I’m so proud of us for getting our first state win (last Friday). We knew this team was going to be hard. I’m just proud of us for getting to the Sweet 16. It’s a huge accomplishment.” ”

Senior co-captain Aidan Rock

After a snowy two hour bus ride along the Mass Pike, the Westport basketball team succumbed to fourth seeded Paulo Freire 62-50 after a dog fight of a game in the Division 5 Sweet 16 in Chicopee on Wednesday night. The Wildcats placed second in the Mayflower Athletic Conference and ended their season with a record of 18-4. 

“They’re a very good team,” said Paulo Freire head coach Jonathan DaVila. “They work hard and play great defense. They are a team with speed and they all have confidence in each other. They play together and listen to their coach. That makes a big difference and that’s why they were in the game so close to us. I thank them for coming to play with us. It was a great game.”

I’m so proud of us for getting our first state win (last Friday),” said senior captain Aidan Rock. “We knew this team was going to be hard. I’m just proud of us for getting to the Sweet 16. It’s a huge accomplishment.” 

The sad part is not the loss," said Westport head coach Scot Boudria. "It’s that the season is over. I don’t get to go to practice tomorrow and see those twelve kids. You get to see their personality and you get to look at their hearts.” 

Wildcats threw the first punch 

The Wildcats put their hearts into an all out effort against the much taller and very athletic Panthers as they burst out to an 8-2 lead in the first quarter. Westport used complex defenses to pressure Panthers point guard DJ Daniels and force the Panthers into mistakes that turned into fast break points by junior guard Hunter Brodeur who scored 6 of his team high 16 points. The speedy guard also collected five of the Wildcats 14 steals. Guard Owen Boudria added an athletic layup for the Wildcats. The freshman scored 5 points with 6 rebounds and 2 steals for Westport. 

“Daniels is the engine that makes them go,” said Coach Boudria. “He is probably one of the best point guards in any division and we turned him over 5 times. They have four players who can drain it from the three. 

And they got players that are tall, long, agile and athletic. When you look at their length it plays a lot in how you prepare.” 

Paulo Freire eventually adapted towards the end of the quarter and responded with a run of their own. Bryan Jimenez hit a three. Six foot five inch forward Manny Cruz and all star point guard DJ Daniels each added inside layups to cut the lead to 8-7.

“We worked harder than them,” said senior captain Dom Vitorino. “They are just a good team. We were shocked. We knew they were good, but, man the fight they had. It was just incredible.”

In the second quarter Brodeur, Ben Boudria, Owen Boudria and Ben Poitras each sank buckets and Rock added a three pointer from the top of the key to tie the game 11-11. Rock scored 10 points for the Wildcats. The six foot athletic senior battled the Paulo Freire bigs underneath and brought down 10 rebounds and added a steal. 

Westport led most of the way thereafter, until Trevor Mims hit a big three from in front of the Westport bench to put Paulo Freire up 21-19 at the half.

“We watched a bunch of film,” Rock said after the game. “They are a strong, physical team. We just played our hearts out. It didn’t fall for us. But hey, it’s basketball man.” 

Mired in a dog fight

Rock and Vitorino each knotted the score in the third quarter as the two teams were mired in a dog fight. This time the bigger dogs won. Westport immediately jumped on the Panthers as they inbounded the ball. Rock made a steal, dribbled by guard Sandro Diaz with a nifty left to right handed move and tied the game 21-21 on a jumper from the paint. 

Vitorino gave Westport a 23-21 lead with 6:54 to go in the quarter. The fearless senior was fouled hard by Daniels as he forced his way to the hoop. He rose from the floor, collected himself and sank both free throws. Vitorino scored 10 points, brought down 7 rebounds and collected 4 steals. 

A Rock fast break layup put Westport up again 25-23 with 5:24 left.

Vitorino drove through the gauntlet again, this time attempting to muscle a jumper between Cruz and Fontanez. 

They hammered him, but he drew the foul. He sank both free throws and tied the score 27-27.

“We worked really really hard,” said Coach Boudria. “Our full court pressure was great and our half court pressure was great. A team like that is going to score. We held them down but, our offense was stagnant and the person to blame for that is me.”

Paulo Freire went on a nine point tear led by the tall and athletic Cruz who scored 11 of his 18 points in the later half of the third quarter. Cruz put up a huge three as the Panthers led 36-27 with 2:00 left.

Owen Boudria sliced his way to the basket and collected a foul. He sank one and Poitras added a put back to help Westport cut the lead 38-30 to close out the quarter.

“They were a lot more physical underneath than we expected,” said Coach Boudria. “Their athleticism and physicality made it more difficult even on fast breaks. Because they were more physical and bigger they finished better.” 

Paulo Freire got stronger as the game wore on. The Panthers didn’t wilt as teams often do against Westport’s presses, instead they patiently waited for opportunities and took advantage. Fontanez scored 9 of his 17 points in the final quarter, Cruz scored 7, Bryan Jimenez added a pair of threes and Daniels added 4 of his 8 points as the Panthers built a 48-34 lead with 4:28 left to play.

