Wicked Smaht! Belmont High into Semifinals of “High School Quiz Show”

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Photo: A big win for Belmont High students Lucas Jenkins, Rahul Ramakrishnan, Thomas Zembowicz and Clair Lai in the quarterfinals of WGBH’s “High School Quiz Show.”

When it came to answering questions on the European Enlightenment, attempting to outsmart the  Belmont High School team on WGBH’s “High School Quiz Show” just “Kant” be done.

The team – made up of Thomas Zembowicz, Rahul Ramakrishnan, Clare Lai and Lucas Jenkins – not only knew the who’s who of 17th century philosophy but just about any other topic thrown at them as it went on to outscore Framingham High School to make it to the semifinals of the single-elimination tournament.

The competition – which took place on Saturday, April 11 at 6 p.m. – demonstrated Belmont’s wide-range of knowledge such as when Ramakrishnan answered three consecutive questions as diverse as “The Big Bang Theory,” Bishkek (that’s the capital of Kyrgyzstan) and Antoine Lavoisier. Even when they apparently guessed on a question – as when Zembowicz said “Cuba” as where the rumba originated – they got a question correct.

See how you would do by watching the latest show.

Next up for the Belmont students is Marlborough-based Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School.

Wearing Your Passion on a T: ‘Make A Statement Day’ At Belmont High

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Photo: Belmont High senior Lexi Herosian with her “Make a Statement Day” T-shirt.

The saying goes that some people wear their heart on their sleeve.

On Friday, April 11, Belmont High School students wore their hope and inspiration on T-shirts as nearly 500 teens – nearly half the students in the school – and teachers participated in “Make A Statement Day” when students and staff decorate “Tees” with slogans, images, quotes or symbols to showcase their individuality, passion, and creativity for a day.

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The event – now in its 12th year – before they would be wearing their statement, students headed to the school’s cafeteria Thursday afternoon, April 10, filling each of the tables and many of the benches as they spent their time coming up with their personal messages amidst music and snacks.

“Take some food, take a T-shirt, listen to our free music and have a great time,” said Carrie Jones, who is the senior leader of the “Make A Statement Day” Committee which sponsors and pays for the event.

“Show us what you’re passionate about, write it down and wear it on Friday,” said Jones.

Some of the creations are elaborate and festooned with color while others are straightforward; freshman Ellie Somers wrote “Smile!” in bright block letters while junior Emma Perrow asked a thought-provoking question: “Why is it that our culture is more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands?”.

For senior Lexi Herosian, her multi-color message is a quote from Roald Dahl: “If you have good thoughts, they will shine out of you like sunbeams, and you will always look lovely.”

“It’s my senior quote, so I wanted to stay with it because I really believe it,” she said.

For Jones, Thursday afternoon was non-stop action; handing out T-shirts (purchased at Champions in Belmont Center) placing newspapers on the tables, and making sure there were enough Sharpies for every group or individual.

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Carrie Jones, senior leader of the “Make A Statement Day” Committee.

 

“For this one day it’s a way to show that we just don’t learn from a textbook, we learn from the world around us, what we are passionate about and we want to talk about it,” said Jones, who has been on the committee since she was a sophomore.

With funding from Belmont Against Racism, D.A.R.E., and the Belmont PTO, the committee – with Jones includes David Sullivan, Ani Somers and Molly Thayer – has made the day a highly-anticipated event on the school calendar.

“It’s pretty amazing proof of the level of talent, passion, and creativity in the students here at [the high school],” said Jones.

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Devan O'Toole, Anika Somers, Sarah Jane Henman and Carrie Jones.

Devan O’Toole, Anika Somers, Sarah Jane Henman and Carrie Jones.

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For Arts Sake: Belmont High AP Artists Show Why Their Class Matters

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Photo: The AP Art Show.

Beth El Temple Center’s Zonis Auditorium was buzzing last Saturday night, March 28, filled with people, musicians and residents who came to show their appreciation that art exists in Belmont … for now. 

