The Leominster High School boys basketball team’s playoff run was cut short after they lost to Scituate High School 48-55 in the Sweet Sixteen round in the state tournament.
The Blue Devils had a very successful season, finishing second place in Division 2 with a regular season record of 17-3 and a league record of 8-0.
They finished second in the end-of-season Central Massachusetts Athletic Directors Association, or “CMADA,” tournament.
They beat Nashoba Regional High School 57-44 on February 19 for the first round of CMADA playoffs
The team then lost to North High School, who is ranked number one in Division 1, 48-57 on February 22 in the finals at Worcester State University.
Junior Reece Lora said, “Our season went well. We were hot in the beginning and there were very few times where we were down in games.”
Since Leominster finished in the top 32 teams in the division, they did not have a play-in game so their first game was in the round of 32.
Their first state game was on March 1, at home versus Marblehead High School, the 34th seed.
They defeated Marblehead 78-58, led by Junior Jack Dadah who scored 22 points, Junior Jayden Johnson who scored 21 points, and Senior Terrance McCormack III who added 17.
Reece said, “That was a huge win and we came out of that game really high.”
On March 5, Leominster faced the 15th seed, Scituate High School in the wooden gym at LHS.
Unfortunately, the game resulted in Leominster losing 48-55, and Scituate advanced to the Elite Eight.
“We couldn’t make our free throws so that was the difference between us.” said Sophomore Osiris Lopez.
There were four players on this Blue Devils team who were named to the MIAA First Team All Stars: Sophomore forward Osiris Lopez, Junior guard Jayden Johnson, Junior guard Jack Dadah, and Senior guard Terrance McCormack III.
McCormack was also selected league MVP.
Leominster has three graduating seniors, Terrance McCormack III, Jovani Ruvalcaba Morales, and Joshua De Los Santos, who made a big impact on their team and will be missed next season.
“Losing the seniors is definitely a big loss, but there are younger players who can step up to fill their roles. ” said Reece.
Although the team’s playoff run was cut short, many of their players are returning and they are looking forward to next season.
