LANCASTER — Playing stifling defense, controlling the boards and hitting timely shots is a formula for success for any basketball team. The Bromfield boys basketball team did just that in their season-opener at South Lancaster Academy.
The Trojans held the Crusaders without a field goal for 10+ minutes to open the game, owned a 34-19 rebounding edge in the contest, and received double figure scoring efforts from Hugo Al-Homsi, Ray Dunn and Jeff Yates in rolling to an easy 63-34 victory.
“Hugo got us off to a quick start and played very well, and we received nice efforts from freshmen Ray Dunn and Brian McCullough,” said Bromfield coach Tom Hill. “Our zone defense worked really well and I think our size bothered them. We worked on our man-to-man in the second half and overall I was very pleased with our defense.”
South Lancaster Academy struggled mightily to get things going offensively. The Bromfield defense forced them to launch tough shots from the perimeter.
Al-Homsi came out and drained a pair of three-pointers to put the Trojans on top 6-0. Sam Peisch finished off a drive and added a free throw before Jake Lurvey’s hook from the middle of the lane made it 11-0.
The Crusaders finally got on the board with 1:14 left in the first quarter when Kyle Keith connected on a pair of free throws, but Bromfield’s Dan Ockene finished off the first quarter with a turnaround jumper to make it 13-2 after eight minutes.
The Trojans received a lift off the bench from the two freshmen to open the second quarter. After McCullough hit a free throw, Dunn (16 points, eight rebounds) scored the Trojans next eight points. When he converted after grabbing an offensive rebound, Bromfield was in cruise control with a 22-4 advantage.
The Crusaders finally woke up offensively and finished with the final seven points of the half to close the gap. When Haniel Oliveira buried a 17-footer, the Crusaders went to intermission trailing 22-11.
Both teams struggled offensively in the early stages of the third quarter and Bromfield led 26-13 after three minutes. But over the final 4:45 of the quarter, the Trojans delivered the knockout punch by scoring 13 of the final 14 points to pull away to a 39-14 lead. Al-Homsi caught fire, hitting a 15-footer before connecting on a trio of three-pointers.
The fourth quarter was an offensive extravaganza with both teams lighting it up. Dunn finished off his productive varsity debut with eight points in the quarter, highlighted by strong work in the paint. Yates heated up from the outside, scoring all ten of his points in the quarter, including a pair of three-pointers. Mike Childs (two points, five rebounds) chipped in with some strong work off the boards.
Al-Homsi finished with 21 points and a pair of steals. Caleb Frost was a key cog in the defensive effort and hauled down six rebounds. Tyler Shepherd and Peisch (three points) each grabbed four rebounds.
“We were inconsistent at points throughout the game, but overall we played pretty well for an opening game,” said Hill. “We were able to get a lot of kids some good playing time.”
Steve Fox led South Lancaster Academy with ten points and three steals. Josh Norman added nine points, five rebounds and five steals, while Oliveira added five points and three rebounds.