Lining two sides of the room were large works in oil and watercolor, pencil and from photographs. On tables was jewelry, artists drawing portraits and collaborative works with elementary and high school students.

Mingling with the crowd were students with sticky labels saying “Ask me about my art.”

“It’s not a fish,” said one artist about his work titled: “This is not a fish.”

“So, what is it?”

“It’s a drawing of a fish,” he replied.

In just over a week’s time, the students from Belmont High School’s Advanced Placement Art class brought together their works – ranging for award-winning canvases to miniature “thingys” – for an impromptu show to demonstrate to the greater community why Belmont is considered one of the bright spots for public school art.

“We wanted to do something to raise awareness for what our program does” since it usually “is our own little world,” said senior Brenna Sorkin.

Not that they need to tell educators of their talents. In February, students from the high school and the Chenery Middle School came away with a boatload of awards at the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, run by the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in partnership with the Boston Globe.

For the artists, the show was more than a collective viewing of the work completed in the past school year. It was an affirmation of how a single subject can impact the lives and future of Belmont students, a class likely to face cuts or eliminated if a Proposition 2 1/2 override is defeated by voters on April 7.

While saying the show wasn’t an overtly political event, Sorkin said it was an opportunity to show voters “this is what’s at stake, this is who we are and what we do and consider that when [they] vote.”

Looked on with amazement and delight at the activity going around him Saturday, AP Art teacher Mark Milowsky said he was “just blown away by this.”

“They organized this whole show and set it all up. I stepped in and was floored,” said Milowsky as he wheeling around his newborn in a stroller.

Yet slashing the arts district-wide would not only halt the program’s progress, but could damage the entire art environment beyond repair.

The elimination of the art classes at the middle school would effect “[t]he quality and level of the work” by the students “and they will not be as prepared as they come up to the high school,” said Milowski

If AP Art ends, “we will never see another (academic) scholarship because the colleges will simply stop coming,” said Milowsky, counter to the status quo in which each of the 18 seniors received grants to major in art.

“Without AP Art, Belmont will fall off the map,” said Milowsky.

That sentiment is not universally accepted in Belmont. A resident known for this opposition to improved school spending said in a column printed last week in a Perinton, NY.-based weekly publication that the town “owes its children a decent education.”

“That means textbooks that aren’t falling apart but should it also include courses like advanced placement art, dance and theater?” he pondered, before taking the school system to task for offering them.

But, for the art students, “[w]hat really makes up a ‘good’ education?” asked junior Della Copes-Finke.

“Art is what shapes you as an individual. For me, it helped better understand who I am and who I want to be even if I don’t follow art as a career” Copes-Finke said, pointing out alumni from AP Art are currently working in innovative companies such as Pixar, Google, Under Armor and Microsoft.

“It’s easy for people who didn’t take art to say it’s not an important part of education, but it is a huge part of our education since we don’t see ourselves thriving in a traditional university environment,” said Sorkin, who will use her arts background when she enters Lehigh College in the fall as a product design and engineering major.

“Everything is art,” she said. “Your phone, your shoes, your car; an artist was involved in making those. So it’s a very simplistic world view to say just teach them how to read, write and add because that is not the whole picture.”

The column writer should visit the visual arts room stuck “way back” on the second floor of the High School where he will find students who work tirelessly on projects that are both technically demanding and intellectually liberating.

“It’s like a sanctuary to express ourselves in a lot of different ways you can’t do in any other classrooms,” said junior Olga Brevnova, who was nominated for an national American Visions Award this winter. “It’s our identity.”

For Kabita Das, Shreya Patel and Katherine Saylor, the space – a bramble of projects past, present and future amongst well-worn paint splattered table and stools – is where they would spend the entire school day and beyond as they feel a sense of personal accomplishment and community.

For Das, it wasn’t simply a place to explore her talents; she entered high school with confidence issues “so in finding and coming to this class, I felt a lot of potential in myself and allowed me to grow and carry that through in my art.”

