 points. McLeod finished with 25 in a superstar performance.

“McLeod gave us a lot of trouble. He was scoring all over the place,” said McCord.

Both McCord and Bramanti emphasized that the team needed to focus on rebounding for their next outing but were otherwise fairly proud of the team.

“It’s a tough one to take but I thought we competed but just couldn’t get shots to fall,” said Bramanti.

Cambridge is viewed as one of the top competitors in the league and was expected to give teams in the DCL trouble.

“Just a tough loss to a great Cambridge team,” said McCord.

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