Boys Emerge from Home Basketball Season Undefeated

*The 2023-2034 BHS boys’ varsity basketball team and Coach Anthony Hall posed post-game with late Coach Ryan Kilian’s parents, Paul and Patricia. Courtesy Image*

The Bedford High School basketball season will be over in a month – even if the Buccaneers make it to the championship game.

Even before the end of the regular season, Coach Anthony Hall’s boys have accomplished something believed to be unprecedented. They went undefeated on their home court.

The team broke a close game open late in the third quarter last Friday and cruised to a 60-44 win over Concord-Carlisle to complete the regular-season home schedule. There have been some good teams over the past 55 seasons. The 2005-2006 Buccaneers were 19-1. But they lost their opening game – at home.

(The 15-2 girls’ team’s only home loss was by one point.)

Bedford takes its 14-3 record to Marblehead to compete in the Larry McIntire IAABO Board 130 Classic for the second straight year. The Bucs face Gloucester at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday and either Bishop Fenwick or Marblehead on Monday.

Then they will practice and scrimmage while awaiting the pairings for the Division 2 state tournament, beginning the week of Feb. 25. There will be at least one home playoff game.

Friday’s home finale was a shootout for the first eight minutes. The Patriots were penetrating for easy layups and Bedford was matching them, with the quarter ending, 19-18 Bucs.

Then the entire character of the game changed. Bedford held the visitors to three second-quarter points, as C-C turned the ball over eight times. But the Bucs only scored six, and led by just two possessions, 27-21, at halftime.

The eight seniors on the BHS boys’ varsity basketball team this season include (L-R): Jireh Joseph, Justice Buchannan, and Camdyn Shoesmith along with (not pictured) Jameson Baer, Darian Aviles, Justin Liberman, Stephen Goldsmith, and Xavier Ruiz. photos by Finn Harte

“We did a good job withstanding their early shooting. They prepared well; they had a plan for how to play us,” Halls said. “Then our defense took the pressure to another level.” Halls, who played at CC in the 1990s, had praise for the Patriots’ defense as well.

After missing only five shots in the first quarter, C-C sank only five more until well into the fourth period, when the result was no longer in doubt. The Bucs led by eight after three quarters, and scored the first 15 points of the fourth.

Junior Keston Paul scored 14 points off the bench on seven-for-nine shooting.

“We got great contributions from Keston,” Halls said. Cam Shooesmith, who also had 14 points, found his usual dominance in the paint in the second half, the coach added. Shoesmith had another double-double with 11 rebounds. Justion Liberman (10) stole the ball three times and Trevor Forman had four steals.

Seven different players scored for Bedford with the bench contributing 28 points.

“We’ve been stressing all week to finish strong around the basket and have confidence in our shots,” Halls said. “We worked on things to help us with that.”