By Jack Hooker
South lost to Waltham Sunday by a close 59-55.
Junior guard Jack Groper led the scoring for the Lions, followed by junior forward Mark Karmiy and junior captain Geoffrey Gray, each with 11 points.
During the fourth quarter, Groper (13 points) hit three shots from behind the arc.
South took the lead early with a quick three from senior captain Phil Levine-Caleb, followed by a block from junior center Brendan Duggan. Gray had five points in the first quarter, including a put back and a three pointer; however, Waltham hit a few threes of its own, taking a 16-12 lead when the first buzzer sounded.
South only scored six points the rest of the first half: a three pointer from sophomore guard Alex Kiritsy (eight points), a layup from Duggan off of a steal by Groper and a free throw from Karmiy. Waltham took a 26-18 to start the second half.
Kiritsy stepped up in the third quarter, hitting a deep three and forcing a turnover. Freshman center Sasha Hoban, Karmiy and Gray all contributed points in the third quarter. Groper and junior guard Joe Esbenshade (four points) went a combined 4-4 at the line in the third, though that was not enough to take the lead. South trailed 40-33 going into the fourth quarter.
Buckets from Kiritsy and Karmiy made it a three-point game with seven minutes to go; however, with Waltham’s three ball hot, South now trailed by double digits with five minutes to play. Groper got the momentum going for South, hitting a desperation three with 2:25 on the clock, cutting the lead to eight.
Another deep trey from Groper with nine seconds on the clock put the Lions down two. South sent Waltham to the line off of the inbound pass. Making both of its free-throws, Waltham beat South 59-55.
South drops to 4-7 on the season. Its next game is Tuesday at Bedford (2-9) at 5:30.
