Last Friday, December 16 the Nashoba fans were dressed head to toe in white in support of our Boys Basketball home opener. The boys were prepared for the game as St. John’s always. The win would be huge for the guys as they were coming into the game as underdogs. It was clear that Nashoba was ready for the game as they came out with a bang, and never let up even in the final minutes.

The starting five for Nashoba was Trevor Manyak, Justin Pierce, Andrew Fish, Connor Ojerholm, and Nate Mansour. With a winning jump, Nashoba got on the scoreboard fast scoring a quick six points before St. John’s could gain possession. The boys did not let the reputation of St. John’s affect their efforts, instead they let it fuel them. St. John’s may have had some height, but Nashoba was willing to put in the effort to take them on; diving for every ball and creating an unstoppable force on defense. Even throughout the whole game, everyone on the court for Nashoba gave 110%. Coming into the game both teams knew itwould be a fight. They played each other in fall league as both teams gave the other a tough game.

Overall, Nashoba held a 27-24 rebounding edge. Offensively Andrew Fish added 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals to balance the Nashoba offence. The key to Nashoba’s success was their defense which kept St. John’s on their toes and unbalanced for most of the game. Fish, Pierce, and Manyak(6 steals) helped power Nashoba’s defensive side. Talented Justin Pierce came out of the game with 24 points, including a pair of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter that gave the chieftains a lead that St.Johns could not come back from. St.Johns pulled ahead early in the second quarter as Bradley fed Stairs to make the game 15-18. After that, Coach Ortiz called a timeout to settle down. They returned and outscored St.John’s the rest of the game keeping a close lead until the end. Pierce scored two field goals in the fourth quarter to give the chieftains an edge on the Pioneers. An additional three, from behind the arc, were made by Nashoba as we claimed it our game. The game ended with Nashoba on top as the final score was 61-55, a great start for our Chieftains.

Conveniently, the game was filmed and live streamed and is still available online. The game was commentated by Jonah Lemieux and play by play from Jasper Yang. This was an exciting game to have filmed and all of the fans that could not make it to the game were very thankful. In all, this was a great game and everyone from Nashoba is very proud of the well- deserved win. This was a huge win for the boys and we’ll see how they continue their season. From the words of Justin Pierce “It was a great way to start the season but it was just one game”.