Region – Athletes from Central Massachusetts towns participated in basketball and wrestling during the Bay State Games July 5-7.
On July 6, at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston, the Central boys” basketball team was defeated by West 92-86, despite several late comeback attempts. West received a 20-point effort from Manny Rivera (Holyoke) while Nicholas Will (Hopkinton) poured in 20 points for Central.
The trend continued in their second game of the day with Southeast victorious 112-71. Forward Ryan Jones (Weymouth) paced Southeast in its fourth straight victory with 22 points while Central also had a player with a 22-point effort in center Seamus Bell (Winchendon).
Central was pushed out of the tournament after facing their third loss July 7 at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, losing a close game to Northeast 81-78. Center Seamus Bell outpaced all scorers with 30 points. Guard Matt Sargent (Worcester) and guard Zachary Knapp (Princeton) also posted double figures with 18 and 16 points, respectively.
Southeast eventually took the gold medal, Coastal silver, and Metro bronze.
On the girls” side, Central was victorious in their first two games on July 6 at the Wentworth Institute of Technology. The team defeated West 61-52 behind double-digit performances from two of its players. Amanda Murphy (Northborough) recorded a team-high 13 points, while Meaghann Akermann (Littleton) chipped in with 12.
In the second game, Southeast had the game locked up heading into the fourth quarter, but guard Amy Willichowski's (Westborough) second half 14-point performance rallied Central to come from behind to defeat Southeast 55-54. Forward Dorian McEnemy (Northborough) tied the game and netted the eventual game winner after controlling the boards throughout the second half. Guard Amanda Murphy (Northborough) also chipped in 13 points for the winners.
On July 7, at the University of Massachusetts Boston, the Central girls suffered their first loss to Northeast, losing a low-scoring game 47-35.?Central received a 10-point effort from forward Brianna Camara (Fall River).
Central earned a trip to the bronze medal game the same day, but lost to Southeast 68-59.?Central guard Amanda Murphy (Northborough) was the high scorer with 14 points.
Metro took the gold medal over Northeast 70-66 in overtime.
In the Bay State Games wrestling tournament at UMass Boston, more than 400 wrestlers from around New England competed in the two-day event.?In Juniors Wrestling, Drew Cozzdino of Southborough received a silver medal; in Open Wrestling, Zach Marcolulier of Southborough received a bronze medal.
For more information, visit www.baystategames.org.