Growth as both an artist and a student is what Saylor, a graduating senior, will remember from her four years.

“You’re working for yourself and not a grade. The motivation you gain here, all that effort you put into a single work is reflected in your other classes,” said Saylor.

Yet it’s hardly a class of inward-looking individuals focused on their art.

“Here you learn to work together, form relationships and to collaborate,” said Patel.

“That’s not something you could really do in other classes … we are not told to work with three other people; we reach out to our peers, and that creates bonds that are more rewarding personally but also artistically,” she said.

Asked what four years without advanced art would have been, Patel said “unimaginable.”

“This room has been a part of my life. It’s the first room I entered as a freshman [it was her homeroom], and it will be the last one I leave as a senior. I wouldn’t be where I am as a student, an artist or a person without this room.”

PHOTOS: Sail to Belmont High to see Performing Arts Co.’s ‘Anything Goes’

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Photo: Zoe Miner as Reno Sweeney leading the ensemble in “Blow, Gabriel, Blow” in the Belmont High School Performing Arts Company’s production of “Anything Goes.” 

Who knew you had to rehearse final bows?

But for director/producer Ezra Flam, nothing can be left to chance, especially when you have more than 70 students on the stage in the last scene of Belmont High School Performing Arts Company’s production of Cole Porter’s musical “Anything Goes” that opens Thursday, March 26. 

Playing a theater’s version of a traffic cop on stage during Tuesday’s dress rehearsal. Flam is calling out directions to a slew of students who first came together in try outs before Christmas to claim a spot in the annual spring musical. 

Just minutes before, Flam’s choreographer Jenny Lifson demonstrates to Reno’s Angels – the 10 featured female dancers – just how to hold up the hands and for the sailors to remember to “smile” while performing a series of tap steps before lifting their “Angels” in the finale. 

“Not one of them knew how to tap,” said Lifson, pointing to the boys’ in uniform on the stage.

“Look at them now. That’s impressive,” she said.

And while there were some hiccups during Tuesday’s run through – someone forgot to grab a chair at a scene change and the spot light went hunting for a feature actor during a scene – the majority of the afternoon rehearsal showed a polish few other high school groups could match.

Performances are Thursday, March 26 and Friday, March 27 at 7 p.m. and two shows on Saturday March 28; a matinee at 1:30 p.m. and the final show at 7 p.m.

Tickets are adults: $15 in advance, $18 at the door. Students: $10, Chenery 8th Grade Students: $5.

Tickets can be purchased online and at Champions Sports in Belmont Center.

Belmont High Frosh Jumper Sets Marks at National, State Track Meets

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Photo: Belmont High freshman Anoush Krafian at the New Balance National Indoor on Friday, March 13. (photo, Don Rich.)

Anoush Krafian stands 5 feet, 3 inches tall. And she can jump higher than her own height. That’s special for any high school athlete. Did I mention that Krafian just turned 15? That’s extra special.

In the past month, the Belmont High School ninth grader has been showing her soaring and running talent in state-wide and, this past week, at national competitions.

On Friday, March 13, Krafian jumped 5-feet, 2 1/2 inches to place 14th in a field of 27 of the nation’s top freshmen at the New Balance National Indoor for High School Track & Field in New York City.

“It’s really exciting. I’m proud of myself and what I’ve done,” Krafian said earlier in the month when her name was floating around as possibly heading to the nationals.

In the Massachusetts Div. 3 state championships on Feb. 13, Krafian equaled her personal best with a 5’4″ effort in the high jump, equaling the best height of the meet and only placing second only due to the number of extra jumps she took. In the 55-meter hurdles, the Marauder ran 9.05 seconds to place fifth in a field stacked with seniors and juniors.

While she didn’t have a great All-States meet the next week, Krafian holds the distinction of being the only 9th graders competing in both the high jump and hurdles out of two dozen competitors from across the state. Statewide, she is nearly three-quarters of a second faster than the next freshman in the hurdles – that’s close to a lifetime in the sprints – and has jumped two-inches higher than the second-best ninth-grader.

