MetroWest and Westwood each pull off upsets in the Boston combined playoffs
Jerrod Perry
The Boston combined playoffs provide a chance for all three clubs in Boston (Burlington, MetroWest and Westwood) to prove who has the best team in the region. This is the fourth time Boston has done a combined playoff, with MetroWest winning two titles and Westwood winning one.
After a play-in game on Tuesday night, the Sweet 16 started on Wednesday night and saw two upsets right away.
During the 7 p.m. games, Westwood’s BRED Honchos, the 11-seed, knocked off MetroWest’s Synergy, the 6-seed, 72-71.
The game was dominated by Terrance “Sleepy” Favors and Pierre Sully for BRED Honchos, who scored 63 of their team’s 72 points. They combined to shoot 19-35 from the field, 6-15 from deep and 19-20 from the free-throw line.
The free-throw line proved to be the difference in this game, as BRED Honchos shot 19-22 from the line compared to Synergy’s 4-7. The final point of the game also came from the line, as Favors, with the game tied 71-71, got fouled on a drive to the hoop with three seconds left. He made the first attempt and missed the second, but the rebound was stolen away by Sully to secure the victory.
“My thing was to get a clear-out, I know if me or Pierre get the ball, w'e’re the best scorers in this league, so if one of us got the ball, clear it out and we’re going to make the best basketball play possible,” Favors said about the final play in a post-game interview.
While this gave Westwood an upper hand going into the Elite 8, it was short-lived. In the 8 p.m. games, MetroWest’s Team classic, the 12-seed, knocked off Westwood’s Legacy, the 5-seed, 65-63.
Team Classic not only came in as the lower seed, but they only had five players, while Legacy had all eight of their players in attendance. Of all the players on the court, Jerrod Perry had the biggest impact, scoring a game-high 37 points (57% of Team Classic’s points).
This game ended in a similar fashion to the first upset, as Perry got to the free-throw line with 6.3 seconds left with the game tied 63-63. He buried both free throws (he went 8-8 from the line in the game) to give Team Classic a two-point lead. On the next possession, David “MAK” Thompson missed a game-winner from beyond the arc, with Perry securing the rebound to get the win.
“Do not shoot the 3, go to the hole, put it up somehow, hang a little bit and the refs, I didn’t want to say bail me out, but I knew they going to do their job…just knock down the free throws,” Perry said about the last play in a post-game interview.