Matt Bettle, senior forward, captain, brings it in to score against Stoughton as they won their first playoff bout. (Photo by Aaron Duke)
Make that nine wins in a row for the Silver Lake High boys’ basketball team following their first playoff bout.
The Lakers had no issue taking care of Stoughton in the preliminary round of the MIAA Division 2 South Sectional playoff bracket. The Lakers took down Stoughton 60-46 and improved to 13-8 on the season.
On offense, senior guard Josh Gilbert (16 points) and junior forward Nolan Hughes (14 points) led the way.
Speaking of offense, the Lakers shined on the attack early in the contest. They went on a 9-0 to start the second quarter and with 5:24 left in the first half, their lead stood at 14 points, 26-12. For the rest of the first half, both sides, played well defensively, but the Lakers had a 28-18 lead headed into the second half.
The Lakers got off to a strong start in the second half which included three pointers from both Dan Duggan and Josh Murphy which gave the team a 16-point lead, 38-22. From there however, the scoring effort was back-and-forth between Silver Lake and Stoughton. The Lakers held a safe lead, the highest it got to was 19 points, 51-32, early in the fourth quarter. In the fourth, it also never dipped below 12 points, as it was a 55-43 game with 1:43 remaining. That said, there was not enough time for Stoughton to make a comeback at that point.
With the win, the Lakers advanced to face No. 2 Tech Boston on the road on Wednesday, Feb. 27. A loss there will have ended their season but if they came out on top, they will face either Hingham or Falmouth over the weekend.
Varsity experience and senior leadership were key factors in the Lakers success this season. The team featured 10 seniors including: Anthony McNiff, Dan Dugan, Jack Peterson, Dan Coffey, Matthew Bettle, Josh Gilbert, Josh Murphy, Cam Danahy, Brandon Lorizio and Will Cauchon.