Yet her best event is one that isn’t one most people know. On Feb. 23, Krafian finished 7th in the Massachusetts State Track Coaches’ Pentathlon, a two-day, five-event competition in which competitors are tested in the 55-meter hurdles, high jump, long jump, shot put and 800 meter run. Her total of 2,774 points made her the only non-senior in the top ten, and nearly 900 points better than the next freshman.

“I’ve done the pentathlon a lot with my club, so I’m used to it. My three best events are the high jump, hurdles and long jump, so I’ve got three of the events down,” Krafian said.

Krafian is no overnight sensation, having been a long-time member of the Waltham Track Club and earning the title of Massachusetts Middle School state track champion in the high jump and hurdles in 7th grade. She missed defending her titles last spring due to a stress fracture in her back.

“I played soccer, basketball and track, a lot of everything. When I got older, I narrowed it down to just track because those are my strengths,” she said.

Krafian had some adjustments to make running for a high school program.

“High school is different than middle school because here it’s intense, up to an hour-and-a-half practice each day and meets every week,” she said. “I had a slow start, I was just getting into it, but now I’m where I want to be.”

Krafian’s goals at Belmont is to win an all-states meet and do well nationally. “I’ve come so far, and I have just a little bit more to go,” she said.

And there is no rest for the weary; Krafian first day of spring practice starts on Monday, March 16.

Belmont Girls’ Hoops Goes Out Fighting, 49-40, in Sectional Semis to Watertown

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Photo: Senior Elena Bragg stares at the court after Belmont lost in the sectional semifinals to Watertown on Wednesday, March 4. 

They working themselves to exhaustion, physically and mentally, on that basketball court in Malden. The Belmont High School Girls’ Basketball team wanted this game against its arch-rivals, knowing to a player they were capable of pulling off the upset.

They put it all on the line.

It wasn’t enough.

When the buzzer sounded to announce Watertown High School’s 49-40 victory over Belmont in the Div. 2 North Sectional semifinals Wednesday night, March 4, the tears and emotion from the players who bonded throughout their successful season unashamedly came forth.

“I’m super proud of those girls. I can’t say enough about this team and how great they are. It’s just a shame that it’s over,” said a subdued Head Coach Melissa Hart, looking at her girls pulling their uniforms into their face, not to show how bad they felt.

“I think we left everything on the court, for sure,” said Sophia Eschenbach-Smith, one of the team’s co-captains.

“Yes, we came up short but we played our hearts out for every second of it, so none of us have any regrets how the game went,” she told the Belmontonian.

On this night, Watertown – undefeated, a number-one seed and a top-ten ranking in media polls for the entire season – made more plays and fewer mistakes against their neighbors, earning that trip to Lowell Saturday for the sectional finals against Pentucket Regional.

“Watertown, they made the plays, they made the shots. And we were just a little sloppy,” Hart said.

A major aim of Belmont’s game plan was to keep Watertown close, both in the score and physically, to hamper the high-powered offense that proved itself by sweeping through the season without a loss, including an opening game win against a much different, less put-together Belmont team.

On Wednesday, Watertown was successful with their “drive and dish” offense in which a Raider players would head for the basket, luring Marauders to her, when she would pass to an open player, with sophomore Shannon Murphy (10 points) or junior Katelyn Rourke (game high 15 point) mostly on the receiving end.

Nor was the level of officiating helping Belmont. While both teams play a physical game, and the Raiders are known for their ball hawking manner, the officials appeared to pay closer attention to incidental contact from the Marauders. Near the end of the first half, Belmont amassed nine fouls to Watertown’s two, a discrepancy noted by the large turnout of Belmont students who came to support their team.

Watertown played a crisper first half while Belmont found the going tough near the basket as Murphy swatted away a number of Marauder attempts. At the end of the first quarter, Belmont was looking up at a 7-point deficit, 11-4.

