Boys basketball loses close game to Witches

The GHS boys basketball team was defeated by the Salem Witches 64-56 last Friday.

The boys team traveled in Salem and found themselves in a back and forth game. Gloucester was unable to weather the storm, moving them to 4-3 on the season.

Gloucester, on a three game winning streak, looked to keep the momentum going in. They started the game poised and ready with guards Nick Deleon and Alex Laine, who hit a couple of early three point shots to give the Fishermen the early lead.

Salem’s Elian Rodriguez kept the game close within the first minutes of the game as the Witches gained the lead. Fellow guard Nathaniel Lane splashed a couple three’s. Rodriguez and Lane shot 22 points on the night. The Salem duo made it a challenge for the Fishermen to stay in the game, despite strong efforts.

Gloucester forwards Charlie Amero and Andrew Cribbs attacked the basket hard, hitting a couple unanswered shots to keep the deficit at three points going into the break.

“That was our game plan all along,” Laine said.“That was the advantage we held.”

Coming out of halftime, the Fishermen looked to flip the tide of the game. Amero kept his scoring going with a few mid range shots to hold the deficit to 44-41.

After that, it was all Salem. Rodriguez dominated the scoring game, hitting multiple threes with tough fadeaway shots. With the Witches up by double digits, Gloucester went on a cold streak as Salem capitalized on the Fishermen’s mistakes.

Entering the 4th quarter, Gloucester turned up the intensity. Amero had his best quarter of the night, finishing with 17 points. This allowed the Fishermen to cut the lead below double digits going into the final minutes of the game. Though it wasn’t enough, Salem held on giving the Fishermen their third loss of the season.

The Fishermen look to bounce back against Beverly tonight. Tonight 7:00 pm in Beverly.