Grey Ghosts Fall in Lowell Holiday Tourney Final

When squares off against Acton-Boxborough in any sport, it draws the attention of Grey Ghosts and Colonials fans.

But in the Finals of the IAABO/Lowell Spinners/Dunkin’ Donuts Holiday Tournament? For the second year in a row? And a just before a key regular season Dual County League showdown? Well, that brings things to a whole other level.

It’s hard to say whether the prestige of this one-off tourney game or the post-season implications from next week’s matchup is more crucial. But for now, Acton-Boxborough reversed last year’s result, earning a victory over their hated rivals on Thursday night at UMass Lowell, 64-59.

The Grey Ghosts got out to an early 5-0 lead, but that would prove to be their only lead of the night as Acton-Boxborough pulled ahead several minutes into the first quarter and didn’t look back, with the exception of one point in the second quarter when Westford’s Justin Mount was able to tie the game at 22 with a jumper from the paint.

That was one of the few prominent moments near the basket for the Ghosts, as Acton was able to hold their foes to shots on the perimeter for much of the night and Westford often wasn’t able to capitalize when they did drive to the hoop, particularly late in the third quarter when the Colonials were able to grab points on transition from a botched Ryan Jann fast break dunk.

“We didn’t get into the paint very often, and I think it reflected in how often we got to the free throw line, except at maybe the end,” said Westford Academy head coach Ed Scanlon. “We weren’t getting the ball in the paint, so we just couldn’t get the fouls.”

Yet, despite the Ghosts’ difficulties, Acton-Boxborough couldn’t quite pull away, never extending their lead into double digits at any point in the contest, and letting Westford keep the margin as low as three in the final few minutes.

However, Westford’s inability to force home the high percentage shots proved to be too much down the stretch as the Colonials continued to thwart their opponents’ momentum, particularly though the efforts of tournament MVP Kevin LaFrancis, who scored 20 in the second half, including 12 foul shots.

LaFrancis led all scorers with 25 on the night, and was the only Colonial in double digits outside of tournament all-star Joe Flannery, who had 17.

Matt Ellis, who also made the tournament all-star team, led Westford with 16 points, followed by Jann’s 14 and Mount’s 11.

 The two teams meet again on Friday, Jan. 7 in Westford, and Acton-Boxborough head coach Rick Kilpatrick is confident that this result could easily be reversed given the long standing rivalry between the two squads.

“I’m sure there will be some adjustments, but at the same time we know each other so well, it’s not like we’re going to do anything that we haven’t seen before,” he said. “That’s what makes the rivalry great, we know each other so well, and the teams always play really hard.”