On Wednesday February 26, The Gloucester boys basketball team defeated the Weston Wildcats 60-58 in a nailbiter that came down to the final buzzer. The Fishermen, ranked 27 in Division 3, faced off against Weston, ranked 38, in the preliminary round of the playoffs. While the Fishermen dominated most of the game, Weston stayed in it and their push at the end of the game was almost enough to steal the game from Gloucester.
In the first quarter Gloucester came out strong, Senior Captain Charlie Amero started the game hot, scoring the first six points of the game for the Fishermen, finishing with eight points in just the first quarter. Charlie, paired with the team’s relentless finish at the rim, had the Fishermen finding themselves up 16-10.
“The energy we brought in the first, really set us up for the rest of the game,” Senior Captain Alex Laine said. “We were unstoppable early in the game.”
Gloucester really ramped it up early into the second quarter, a pair of threes from Gloucester’s Senior guard Nick Deleon was the foundation for the Fishermen’s 14 point lead. Deleon finished with 26 on the game, Nick’s eruption from the three point line is alway a good swing of momentum in Gloucester’s favor, and it really gets the crowd going.
“The trust my coaches and teammates have in me is really what it stems from,” Deleon said. “And of course, I have confidence in my shot too.”
But Weston would not go down without a fight, with their season slipping away they started to fight back, bringing the game within single digits, a couple tough buckets from Weston’s number 3 Dmani Williams allowed the Wildcats to find themselves down 33-25 going into the break.
After the break, it was a defensive battle, not much scoring came early in the third quarter but the Wildcats definitely controlled the game. In the fourth, things got dicey. Senior center Charlie Amero hit a nice corner three, then fouled out of the game, he finished with 20 points. The offense was forced to run small which is not usually Gloucester’s game.
It was a close game from there. Weston missed some easy layups but hit a nice three to keep themselves in it. In the final seconds of the game, down by two points, Weston streaked down the court where Carlos Velazquez made a perfectly timed block, Weston rebounded the ball but missed on the put back and that was it, the Fishermen held on. All around it was a good win for the Fishermen in a win and move on tournament.
The Fishermen will travel to Taconic High School in Pittsfield on Friday night for a 7 p.m. tip off against the number six ranked team in the division, with a shot to go on to the Sweet 16.
