Owen Boudria and Max Morotti each scored 21 points in leading the Westport basketball team past Blue Hills 74-65 in front of a packed gym on Friday night. Four of the Wildcats starters netted double digits as the team has won 4 out of 5 for an overall record of 4-2. 

The game definitely wasn’t smooth,” said Wildcats head coach Scot Boudria, “At times it was. We had to show grit. They cut the lead down to three points and they tested us. But it’s nice to be able to rely on 5 or 6 players for offense instead of just two or three. You become a better team.” 

Former Wildcats’ captains Aidan Rock and Dom Vitorino were in the house to see the game and were impressed with this year’s team.

“They are very hard working,” said Rock. “They take the pressure up a notch. They are a lot quicker and they trap everything. It’s amazing. I didn’t think it could get much better than last year.”

Owen Boudria was hot from the get-go and scored 14 points with a 3-pointer in the first half. The tall sinewy sophomore included several highlight-reel plays while the Wildcats built a 24-14 first quarter lead. Boudria made three steals during the game. On one, he slapped the ball out of the hands of Warrior’s guard Elijah Dumornay in front of the Westport bench. He dove to the ground for the loose ball and in one motion, heaved it over his head and hit a sprinting Hunter Brodeur in stride for an easy layup. 

“I saw someone leak out,” Owen Boudria said of the play. “I got on the floor picked up the ball up and I just hucked that thing. I guess it worked out. I was lucky. But sometimes you need a little bit of luck.”

Coltrane McGonigle made a steal under the Westport basket on a second spectacular play. He airmailed a pass to Ben Boudria stationed just over half court and he tossed a perfect alley-oop pass to his brother, who threw it down for two points, to the delight of the hometown crowd. 

“We’ve been working on that since the summer,” Owen Boudria said. “I knew it was coming. I was surprised that I finished though. I was under the hoop.”

Blue Hills to their credit, never quit. They kept making shots and towards the end of the half the Warriors cut the lead to three. 

“Brian Gearty is a good coach,” Coach Boudria said. “He studies film. He knows our kids. His guys shot the ball real well. I was really happy that our kids just kept grinding and grinding and we kept our composure and cut down on the turnovers in the second half and that was a big difference.”

Max Morotti was clutch when the Wildcats needed it. The mid-sized forward grabbed 14 rebounds and consistently made layups from underneath while scoring 8 of his 21 points in the second quarter with a 3-pointer.  

“Max had one of his best games offensively and defensively,” said Coach Boudria. “He was on tonight and the team tried to feed him as much as possible. We watched some film and he corrected some things defensively. Cam Leary played a great second half as well. He didn’t turn the ball over and that’s big.” 

Leary finished with 12 points,  Brodeur netted 11, Ben Boudria scored 5, Chris Duarte and McGonigle each scored 2. 

McGonigle and Duarte played well coming off the bench when the starters needed rest.  

“They got some rebounds and some steals,” said Coach Boudria. “They are cutting back on turnovers. They are learning the defensive rotation. They gave us some valuable minutes.” 

Westport went ahead 44-36 at halftime and was able to keep that cushion into the fourth quarter. 

“My dad was definitely mad,” said co-captain Ben Boudria when the team went to the locker room at halftime. “You can see it. He was loud. You know when he’s loud and stomping the floor, that’s when it’s like, alright he’s getting a little mad.” 

“We were like, alright it’s getting a little close,” Ben Boudria said. “We got to pick it back up. And that’s what we did. We just couldn’t keep running it up and up. They made some tough shots.”

Notes: 

Captains in the house

Former hoop captains Aidan Rock and Dom Vitorino were in attendance on Friday night and offered their views on this year’s Wildcats. “Off the bench, that they don’t have that depth this year,” said Rock. “Everyone is stepping up. Max and Cam are stepping into starting roles. Owen is stepping up. We are hoping he averages around 15-20 points and Hunter too. They are the two best scorers on the team so they got to step up there. I think they are going to have a great year this year. Coach Boudria has got the experience. This is the year that he wanted. Max and Coltrane everyone has got to step up. But I think they can do it this year.” 

The two former captains plan to work out with the team to help them get to the championship. Rock is playing hoops at BCC and Vitorino is going to Lasell University. He said that he may play soccer there next season. “I’m focusing up on my studies to hopefully get that degree,” Vitorino said. 

Wildcat dirt dog

If there was a stat of how many times a player dove to the floor to viciously fight for the ball, Ben Boudria would certainly win it. The Wildcats dirt dog is one of the scrappiest players in the league. The stat sheet shows that he made three steals against Blue Hills. It didn’t show that he dove to save a ball headed out of bounds or that he dove to the floor for a loose ball and swiped it from one Warrior, only to get it taken by another and then he swiped it back. Then there are the times that his body doesn’t hit the ground. 

Tyler, Tyler

The Wildcats fans began cat-calling Blue Hills freshman star Tyler Anderson early and often. The guard scored ten points, just three in the second half.  

Gentlemanly play

Despite rough and tough play, both teams played the game in a gentlemanly fashion by helping each other up after a player hit the floor. The Wildcats had to fight through the Blue Hills full court press nearly the whole second half and frustration started to boil over in the fourth quarter. The referee put an end to it by calling a technical foul on Coach Gearty for arguing a foul call. 

Great entertainment

Kudos to the Westport cheerleaders and Jazz band who perform during time outs, after each quarter and at halftime they have done a magnificent job this season and also to nine year-old Marcus Gallant who shoots hoops under the Westport basket. He may make a great Wildcat one day. 

Next up: Westport travels to the Atlantis Charter School on Wednesday at 5 p.m. then to Southeastern RVT on Tuesday Jan. 17, at 6:30 p.m.