Westwood has turned final yr’s magical trip into season lengthy success.
A yr after making an sudden run to the Div. 2 State Quarterfinals because the No. 29 seed, Westwood has flipped the script and is among the groups to beat because the state event approaches. The Wolverines enter the ultimate week of the common season with a 17-4 report.
“Our expectations were high,” Westwood coach Ryan Douglass mentioned. “We had sort of that magical run in the playoffs last year and so we came in with a good belief in ourselves.”
The Wolverines have used final yr’s event run as a launching pad for this winter. Centered round a core of level guard Eli Ifrah and forwards Amari Ashley and Oliver Gannon, Westwood defeated No. 20 Walpole and No. 4 Shepherd Hill earlier than falling six factors shy of reaching the state semifinals.
Now that very same core, coupled with sophomore Robert Liriano-Alejandro and wing Andy Weeman, have put the Wolverines in place to be those on the high of the state event bracket. Ifrah has been a relentless at each ends serving because the group’s flooring normal. Ashley and Gannon enable the Wolverines to regulate the boards whereas Weeman is the group’s glue man.
The sport changer has been Liriano-Alejandro. After being on the junior varsity group as a freshman, he has was the group’s main scorer and rebounder as a sophomore averaging 13.7 factors and 7 rebounds per night time.
“The selflessness of this group is off the charts,” Douglass mentioned. “Coming into it we were unsure of guys being able to adapt to certain roles. Once it happened quickly, however, we were able to hit our stride and work on marrying ourselves to success.”
On Wednesday, the Wolverines suffered a stinging loss within the TVL Large championship to Hopkinton in additional time. It’s the second consecutive yr the Wolverines have seen a shot on the league championship slip out of its fingertips. Douglass’ group, nevertheless, has honed its give attention to the state event with expertise on the largest stage already in its pocket.
“We put an emphasis on preparing for the state tourmament and then see where the chips will fall wherever they do,” Douglass mentioned. “We want to be at home and have that advantage.”
Milestones
For the second time this winter, Weymouth etched a reputation into the report books. On Wednesday night time, Megan Doyle scored 33 factors together with the 1,000th of her profession to steer the Wildcats to a 68-58 win over Newton North. The Wildcats boys program had a 1,000 level scorer of their very own earlier this yr as Edric Louissaint reached the milestone on Jan. 30.
Randolph’s Kalon Jenkins introduced on Wednesday he can be stepping down as the varsity’s boys basketball coach on the conclusion of the season. Jenkins, who has served as this system’s head coach since 2009, missed final season because of well being causes. Jenkins is among the most revered members of the Massachusetts Basketball coaches Association and led the Blue Devils to a state championship in 2022.
Source: www.bostonherald.com