Berkshire: 70   Pomfret: 54

Berkshire: 61   Loomis: 65

Berkshire: 69   KUA: 78

The Bears finished up exam week and headed down to Windsor for the Loomis Holiday Tournament on Thursday with two games on the docket.   First up: Pomfret at 2 pm.   This game saw the group come out with some fire, pressing, running and shooting to a half time lead of 10: 28 to 18.   The second half saw the Bears put up 42 more points to seal a 70 to 54 victory, leading them into the winner’s bracket for game 2 at 8 pm against the host Loomis team.   What do to with 6 hours between games? Well, how about a trip north to Suffield to see the girls team hand Westminster a loss, then off to a local mall for some food, and a cat nap on the bus with the return to Loomis for the next game.

The second game saw more of the same; the team came out blazing again and took the lead, 27 to 9, looking for the entire world like they would run away and hide.   The Loomis team decided to have nothing to do with that and climbed back into the game, trailing by only 2 at half time.   The second half was a nip and tuck battle with both teams taking leads only to relinquish them. With less than a minute left and the game tied, the Bears had a great defensive effort, winding the shot clock down about 4 seconds when a shot was arched out of the corner, and yes, you guessed it, nothing but net and a 3-point lead for Loomis. Our great attempt was thwarted by Loomis who then went to the charity stripe to make one more point. The final result was a disappointing 4-point loss, 65-61, and sheer exhaustion from the long day.

Friday’s game saw the Bears square up against a tough AA Kimball Union Academy team. This is a team with size, speed and depth who came down from the Lakes Region of New Hampshire.   They were assuming it would be another blow-out after a 40-point win on Thursday night.   The Bears would have no part of that and showed real grit against this team. KUA would run ahead, and we would catch back up with some great shooting and stellar D. The main difference in this game was the unbelievable three-point shooting by our opponent, as they made thirteen of them, six from one player, all while our players were draped all over all of them. Final score: KUA 78, Berkshire 69.

The three-game series saw Ahmad Reid average 30 points per game and 5 rebounds per game; Barrett Ramsay average 16 per game with 12 three-pointers for the event; Chris McCormick average 11 per game, play some great D and average 5 rebounds per game; and Eric Samuel lead the team with 6 blocks and 5 rebounds per game. The trip will surely pay dividends after the break as the team accomplished some very good things during the trip.   Our next game is at Williston right after the break.