Westport boys basketball overcomes playoff challenge, advances to Sweet 16

WESTPORT — Hunter Brodeur said the sixth-seed Westport boys basketball team faced adversity all season.

Thursday’s playoff contest against 27th seed Ayer Shirley was no different for the Wildcats, who were in a seven-point hole in the third quarter. They were even without senior guard Ben Boudria, who was in foul trouble and forced to miss most of the game.

“We have had our ups and downs all year,” the Westport senior tri-captain said. “We lost seven games this season and we faced adversity throughout the season. We were ready for moments like this. When Ben [Boudria] left the game, the next guy steps up. We must play as a team and continue to fight as a unit.”

Brodeur and sophomore Owen Boudria took over in the second half, lifting Westport to a dramatic 63-57 win over the Panthers in the Division V Round of 32 game before a tournament-like atmosphere at Westport High School.

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With the victory, the Wildcats (14-7) advance to the Sweet 16 and will host either 11th seed Salem Academy Carter or 22nd seed Mount Greylock at a time and date to be determined.

“We missed a ton of layups all game long,” Westport head coach Scot Boudria said. “I thought in the second half we started to make more than we missed. The defensive intensity got a lot better. We started to figure out some patterns.”

Brodeur scored 10 of his 17 points in the second half and played lights out on defense. Owen Boudria stepped up his game, recording 13 of his team-high 20 points in the final 16 minutes of play.

“It feels great,” said Owen Boudria after the win. “Last year, we won big and this year was a little bit of a nail-biter. But we were good.”

The Panthers did not resemble a 27th seed team as they fought tooth and nail all game until the final whistle.

“We missed some baskets late and it was tough on the road,” Ayer Shirley head coach Rick Kilpatrick said. “We came here to win. It’s heartbreaking we did not get it done. But I was super proud of my guys and really impressed by Westport with the way they played.”

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The lead changed hands or was tied 10 different times throughout the second half before the Wildcats took the lead (57-54) for good late in the fourth quarter. The Panthers were held without a field goal for nearly three minutes before a Brian Holmes’ three-pointer ended the drought with under two minutes remaining.

Sophomore Tommy Bergin had a game-high 23 points for Ayer Shirley. Holmes and Bobby Manchester each finished with 11 points.

Senior captain Cameron Leary had nine points for Westport and teammate Max Morotti had eight second-half points, including two huge three-pointers in the win.

"I [thought] Owen [Boudria] caught a little bit of fire and Hunter [Brodeur] too in the second half," Scot Boudria said. "Hunter started passing the ball really well and I thought Ben [Boudria] did a phenomenal job on [Marshall]. Max [Morotti] two three-pointers were huge. He stepped up in the second half for sure.

"The bench did not turn the ball over. That was important. I told the guys after we did our little dance in the locker room, we got work to do. I’m driving to Salem to see who we are playing then we rock-and-roll."

Brodeur speaks on the team's level of confidence

"I think it is about the experience. We’ve been playing together since third grade. All those dumb mistakes you make, I think we already got over that and been through that. But now we really know what to do when we get down. We really come together. We’ve been there a lot of times."

Coaches making adjustments

Kilpatrick spoke after the game about Westport's defense.

Ben Boudria held the Panthers senior point guard Cam Marshall to just three points in limited action. Holmes — Ayer Shirley's leading scorer — finished with just 11 points.

"We knew they were going to make runs and we made runs. That is sort of the nature of the game. I thought they did a really good job on Cam [Marshall] our point guard. I give Scot [Boudria] credit. They played to take him out of the game and he distributes a lot. I was also proud of my guys and a lot of them stepped up."

Scot Boudria made his adjustments in the second half.

"[Rick] is a great coach and he made some changes. I saw what he did and I changed my guys. We started to figure out some patterns. That is what pressure is about, having patterns."

Notes

The Panthers traveled 89.2 (1 hour and 32 minutes) miles both ways for their game against the Wildcats on Thursday ... Ayer Shirley plays out of the Midland-Wachusett E Division and finished tied for first with Tahanto Regional ... This is Westport's second consecutive trip to the Sweet 16. The Wildcats lost to Division V state runner-up Paulo Freire last season ... Owen Boudria had several chances to throw down the dunk but chose to lay it in instead, "I wanted to preserve my energy," he smiled.

Westport 63, Ayer Shirley 57

Ayer Shirley

Tommy Bergin 11-1-23, Zack Iannacone 4-1-9, Bobby Manchester 4-0-11, Cam Marshall 1-1-3, Brian Holmes 4-1-11, Austin Olum 0-0-0, Michael Bishara 0-0-0. Totals: 24-4-57

Westport

Owen Boudria 7-6-20, Max Morotti 3-0-8, Hunter Brodeur 7-2-17, Ben Boudria 2-0-6, Cam Leary 4-1-9, Coltrane McGonigle 0-2-2, Anthony Raposa 0-1-1. Totals: 23-12-63

Ayer Shirley 19 9 16 13 — 57

Westport 17 7 20 19 — 63

Three-pointers: Ayer Shirley — Manchester 3, Holmes 2; Westport — Ben Boudria 2, Max Morotti 2, Brodeur 1

Herald News and Taunton Daily Gazette sports editor Steven Sanchez can be reached at ssanchez@heraldnews.com. You can follow him on Twitter @Chezsports. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Herald News today.

This article originally appeared on The Herald News: Westport High boys basketball advances in playoffs over Ayer Shirley