But the Marauders appeared to shake off their nervousness between quarters and came out a more confident crew, especially on offense. Senior Co-Captain Linda Herlihy (4 points, 5 rebounds, got things rolling with her patient hook shot off the glass. Junior Irini Nikolaidis (4 points, 5 steals) hit a jumper in the paint before freshman Jenny Call (5 points) knocked home an open 3 pointer to cut the lead to a deuce, 13-11, at the 6:30 mark.

Resting starters, Hart placed the game into the hands of three freshmen – Call, Carly Christofori (9 points) and Greta Propp – who kept the game close, and when Eschenbach-Smith hit a 3 pointer and Christofori put in one of two from the line, Belmont was within a bucket, 24-22, with 60 seconds remaining to play.

But in that final minute, the Raiders made the decisive move of the game, going on a 7-0 run – with baskets by sophomore Murphy and junior Michaela Antonellis (5 points, all in the first half) as well as a big 3 from senior Rachel Morris (her only basket of the game) – to shot the lead up to 9 at end the half, 31-22.

The third quarter was like trench warfare during World War I; no one was giving an inch as both defenses stiffened. After six minutes, a total of 7 points (five for Watertown, two for Belmont) was scored before the Raiders punched home two buckets off  “drive and dish” moves to lead by 13, 38-25, with eight minutes remaining.

With the exception of the second quarter, the anticipated Belmont surge – an explosion of points that put away opponents for the entire season – had not materialized, and with less than four minutes remaining, Belmont trailed Watertown, 44-29.

Then finally, it appeared. The final push from the Marauders came in the guise of an 11-2 run, all within two minutes. A pair of Christofori free throws, Eschenbach-Smith’s second 3 pointer and a pair of free throws got the score within 10 points before senior captain Elena Bragg (6 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists) put her stamp on things.

Bragg – who is looking to play in a Division 3 college program in Boston next year – took a pass from Eschenbach-Smith for a layup, then immediately stole the ball and proceeded to throw up an over-the-shoulder, running prayer that was answered. The improbable basket brought the Marauders’ within six points with 59 second remaining, sending the Belmont fan base roaring and Herlihy calling out supporters to become even louder.

But that was a close as Belmont could get as Watertown settled down and spread the court, forcing Belmont to foul and sending them to the line.

At the buzzer, seniors sought each other while some of the younger players looked a bit in awe after seeing the emotion and grit spent Wednesday night.

Outside the locker room, parents and friends waited to greet their loved ones, to brush away tears and applaud the team one final time.

“We all came out with such high intensity from everyone,” said Herlihy. “The girls who don’t play that much, they were on their feet, ready to go come out and play.”

“I love this team, honestly, and I hate to see it end, but we had an amazing season. I’ll miss everyone so much,” she said.

 

 

 

 

Belmont Girls’ Hoops Coach Hart One of Few Females Leading Team to Semis

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Photo: Melissa Hart, Belmont Girls’ Basketball head coach, conducting practice on Tuesday, March 3.

Melissa Hart is having fun at practice.

In the same Wenner Field House where she played on an 18-2 “Lady Marauders” hoops team and underneath the dusty banner celebrating the soccer squad winning the state championships – in which she was the starting goalkeeper – Hart is banging on a table with her hands, yelling out encouragement, having a blast a day before the (next) biggest game of the season.

“Cheaters don’t prosper,” Hart yelled over to a group of players who exaggerated the number of baskets they made during one drill.

For Hart and the team, the practice was a chance to iron out kinks and prepare a game plan for their highly-anticipated encounter in the Div. 2 North Sectional semifinals against number one seed and undefeated (19-0) arch-rival Watertown High on Wednesday, March 4, at 8 p.m.

“We’re not going to be nervous; we’re going to be … ,” said Hart to her team in the final huddle.

” … the ‘Eye of the Tiger’,” assistant coach Stephen Conley calls out, before going into an a cappella rendition of the Survivor song used in some “Rocky” movie as the team collectively laughed.

