Pirates ousted from Clark Tourney 62-44

Gianni Christo(34) saves a ball from going out of bounds and
sends it back into play. Photo by Don Cote.

By Steev Riccardo

The Oxford Pirates ran into a very tough Littleton Tigers team and were knocked out of the Clark Tournament in the first round 62-44 on Sunday night in Worcester.

Senior Tyler Bostek, who scored 11 points and added in 21 rebounds, was outstanding for the Pirates, who for the most part could not get their offense in gear.

The game was close early with the Tigers taking a 17-14 lead after one quarter.

The Pirates surged late in the first half thanks to some big plays by Bostek, who a key rebound and a basket in the last minute. However, they only shot 28% from the field on 9 for 32 shooting and could only come within 5 points, trailing 30-25 at the break.

Littleton took full control of the game in the third quarter, outscoring the Pirates 15-2 while building a 45-27 lead and from that point on coasted to the win.

A disappointed Oxford High School Coach Sean Halloran spoke of his team’s shooting woos, “We had a lot of open looks and we ended up shooting 22% for the game and you are not going to win any games shooting 22%. We were 2-19 from the three and you live and die by that sometimes.”

The Pirates gave up more points that usual for a team that plays some of the best defense in Central Mass. “Giving up 30 points in a half for us is pretty big, we have been averaging 45 for the game.”

“I am very disappointed overall. I thought we were ready coming in, the shots just didn’t fall for us,” said Halloran.

The players feel like they can rebound and be ready for another district run like they had a year ago.

“We are team that has good chemistry. We have been playing together now for a while and something like this hurts now but I think in the long run we will bounce back,” said a dejected but optimistic Bostek.

Junior Cody Stone, who had 11 points in the loss, agreed with his teammate. “I’m confident, I think we can easily win in the districts, we never give up, even tonight we were down and we battled back.”

The Pirates played with out their floor leader and defensive wiz Donny Freeland, who was on the sidelines with his broken hand in a cast. “Losing Donny (Freeland) did hurt us, he is a big part of our team but at the same time we are a team and we should have executed better as a team,” said Stone.

The Pirates have qualified for the Division 2 districts so at 11-9, Halloran and his team need to be patient and wait for their next assignment.

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