Ghosts Drop Opener to Newton South
Westford Academy lost to Newton South 76-59 in opening action of the 2004-2005 season. Sean Goodrich led all scorers with 20 points (12 Rebounds) while Tom McArdle added 14 points and Pat Mulroy had 10 points. Chris McCarthy had 9 steals. The Ghosts (0-1) host Boston Latin Friday night.Holiday Alumni Game
The annual Holiday Alumni game will be held at WA on December 24, 2004 at 11:00AM. Come join other classes play against the 2004-2005 varsity squad. This event has become a great tradition and always brings back a wide variety of graduates. Please email me if you are interested! What year was this group to the left?Ghost Rally Falls Short
Boston Latin 73 Westford 64Sean Goodrich led Westford (0-2) with 25 points, 9 rebounds and 5 blocks, but it wasn't enough as the Grey Ghosts lost their Dual County League home opener to Boston Latin.
The visitors were red-hot in the first half, building a 46-26 lead. Westford, however, rallied, pulling all the way back to within 2 points with 4:38 to go.
Pat Mulroy led the Westford second-half comeback bid, scoring 15 of his 21 points. He made six 3-pointers in the game, including 5 in a row during the second half run.
Westford Eagle:
The Grey Ghost boys hoop team fell to 0-2 on the season with a tough 73-64 loss to the Boston Latin Wolfpack last Friday night.
Boston Latin came out on fire and took a 46-26 halftime lead.
Westford played a much better second half of basketball, and even managed to cut the Wolfpack's lead to two, 60-58, with just over four minutes remaining.
Pat Mulroy (five rebounds) had a huge second half for Westford, scoring 15 total points while drilling five three-pointers. He finished the game with 21 points.
"Pat was on fire in the second half," said Westford head coach Ed Scollan. "He sparked the rally that lifted everyone's game to the next level."
Despite the outstanding play of Mulroy, the star of the game was Sean Goodrich. Goodrich led all scorers with 25 points, and also had nine rebounds and five blocks.
"Sean has come up big for us in both games so far," said Scollan. "He has improved in every aspect of his game."
Rob DeMagistris score eight points in the contest and also had five assists.
"We need to build on our second half play and play that type of basketball for 32 minutes," said Scollan. "We are getting closet to achieving that goal, but we are not quite there yet."
Ringing the Bell for the Salvation Army
The Varsity team participated in its annual Salavation Army "Ringing the Bell" day at the Market Basket in Westford. The team spent the entire day raising money for the Salvation Army's Christmas Fund. Good Job to everyone!Westford Eagle New Story: Boys hoop hopes to have better campaign
By Michael Liuzza/ Staff Writer
Thursday, December 16, 2004
The Westford Academy boys basketball team did not have a great campaign last winter.
The Grey Ghosts finished the season with an overall record of 8-12, and did not qualify for the tournament for the first time in nine years.
"One of our main goals this year is to get back to the tournament," said Westford head coach Ed Scollan. "The first four games of the season (Newton South, Boston Latin, Lincoln-Sudbury and St. John's Prep of Danvers) will give us and indication of how ready we are as a team."
Westford graduated two Dual County League All-Stars - Fred Kell and Trent Western - and will rely on senior captains Tom McArdle, Chris McCarthy and John Turkovich to carry the load this season. Turkovich is currently out of action with a knee injury, but Scollan hopes to have him back after the holidays.
Westford returns a total of eight letterman, but only two starters - Tom McArdle and Sean Goodrich.
"We have a mix of young and old, some who lack significant playing time at the varsity level but who have also worked hard in the preseason to earn playing time," said Scollan. "It will take some time for the team to understand each other and what they can and cannot do."
Scollan expects both Acton-Boxborough and Boston Latin to be two of the most competitive teams in the Dual County League this season. Each of those teams is returning a DCL co-MVP.
The Grey Ghosts opened their season Tuesday night against Newton South and were defeated by a score of 76-59.
Goodrich was the game's high scorer with 20 points. He also managed to grab 12 rebounds on the night. McArdle poured in 14 points and Pat Mulroy chipped in with 10.
On the defensive side of the ball, McCarthy had nine steals.
Westford will host Boston Latin Friday night.
Christmas Alumni Game 2004
The 2004 Christmas Eve Alumni Game was the place to be as over 25 alumni returned to play against the 2004-2005 varsity squad. Some alumn looked better than others (you know who you are), but all played significant minutes as Bruce played "Glory Days" in the background. Thanks for participating! Click on "Photos" above for additional photos.Ghosts Trouble Continue
(From the Lowell Sun, December 28, 2004)St. John's Prep 55
Westford 52
This game was too much like Westford's season so far. There were considerable stretches that seemed to indicate an imminent breakout by the Grey Ghosts. But never did they get over the hump and set themselves free from what has become the first 0-4 start that coach Ed Scollan can remember in his 18 seasons as Westford coach.
Hard-working Westford got the lead at 49-48, with 3:16 to go on two free throws by senior guard Chris McCarthy.
Another free throw by McCarthy with 2:37 left made it 50-48 Westford, which had trailed by seven points early in the second half.
But St. John's Prep senior guard Michael Leykin (game-high 19 points) was permitted to drain a wide-open three off the dribble to put the Eagles ahead for good at 51-50 with 2:20 to play.
Westford dug in defensively but came up empty on three straight possessions with the score stuck at 51-50.
St. John's Prep senior forward Troy McHenry hit two free throws to make it 53-50 with 26.7 seconds left. Westford senior center Sean Goodrich (14 points) was fouled on a put-back attempt that rolled off the rim with 6.6 seconds left. He hit both free throws to cut the St. John's Prep lead to 53-52.
Westford junior forward Neil Powers then stole SJP's inbounds pass but his momentum carried him barely out of bounds. "That's the luck we've had," said Scollan.
St. John's Prep sophomore guard Nicholas Zolotas hit two free throws with three seconds left to make it 55-52. Westford then missed a three-quarter-court heave at the buzzer and will play Lowell in a consolation-round game today at 3 p.m. at Billerica High.
St. John's Prep improved to 1-3.
Westford was only 11 of 22 from the free-throw line.
"We're still waiting for things to click," said Scollan, "and for the players to believe that good things will happen. We're close."
Ghosts Win Over Lowell
Westford Academy 60Lowell 47
The Grey Ghosts bounced back from a three-point loss to St. John's Prep the night before to garner their first win of the season (1-4).
The victory was paced by Sean Goodrich, who finished with 19 points and six rebounds. Westford also got solid contributions from Rob DeMagistris (14 points), Pat Mulroy (12 points, 9 rebounds), and Chris McCarthy (11 points, 11 steals, 4 assists).
Lowell (1-3) could never quite recover from its 10-point halftime deficit.
The Red Raiders' top performers were Chris Galbraith (10 points), Edwin Alcantaro (9), and Ron Giplaye (7).
Lowell will take on West Roxbury tomorrow afternoon (3:00), while Westford squares off with Dracut (4:45). Both games will be held at Westford Academy. (Lowell Sun, December 29, 2004)