“Get that warrior face on. Stare them in the face and say ‘We are going to win. We have a road we’re traveling on!,” said Hart with the confidence of a coach who knows what will motivate her team.

Yet when she leads her team (16-6 with two playoff victories under its belt) out onto the court at Mystic River Regional Charter School in Malden, Hart will be an outlier in the sport; a woman coaching a girls’ basketball program.

In the top-three North divisions in the MIAA tournament this year, just 3 of the 12 head coaches in the sectional semifinals are woman – one of four in each division.

The drop is a phenomena advancing through the college and Olympic ranks. USA Today reported last month that since Title IX – requiring gender equity for boys and girls in all educational program receiving federal funding, including athletics – was enacted in 1972, the percentage of female coaches heading women sports programs in colleges and universities nationwide has slide from 90 percent to 40 percent. And that number will drop further as statistic show men are being hired at a 2/3 rate over females to head women’s programs.

In 2012, the Washington Post found that of the five sports — basketball, field hockey, soccer, volleyball and water polo — in which the United States sent a women’s team under a single head coach to the London Olympics, only the soccer coach was a woman.

Hart said since she began coaching the girls’ at her alma mater six years ago, she can only remember one man replacing a woman in the Middlesex League, which Belmont plays a vast majority of their games.

“It’s not been a problem in our league, but I have heard it mentioned,” she said.

While Hart would not say that she or another woman have an edge in directing girls, her players said a female coach – especially one who has played the game – brings an advantage a man lacks.

“Boys and girls basketball is completely different,” said senior Sophia Eschenbach-Smith, who, with fellow senior Elena Bragg, have been coached by males in AAU programs.

“From the pace, how girls rebound to just how boys box out, it’s those details that she has an advantage over a man,” said Eschenbach-Smith. “She can demonstrate stuff a little more comfortably than a man.”

Both players noted that men are quicker to “put you down, saying ‘Oh, you were wrong.’ That doesn’t really work. [Hart] is more supportive,” said Eschenbach-Smith.

“[Male and female] coaches give motivation differently. [Hart] gives energy through words while male coaches give energy through volume,” said Bragg.

Family pressures

While USA Today and the Post point to higher salaries and a greater acceptance by men that coaching women is a great place to continue in the game, Hart sees it from a different angle. While many women are eager to stay in basketball and coach, they – and she – will likely feel the pressure and cost to “our lives,” said Hart.

Hart has seen several women who were or wanted to enter coaching only to discover their lives – job, marriage, education and children – and coaching basketball (or other sports) just doesn’t mix.

“It’s unfair, but it’s still women who take on more of the childcare or just household tasks,” said Hart.

That’s not the case for many men, whether they are single or in a relationship, she said.

“The sheer population of men willing to prioritize coaching in their life, and interested, is much greater than double the women,” Hart said.

In addition, no one is going to get rich coaching high school basketball, outside of Kevin Boyle, who was paid $100,000 to “teach” boys’ basketball at Montverde Academy, near Orlando.

“[What] effects women in coaching is the idea that it does not pay much money and, in fact, might actually cost more to arrange childcare in the Boston area than the money made from the actual coaching job,” she said.

“I left college coaching (Hart was head coach at MIT for eight years) because of many of the reasons” including having kids and not making enough money to justify being away from her son and two daughters.

Today, Hart is an anomaly, a coach with children and the resources so she can commit to the job.

“I almost look at it personally as something I can do in this community. The financial gain from coaching is minimal, but [our family] can afford to simply use the money [for that purpose]. I make enough to defray costs of childcare. I do not think I would be able to do the job otherwise, at least not as I would like to,” she said.

“I am only fortunate that … I am in a place where I can do this, save the guilt from my children saying ‘[You] love basketball more’ or bemoaning ‘why I have to go again to basketball’,” she said.

In addition to the pull of family, there is just a greater amount of men who are able and willing to take on the challenge. In addition, women feel that they must “prove” they “know our stuff.”

