Raiders hold on in rivalry contest
FHS fends off Blue Devils
FITCHBURG » Basketball is, as the saying goes, a team sport. No one player, outside of certain circumstances can do it all himself or herself. A team needs a veritable supporting cast to be a success on the hardwood.
That was the Fitchburg boys’ basketball team to a T on Monday night, as the entire starting lineup contributed to lift the Red Raiders to a 61-52 win over previously unbeaten Leominster at the Doug Grutch field Field House.
The win — Fitchburg’s first over LHS since Feb. 9, 2018 — lifts the Red and Gray to 2-3, while Leominster dropped to 1.4
Even with four lead changes, FHS led most of the way, with three players in double figures scoring: Jorge Gaitan paced the Fitchburg effort with a gamehigh 21 points, followed closely by Gabe Rivera’s 18 points and seven rebounds, while Daniel Edmonds added 10 points.
In addition, rebounding was critical to the Raider victory effort, as FHS out-rebounded its guests, 45-35. Twenty-three boards came out of the duo of Monty Graham (13) and Nico
Caputi (10), with seven of Graham’s boards secondchance opportunities.
Not only that, Fitchburg’s quarter court 2-3 zone was also key, along with its grittiness.
“We saw what (Leominster) did against Narragansett, what they did against Gardner, and we prepared for it,” FHS coach James McCall said after the game. “I’m proud of all our kids — even the bench was very energetic. Our kids are gritty, and that’s what I like.”
“Their toughness, their physicality, they wanted it more than us,” Leominster coach Kevin Grutchfield said. “They rebounded and got a ton of turnovers; it was a really good team effort by them; I was impressed.
“There’s a lot to work on in practice tomorrow, that’s for sure.”
Leominster, paced by Justin Dadah’s doubledouble (18 points, 10 rebounds), held a 19-16 lead after one quarter, which saw both sides lighting it up from the outside. Two LHS treys in the last 66 seconds — Michael Halstead and Dadah — put the Blue Devils ahead.
FHS then embarked on a 7- 0 run to open the second, as Kenny Marte scored off a Gaitan helper, before Caputi scored an old-fashioned three-point play. Darnell Thomas then scored off Marte’s steal, putting Fitchburg ahead by four, 23-19.
But Leominster then scored six of the next
eight, with Kevin Viola sandwiching a pair of buckets around a Nico Dellechiaie (9 points) hoop to tie the score at 25; Harvey Earley, Jr. added the Fitchburg hoop off an offensive rebound.
A pair of Gaitan trifectas put Fitchburg ahead by six, 31-25, before Dadah scored to make it a fourpoint game at halftime.
“Jorge as been an asset,” McCall praised. “He is a tremendous shooter, and he works on his craft; if you see how many 3’s he takes in a practice, you’ll see why he hits how many he hits.”
“This is a great win, it’s a rivalry game and we came with energy and intensity,” Gaitan said. “The effort from my teammates was amazing; everyone participated, and when everyone participates, it greats us a great dub. Not one player should be selfish, and I like that: we are all selfless.”
Fitchburg managed to get the lead out to 43-32 as a pair of 3’s by Gaitan and a pair of buckets by Rivera, the first on the fast break and a quick-dish helper by Graham, allowing the Raiders to gaint separation midway through the third.
Leominster worked to get the deficit back into the single digits thanks to Viola, Warren Acceus, and Isaac Tyson, but Edmonds with two early fourthquarter buckets and an old-fashioned thre-point play by Rivera put Fitchburg ahead by 12, 56-44.
The Devils cut the deficit to eight, 58-50, thanks to Brian Perez and Dellechiaie hoops, but could get no closer.