But Westport wasn’t finished and came charging back with their own nine point run. Brodeur began the run with a three pointer in front of the Wildcats bench. He first attempted to drive the lane, but was hammered by Panther behemoths. He lost the ball, collected it, dribbled out to the three point line and launched a jumper. 

Swish, 48-37. 

Vitorino and Ben Boudria denied Cruz on the defensive end. Boudria grabbed the rebound, dribbled to the three point line, sent off a jumper and sank it to cut the lead to 48-40 with 3:46 left in the game. 

Brodeur lofted a jumper over Fontanez to make it 50-42 with 3:15 left. 

The Wildcats made another stop and Brodeur sped down the floor with the ball. He drove to the basket and Fontanez blocked his shot. Brodeur collected the rebound and tried again, but was blocked. This time Rock came down with the rebound and put it back up and drew a foul. Rock pumped his fists and the Westport crowd and bench cheered. He sank the foul shot to cut the lead to 50-45 with 2:27 left in the game. 

That’s as close as the Wildcats would get. 

Paulo Freire put the game away with foul shots, a cruz put back and a big three pointer by Jimenez that put the Panthers up 57-47 with 1:19 left in the game. 

“They are a hard working team,” said Cruz of Westport. “They didn’t give up. They definitely made us work. 

We just out worked them. I wasn’t trying to force anything. I trust in my teammates and my teammates trust in me and I just came up with some big buckets.” 

The Paulo Freire crowd with seconds left stood and sang “Hey Hey Hey, Good Bye.” 

There were no tears for Westport after the game. The Wildcats had left it all out on the court. The players hugged senior captains Vitorino and Rock. Rock found Cruz and hugged him and the rest of the team followed. Great teammates and even better sportsmen. 

“I love this family,” said Dom Vitorino. “This ain’t a team, this is more. This is family. I couldn’t be more happy than to spend my senior year with all of them.” 

This group was special not for just what they did on the court, but for who they are and what they have in their hearts.

Stats:

Westport scoring: Hunter Brodeur scored 16 points, Dom Vitorino scored 10, Aidan Rock scored 10, Ben Boudria scored 5, Owen Boudria scored 5 and Ben Poitras added 4. 

Westport rebounds: Aidan Rock pulled down 10 rebounds, Dom Vitorino had 7, Owen Boudria had 6, Ben Poitras had 6, Ben Boudria had 1. 

Notes:

Coach Boudria nominated Domanick Vitorino for the MAC Dave Cowens Award. 

He also nominated Vitorino and Aidan Rock for the Mayflower Athletic Conference All Star team. 

“Aiden and Dom worked their tails off this season,” said Coach Boudria. 

Captains gone but not forgotten

“We are going to be back in the gym next year even though we are graduating,” said Dom Vitorino. “We are going to make sure that our boys are doing good.” 

“We’ll be back to keep pushing them just like we did this year,” said Aidan Rock. “Westport’s a family to us and I’m glad to have spent my four years at this school getting coached by Coach Boudria and Coach Lloyd.”

Coach Boudria on coaching his sons this season

“This year has been special because I have my two sons playing on the team,” he said. “You are so lucky if you can coach your sons. They tell me that they not only love me as a dad, but they love me as a coach and that’s special. Coaching your sons can be tricky, because, I know what they can do. Our captains Aidan and Dom have to believe in what I know and what I see and they have always been supportive when it comes to Ben and Owen and their roles. They were the nurturing ones. I appreciated them.” 

Buying in to the system

“The season doesn’t go as well as it does unless there’s a buy in to the system,” Coach Boudria said. 

This season’s bench worked hard to catch up to speed and help the team have a successful season. “Nick and John were cheering loud all year long. Ben, Jayden and Liam were new to us this season and they had to work extra hard to be part of our success,” said Coach Boudria. “You can’t be 18-4 and not call it successful.”

Coach Boudria on coaching the team

“I have coached these kids since they were eight years old,” he said. “That’s ten years that are pretty impressionable on them. When you see these guys grow and you have been a part of it, you can’t put words on that. The culture that we have, It’s about the whole group. They truly love one another.” 

Saturday practices

“Coach Boudria has been coaching the Wildcats for 15 years. Many former players like to come back and visit the team during Saturday practices over Christmas break. “They come back and practice with the team. My players are now respectful people in society. The end of the road is coming up (possibly a few years) and to see these young men accomplishing so much on their own and to see that you were somehow a small part of it. That’s all you need when you hang up the whistle.”

Wildcats take on Coach Boudria’s style of play

This season’s Wildcats have taken on Coach Boudria’s style of play. “I was the kid that dove on asphalt that’s how we did it in our family,” said Coach Boudria. “My brother was bigger than me and I had to fight for everything. I was going to do everything in my power to get the ball.”