'These kids put in the work': Shrewsbury boys' basketball turnaround continues with tourney-qualifying win over Fitchburg
SHREWSBURY — When discussing dramatic turnarounds in Central Mass. high school boys' basketball, one would be well served to start with the surging Shrewsbury boys, a multi-talented, upbeat contingent that went 4-16 last season.
During Friday night's matchup against Fitchburg, the Colonials took a giant step in their ongoing attempts to erase the memories of last winter, pocketing a state tournament-qualifying 10th triumph, 57-40, at home.
"We were 4-16 last year with the same bunch of kids, kids who were freshmen and sophomores, and now are sophomores and juniors, and a couple of seniors," said Shrewsbury coach Adrian Machado, whose team improved to 10-4, 5-2 in Mid-Wach A. "These kids put in the work, and I'm definitely excited for them. This is their run, and we'll see where it takes us."
Senior Jake Pettipet recalls the struggles of last season. He is thrilled to be part of the program's resurgence. Most importantly, Pettipet is optimistic that the Colonials' improvement will continue as the season grinds on and the big games commence.
"We're playing well, but last year was definitely rough for us, and we all remember it," Pettipet said. "With all the memories, our guys just worked very hard in the offseason. The attitude was good, and we were all focused. While we were working, we knew that we were going to come back and do something special this year. We built a culture in this locker room. We're going to stick to it.
"(Against Fitchburg), we really stuck to it," Pettipet added. "We came straight out of the gate and played 32 minutes of hard basketball, and this resulted in a big win for us. The defense was there all game. Defense is something that we take pride in."
The Red Raiders defeated Shrewsbury earlier this week, 52-49, so Machado knew his Colonials would have to bring their "A" game to the hardwood.
"Fitchburg has a great team — they're athletic and they have threats at every position," Machado said. "So we were locked in. The kids worked hard in trying to stop Victor (Kukta, senior point guard), who's the best player in our league."
Junior Jack Christopher paced the Colonials, scoring a game-high 20 points on a variety of twisting drives and perimeter pops. Pettipet and senior Dominic Biscotti pumped in nine points each, Junior Jesse Osafo contributed at both ends, scoring six points and blocking seven shots.
A long 3-pointer by junior Jackson Handley in the final minute of the first half, assisted by junior Nate Nardella, gave Shrewsbury a 27-20 lead, which it maintained at intermission. The Colonials led by double figures for most of the second half. Christopher jump-started the second-half offense, knocking down 12 points.
"We're going to go as far as Jack Christopher takes us," Machado said. '"He's our guy, a guy who takes it to the basket, real hard. He plays defense, he rebounds the basketball. Jack does a little bit of everything for us. But if Jack struggles, we have other guys who can step up. For example, Jesse helped us out a lot coming off the bench tonight. He was motivated to play. Dom Biscotti has stayed ready all season and has practiced hard. And he's had some big games lately, too."
Fitchburg (6-7, 4-4 Mid-Wach A) was led by senior Omar Rodriguez, who netted 15 points. He drained two 3-pointers. Senior Wilbur Casanova scored eight points. Kukta finished with seven points.
—Contact Craig Holt at sports@telegram.com.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Shrewsbury boys' basketball's surge continues with tourney-qualifying victory over Fitchburg
