Balanced Blue Devils roll to win
Three Leominster players score in double figures
LEOMINSTER >> As it has been all season for the Leominster High boys basketball team, balance was key Friday night.
Three Blue Devils scored in double figures as the hosts rolled to a 62- 45 victory over Algonquin Regional on Senior Night at Leominster High School.
Leominster, now 13-2 and currently second in the MIAA’S Division 2 Power Rankings, saw junior swingman Jayden Johnson lead the way with 19 points on his birthday, while senior Terrance Mccormack III had 17 points and sophomore Osiris Lopez had a double- double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
“You can’t key on one guy because it’s someone different every night,” Leominster head coach Kevin Grutchfield said. “We clinched at least a share of the Mid-wach A title tonight, so that was a big win. And having this win on Senior Night was fantastic; Terrance has been with us for four years and (Jovani Ruvalcaba Morales and Joshua De Los Santos) fought hard to be on this team and are great team guys.
“It was great for them to be honored with their families tonight.”
Algonquin, which entered the night 46th in the Division 1 rankings, falls to 4-10.
After falling behind 2- 0 in the opening minutes, the Blue Devils took control and were never truly threatened. Johnson drained a 3 with 2:12 left in the first quarter to push Leominster’s lead to 14- 6 and from there, things only got better for the hosts.
Despite having a size disadvantage against the Titans, the Blue Devils were in control in the second quarter. Lopez gave the Blue Devils a 13-point lead with a putback in the final minute of the opening half before Jordan Lo
pez hit one of two for the Titans to cut the deficit to 34-22 at the break.
“I can’t say enough
about Osiris’ game in the first half,” Grutchfield said. “He dominated the paint both offensively and defensively. He’s such an unbelievable athlete, coming up with big steals and big rebounds for us.”
The Blue Devils were in cruise control in the second half, with Mccormack capping the scoring with 40 seconds to play with a 3 from the corner as the Leominster faithful roared their appreciation.
“I love it because if one guy’s cold, the next guy is up. We all work as a team and we all pick each other up,” Mccormack said. “That’s what team basketball is.”
Michael Keenan chipped in with six points
in the win, while Jack Dadah added five.
The Blue Devils travel to Algonquin on Tuesday before playing at Shrewsbury High School on Friday. They close out the regular season Feb. 12, hosting Concord- Carlisle.