“The majority of women who think they are ‘qualified’ to coach, are women who played through college,” said Hart. “There are plenty of men who did not play in college, may not have played even through high school, that are in the coaching ranks,” she said.

While playing at Hamilton College – where Hart still holds the record for single-season scoring average at 25 points per game – she discovered the male head coach was a collegiate diver with limited basketball background.

With women more often the ones pulled away from family obligations and the greater pool of male candidates, “and one out of four does not not even seem a crazy ratio at all,” she said.

But the falling number of female coaches at all levels can be reversed, said Hart. In addition to making coaching more “family friendly” by defraying the cost of childcare, practice schedules need to accommodate a coach’s busy life outside the gym.

“If it is something more people wanted to see, I think … athletic departments have to be flexible and creative to allow women to be able to coach without interruption,” Hart said.

Tickets ‘On Sail’ for Performing Arts Company’s Musical ‘Anything Goes’

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What do I hear? Is that spring in the air?

It must be as tickets are now on sale for Belmont High School’s Performing Arts Company’s spring musical, Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes.”

The story consists of a series of madcap antics between a stowaway, a heiress, a nobleman, a nightclub singer and “Public Enemy #13 Moonface Martin” all aboard an ocean liner heading from New York to London. The list of popular songs in the musical includes “Anything Goes,” “You’re the Top,” and “I Get a Kick Out of You.

Performances

  • Thursday and Friday, March 26 and 27, at 7 p.m.
  • Saturday, March 28; a matinee at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Tickets

  • Adults: $15 in advance/$18 at the door.
  • Students: $10
  • Chenery 8th grade students: $5
  • Belmont Schools staff: reserve a free ticket online with coupon code BPSSTAFF or by e-mailing tickets@bhs-pac.org 

Buy tickets online here, at the door and at Champions Sports in Belmont Center.

Belmont Boys’ Hoops Nipped by Tewksbury, 58-56, in Quarterfinals

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Photo: Belmont’s Ben Lazenby heading towards the basket during the quarterfinal match between Belmont and Tewksbury.

Belmont High Boys’ Basketball Head Coach Adam Pritchard looked like he had just wrestled an alligator or some wild beast – his hair in a riot, shirttail out, tie comically askew, pants twisted – coming down the stairs from the second-floor locker room at Tewksbury High School’s gym.

In fact, Pritchard and the team he coached, had just put up a monumental struggle for 32 minutes on the hard court. A struggle they just could not come out on top.

In a tightly played and exciting contest decided in the final seconds, Belmont was nipped at the line by host Tewksbury, 58-56, in the quarterfinals of the Division 2 North Sectionals.

With Belmont down by two points with 5.8 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, junior co-captain Matt Kerans missed the front end of a one-and-one from the free throw line. While Belmont got the ball for a final shot, there was only .2 of a second left on the clock, just enough for a prayer.

A desperation full-court pass was intercepted and the game and a topsy-turvy season – filled with injuries, statement wins, and a few surprising upsets – came to an end as the capacity hometown crowd cheered.

“That was a good team; they were 19-4 coming in. We were on the road coming to a team that had a lot of success, and they play the game well,” Pritchard said hoarsely.

“It was a two-point game, a game of so many different possessions, so many statistics, to say that it came down to any one thing is nice for some people, but I don’t believe it,” Pritchard said.

“You could say everyone was having a hard time making free throws, maybe a shot here or a turnover there or having the poise. Whatever it is, it’s a collection of things. As a coach, I can think of a lot of things I would do differently

For the first time this season, Belmont’s long-time guard tandem of Kerans and senior co-captain Ben Lazenby were matched up with a pair of opposing guards – co-captains senior Alex DiRocco (18 points) and junior Nate Tenaglia (19 points) – who were just as talented shooting as they were on defense. Critically, the Redmen duo were just as quick as Kerans (12 points) and Lazenby (8 points), negating Belmont’s speed cutting to the basket or driving to the hoop.

