The incredible run for the Swampscott boys basketball team came to an end in an incredible way Tuesday night, as the No. 5 Big Blue fell to No. 12 Old Rochester by a score of 91-89 on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in double overtime in a Division 3 tournament Round of 16 game at Swampscott High School.
Swampscott led 89-88 with 11.3 seconds to go in the game before Old Rochester’s Sawyer Fox drained a three at the buzzer to give the Bulldogs the upset victory.
The loss ends a streak of 15 straight wins for the Big Blue that dated back to mid-January.
“(Old Rochester) shot the ball unbelievably well, and you just kind of have to take your hat off to them,” said Swampscott coach Jason Knowles. “We took the lead late and did everything right on the press. We got our hand on the ball and he put up a miracle shot and it went in.”
Ryan Ward and Evan Roth led the way with 27 points each, while Cam O’Brien notched 14 points. Liam Wales and Mick Ross each finished with seven points, while Riad Benagour played a solid game and hit the game-tying 3-pointer to send the game to its first overtime.
Swampscott closes out the season at 17-5.
“I couldn’t be more proud of this team for what they’ve done this year,” said Knowles. “Even when we were 2-4 early in the year, you never would know it by looking at our guys. They always knew what we were capable of and they worked every day to get to that point. Obviously we wish we could’ve continued to go further, but this was a special year for this team.”
