The 2023-2024 season is off to a great start as Leominster High School’s boys’ basketball team won their first two games on the road against Saint John’s High School and Westford Academy.
The season first tipped off for the Blue Devils on Friday December 8, as they travelled to Shrewsbury to play Saint John’s.
The team beat Saint John’s 63-62 in overtime after sophomore Osiris Lopez played the ball in with a couple seconds left in the game.
The Blue Devils won their second game facing Westford Academy 51-37, led by senior Terrance McCormack who scored 20 points and junior Jayden Johnson who scored 15 points.
Leominster’s coach, Kevin Grutchfield, said, “We trailed in both games but managed to get our act together and made some big shots when we needed to.”
Last year’s team made it to the Elite Eight in the playoffs where they lost to Malden Catholic, after finishing the regular season games with a split record of 10 wins and 10 losses.
Senior Terrance McCormack said, “[Last year’s] season had its ups and downs, but in the playoffs, we played our best.”
Grutchfield has been coaching this boys’ team for 9 years and had coached the LHS girls’ team for 7 years before that.
The team graduated six seniors in 2023, including Justin Dadah, Michael Halstead, Ricky Encarnacion, Dylan Carr, Chase Hause, and Nico Nevard.
Grutchfield said his team this year is “rebuilt with some good returning talent and some new players who will help in a positive way.”
“This team is different because we’re not as big, but we have a lot of speed,” said McCormick, “so we use that to our advantage against bigger teams.”
This year’s team has three seniors, five juniors, one sophomore, and one freshman.
“We are led by Terrance McCormick and Osiris Lopez. Both are great leaders and give us huge contributions when the pressure is on,” said Grutchfield.
Grutchfield said, “We are excited to see what this young, athletic team can do against the tough schedule that we face.”
“I believe this year we can make a lot of noise in the playoffs and in our district,” McCormick said. “We work hard and together and that’s why I believe we have a great team.”
Their first home game of the 2023-2024 season will take place Tuesday, December 19 at 7:00pm against their rival Fitchburg.