That advantage was evident at the start of the game when Tewksbury couldn’t stop making shots – DiRocco and Tenaglia each hit a three and a two in the first – while guard/forward junior Justin Derrah (scorched the Marauders with 7 of his game 13 points to initially lead by 10-2 and 17-5 in the final seconds until junior guard Cole Bartels (9 points) hit his own three at the buzzer to cut the lead to nine (17-8) after the first.

Early in the second, Belmont’s senior Adam Kleckner (18 points) was hit with his third foul when a technical was assessed to the 6’5″ center after he tangled up with DiRocco (the technicals to both players were harsh in how physical the game was played). Pritchard took Kleckner out and later Kerans with the Marauders down 23-15 at the five-minute mark.

“I was hoping to keep it close with the subs in,” said Pritchard.

Better than that, the combination of four seniors (Peter Durkin, Seth Altman, co-captain Tom Martin and Jaemar Paul) and Bartels kept chipping at the lead as Tewksbury’s aim began to fail them. Leading the Marauders was Paul, who delivered offensively – a pair of baskets and free throws – and on defense as he presented a physical challenge to the Redmen under the basket.

“We got incredible effort from the kids off the bench,” said Pritchard.

When Bartels stole a pass and connected on his second three of the half with four minutes to play, the Marauders finished a 10-0 run to lead 25-23. The swarming Belmont defense allowed Tewksbury only 8 points in the quarter and provide the visitors a two-point margin (27-25) at the half.

“We had our top three scorers come out of the game at the same time and they gave us a two-point lead. That was amazing. It is about the team and not about one or two so that was one of the most impressive things I will remember,” he said.

The second half began like the first, but this time Belmont had the hot hand and it was possessed by Kleckner who began using his strength and height – four inches taller than anyone on the Tewksbury bench – to muscle his way to the basket, dropping 14 of his 18 points in the third stanza.

But just as Belmont was gaining momentum and the lead at 37-31, DiRocco and Tenaglia proved unstoppable from beyond the three-point arc, hitting five 3s – two by DiRocco from beyond the NBA 3-point line – to knot the score at 44 entering the final eight minutes.

It took two minutes for either team to score when Lazenby made his only 3 pointer before he sank a flying deuce and put in a layup with a nifty pass by Bartels to up the Belmont advantage to two, 51-49 with 4:40 to play.

Help for Tewksbury came from an unlikely source; junior forward Adam Gajjaoui – who had been badly missing the few shots he took – started connecting, knocking down a critical 3 pointer to give Tewksbury a two-point lead, 54-53, with three minutes to play and then put in a layup to give the Redmen a three-point edge, 56-53.

Both teams made critical plays on defense – Kleckner taking a charge and Tenaglia stealing a pass to the wide open Kleckner – while the offenses stalled as Belmont missed a pair of 3 pointers (Belmont would end the night hitting five 3’s to Tewksbury’s 11). Belmont could not take advantage of fouls on Kleckner and Kerans as the Redmen were assessed four fouls into the final minute of the game.

It came down to free throws as Tenaglia missed the front end of a one-and-one with 33 seconds left, a play in which Bartels was fouled. He made one of two to pull Belmont within a pair, 56-54. Needing to foul, Belmont picked on substitute senior co-captain Joe Csokmay who made his only two points of the game count, allowing the Redmen to lead by four, 58-54, with 28 seconds remaining.

It took time for Belmont to take a shot that turned out to be a spectacular one as Kerans threw up a behind his back prayer that bounced on the rim before dropping.

Quickly fouling, Belmont was given a potential “Get Out of Jail” card as Derrah missed his one-and-one and Kerans was fouled from behind with 5.8 seconds left.

You know what happened next.

Pritchard said this year’s squad – that includes nine seniors: Kleckner, Lazenby, Durkin, Martin, Bryan Scordino, Altman, Pablo Reimers, and Alex Berets – were “amazing kids, great leaders from great families. I have been incredibly blessed to have coached this group of kids because they are all going to go out and be successful.”

“They were respectful, they listened and that’s because they cared. That’s something special.”