ASHLAND – Despite going into halftime ahead 25-18, the Marlborough Panthers dropped the opening game of the Clocker Classic, a four-team holiday tournament held at Ashland High School from Dec. 29 to Dec. 30.
Framingham-based Keefe Technical ultimately defeated the Panthers 50-48.
Marlborough was outscored in the third quarter 22-6 and trailed 40-31 heading into the final frame of action. Though they had lost the lead and almost all the momentum, the Panthers nearly came back in the final seconds, narrowing the lead to a single point with less than 30 seconds to play.
Kaiwan Kimble and Jeliel Alcoba led Marlborough in scoring, tallying 14 points apiece. Mason Oglesby added 10.
“I’m very proud of this group. These guys battled through adversity. We had a terrible third quarter, but we didn’t falter. We chipped away and we had the opportunity to tie the game with a free throw at the end. Ultimately, we came up a little bit short, but I’m proud of their effort. These guys battled from the beginning to the end. Despite that speed bump in the third quarter, they continued to compete,” said Marlborough Head Coach Graham Asum.
