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Sports

Around the Burlington High School sports world

A look back at the week that was in Burlington High School athletics.

Well folks, we have officially made it to the 2010-2011 winter sports post season as a few of the Red Devils’ squads began their quests for a Massachusetts state championship. The boys’ basketball and hockey teams kicked off tournament play this past week, and both performed admirably, coming out with impressive wins.

Boys Basketball

, playing the role of underdog as they took on the favored 5th seeded Salem High School Witches. The Witches were the defending Division One North champions, and were looking to make their second consecutive trip to the title game in 2011.

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The sharp-shooting Red Devils had other plans for Salem, however, as they upset the Witches on their home court, winning in thrilling fashion by a final score of 69-64. The back and forth contest literally came down to the final seconds. After Burlington tied the game at 64 a piece, junior Mark Melanson hit what might be the biggest three point shot of his BHS career, putting the Red Devils on top 67-64. They would ice the game by hitting a pair of free throws, stunning the home side and advancing to the next round of the tournament.

Melanson had a monster game for BHS, aside from his late game-winning three, leading the Red Devils with 17 points. Senior Ryan Putney chipped in with 12 points, as did junior Connor Galvin. Junior point guard Greg Sheridan added 10 points of his own to help the Red Devils get the win.

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Head coach Tom Lyons summed things up pretty simply after the game. “This was a great high school basketball game, and we performed very well.”

The Red Devils will move on to face Boston Latin Academy in the next round of the tournamwent.

Boys Hockey

The Burlington High School boys’ hockey team held just a slight advantage in the seedings to give them the home advantage, as they earned the 8 seed and played host to 9th seeded Andover High School.

Burlington got goals from three different players as juniors Brett Romkey and Brian Hood, and senior Kyle Crowley all found the back of the net for the red, blue and white. They also got a solid performance in net from goaltender Derek DeCastro who made 21 saves in the win. The Red Devils will move on to face the top-seeded St. Mary’s of Lynn Spartans tomorrow night in Woburn.

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