Bramanti, Westford stay hot
The Westford Academy girls basketball team is picking up steam at the perfect time.
The No. 4 Grey Ghosts finished off an impressive 17-3 regular season yesterday with a 53-47 comeback victory against Belmont in the Division 1 Comcast Classic championship at Woburn. Westford closed out its schedule with consecutive wins against No. 9 Newton South, No. 5 Braintree and No. 2 Belmont.
“These games are huge for us, and we’re very excited heading into the tournament,” Westford coach Russ Coward said. “This was the type of tournament that should really help us moving forward.”
Westford had to work for this one as Belmont jumped out to a 15-2 lead after eight minutes and led 17-4 early in the second quarter. But the Grey Ghosts got a 3-pointer from tournament MVP Emily Bramanti (19 points) at the halftime buzzer and outscored the Marauders 18-4 in the third quarter to take a 32-27 lead into the fourth.
In the final eight minutes, Bramanti knocked down two more treys, Elizabeth Arnold chipped in with five points and Carolyn Graham buried a late 3 to put the game away in the final two minutes.
Belmont (17-3) received strong performances from junior Jess Giorgio (14 points) senior Carly Christofori (11).
In the Div. 2 championship game, Newton South beat No.7 Archbishop Williams 56-53 despite blowing an early 14-point lead and giving up a 16-0 Bishops run in the third quarter.
Tournament MVP Veronica Burton scored 11 of her team-high 20 points in the final eight minutes to propel the Lions.
In the Spartan Classic, Valentina Pepic scored 23 points to help Revere (16-4) defeat Billerica in overtime, 44-42. In the consolation game, Sofia Rosa finished with 17 points and 17 boards to lift Lincoln-Sudbury (1010) past Arlington, 51-47.
In nonleague matchups, Aliyah Wright scored 20 points to lead Stoughton (12-8) past Norwood, 52-38. . . . Kelsey White’s 15 points helped Taunton (7-15) take down Durfee, 56-47.
In the Mansfield Tournament, Shyan Myai had 31 points to lead Lowell to a 6246 rout of Coyle & Cassidy.
Boys basketball
One night after exploding for 33 points, Thomas Shaughnessy proved he had plenty left in the tank.
Shaughnessy scored 21 points and dished out five assists as Needham defeated Lowell, 72-65, in the Division 1 Comcast final.
Shaughnessy was awarded the tournament’s Most Valuable Player award.
“These are great games to play in going into the (state) tournament,” Needham coach Paul Liner said. “These last two nights have been tournament atmosphere and a great experience to get us ready.”
The Rockets led 65-53 with just four minutes left, but Lowell turned to its fullcourt press to make a surge.
Carlos Nunez hit a corner 3, and Rashawn Settles converted at the rim off a pair of Needham turnovers to trim the deficit to 65-60.
Will Dorion (18 points), however, came through with a huge offensive putback to push the Rockets’ lead back to seven with a minute left.
Needham came out firing to begin the game as a Dorion three capped off a 9-2 start for the Rockets.
Shaughnessy then showcased his range, drilling back-to-back 3-pointers to put Needham up 19-8.
Needham’s lead ballooned to 20 in the second quarter on a Shaughnessy three-point play.
In the Div. 2 final, Belmont (15-5) defeated St. Mary’s, 74-63, behind 28 points, six rebounds and six assists from Danny Yardemian.
Belmont held a 16-point lead at the break and maintained a double-digit edge for most of the second half, but five straight points from Stephen Fama (23 points) pulled the Spartans within 68-59 with just more than two minutes left.
Yardemian, the tournament MVP, sealed the game at the free throw line, hitting 10 in the final frame.
Senior Derek Marino scored 36 points, eclipsing 1,000 for his career, as Marblehead (12-8) topped Swampscott, 71-56 in a Northeastern Conference showdown.
In a consolation game of the Roche Brothers Classic, Tyler Whitney-Sidney scored 26 points and Jimmy McEwen added 21 to lead Somerville (12-7) past Acton-Boxboro, 71-56.
In a nonleague contest, Ryan Andrews and Stephen Reddy finished with 20 points each as Austin Prep (15-4) cruised past Amesbury, 65-51 . ... Tyrone Smith-McCray scored 20 points to push Cardinal Spellman (15-6) past Holliston, 85-57 . . . . Thatcher Stone and Max Davis both finished with 17 points as Cohasset (13-7) defeated St. John Paul II, 60-44 . . . . Ben Soton had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and Jimmy Arneil added 15 points to lead Mystic Valley (15-5) to a 72-56 win against Cristo Rey.
Adam Seablom scored 23 points and Andy Johnson added 20 as Apponequet (19-0) rolled to an 81-70 win against Martha’s Vineyard in the first round of the Kuliga Tournament.
Zach Sharland finished with 24 points as Rockland (16-3) crushed Medfield, 65-39, in a Shawn P. Cotter tournament game.