RallyNorth.net

Sun, Mar 02, 2014 02:00 PM @ Brooks

Team	1	2	Final
TBA	31	35	66
Brooks	27	29	56

Brooks' emotional run ends in championship game loss

It was quite a run for Brooks boys basketball as it earned three overtime wins to qualify for the New England Prep B Finals for the first time since 1997.
 The team had a chance yesterday to win its first New England title since the Harold Starks era in the early 1980s.
 But the magic ended against second-seeded Cheshire, one day after Brooks knocked off top-seeded Beaver Country Day.
 The Brooks boys lost 66-56 to Cheshire at Clark University.
 Ikenna Ndugba scored a team-high 17 points for Brooks while Ceasar Adim added eight points and Tamenang Choh scored seven.
 “This is one of those weeks as a coach I’ll always remember,”  Brooks’ John McVeigh said.
 “They played very, very good basketball,” McVeigh added about Cheshire. “It was just one of those times you tip your hat. They were very balanced. They shared the ball.”
 Yes, Cheshire played balanced basketball. It had eight players finish with seven or more points.
 Not only did Cheshire have the size advantage but also entered with more experience.
 “We didn’t start any seniors this year; they started four post-grads,” McVeigh said.
 Brooks finished with an impressive 21-6 record.
“I’m so proud of this group,” McVeigh said. “I’m appreciative of our seniors. I’m proud of that great senior leadership.
 “We ran out of gas a little,” he added.
 McVeigh and his boys should make another deep run next year with the team primed to return all its starters.
 “We learned some lessons from today and we can carry them with us into next year,” McVeigh said.