Boys Basketball Earns Win Over Granby

A consistent double-digit lead over the Rams proved crucial for the Spartans down the stretch in order to secure their 60-51 win. 

Starting the game with tons of energy, featuring a tough layup shot by Spartans co-captain, senior Conner Robidoux, and an electric block by junior Mike Ferrero, it was surprising that the team only led by five points to end the first quarter. 

After costly fouls made it a 1-point game a couple of minutes into the second quarter, the Spartans were able to find a good groove before halftime, sparked by three-point plays from junior Jayden Gray and East Longmeadow’s leading point scorer on the season, senior Mike Sadowski. 

Gray also hit a buzzer-beater three-pointer to end the half, giving the Spartans an 11-point lead. 

The Spartans began the second half with a defensive mindset that soon paid off, forcing a Rams shot-clock violation just two minutes into the third quarter. 

A frustrated Granby team also pushed up more on their attempts to press in this half, but East Longmeadow was easily able to break through with clever passing and take advantage of the open space to convert for a layup. 

The Spartans’ second captain, junior Samir Khan, kept the momentum flowing for his team with a long three-pointer towards the end of the third quarter to extend their lead to seventeen.

Immediately after Khan’s three-pointer came another from Sadowski.

Although the third quarter ended with a solid 18-point lead, the Spartans lost their groove to begin the fourth, allowing Granby to go on a 7-0 run.

Granby eventually cut the lead to eight, but efforts from freshman Nolan Gartska and junior Will Devoie regained a secure 12-point lead for the Spartans with under a minute left in the game. 

Robidoux, the Spartans second leading scorer with 11 points, behind Sadowski’s 19-point performance, is happy to have gotten the win.

“It was a big bounce-back win,” Robidoux said. “We’ve been on a rough stretch as of late, so now it’s just trying to find our groove and a routine for us. Hopefully we can string a few wins together now.”

This win puts the Spartans record at 2-7 on the season. Though this was a win, there are takeaways from this game, specifically the team’s performance in the final quarter.

“We got down ourselves a little bit at the end,” Robidoux said. “We just need to stay consistent throughout the entire game and play good, quality basketball.”

His co-captain, Khan, expanded on the details of the fourth quarter, identifying what went wrong.

“We built up a good lead heading into the fourth quarter and, when it came down to the final minutes, a lot of our players panicked because we just don’t have that much experience on this team,” Khan said. “But, it’s coming together and every game we see it paying off.”

Head coach Brendan Abad also summarized his captains’ thoughts, saying that his team needs to “dial down to finish games,” but they’re “overall happy to get the win.”

Robidoux, Khan, and Abad all being on the same page with their thoughts on the game is a showcase of just how close this team is.

“Communication between us is huge,” Abad said. “Any coach will tell you a player-led team is way better than a coach-led team.”

Speaking more on his players, specifically his captains, Abad has praised them for staying positive even through tough times.

“They’ve been great,” Abad said. “We’ve had a lot of adversity with injuries early on, but they’ve been phenomenal in leading our guys.”

Robidoux was already a vocal leader last year amongst a strong senior group, so with their absences this year came Robidoux’s inevitable captaincy, but he was not alone in stepping up to lead the team.

“I think the team needed another voice in the locker room after the loss of a lot of good seniors,” Khan said. “They helped guide me, and I believe I’ve come a long way.” 

Robidoux also added insight as to how both him and Khan are able to keep their team motivated throughout the season.

“Like we always say, it’s easy to lead when you’re winning and a good team. It’s just that much harder when we’re down,” Robidoux said. “We just have to keep up our positive energy in the locker room and stay high for the guys.”

The team faces off against the evenly matched 2-7 Westfield Bombers tonight at home at 7 p.m.