In a thrilling road matchup on Friday, the Chelsea High boys basketball team emerged victorious against Greater Lawrence with a narrow 48-47 final score, securing the win in the game’s final seconds.
A sluggish opening half saw the Red Devils fall behind 28-18, continuing a season-long pattern of slow starts. The second half told an entirely different tale. Chelsea’s defensive adjustments—specifically an aggressive man-to-man scheme—forced turnovers and generated offensive opportunities that shifted momentum completely.
“We didn’t play well in the first half, so we started the third period with increased intensity on the defensive end and that in turn picked up our tempo on offense,” noted CHS head coach Jay Seigal.
By the end of three quarters, Chelsea had narrowed the gap to 34-30. Faisal Nasimi proved instrumental in the Red Devils’ comeback, connecting on two three-pointers late in the period to bring his team within striking distance for the fourth quarter.
Both teams battled intensely in the final period without either pulling away decisively. With 11 seconds remaining, Oscar Sabillon drove through the lane for a running layup that gave Chelsea the lead. Greater Lawrence received two more attempts to retake the advantage, but Chelsea’s defense prevented any score to secure the victory.
The scoring was led by Carlos Vazquez with 12 points, while Sabillon contributed 11. Six points each came from Nasimi and Nelson Vega, Jorge Ramos added four, and Hector Sarmiento and Victor Corrales each scored two.
This triumph was bookended by defeats—a loss to Lexington last Wednesday and another to Northeast Regional on Tuesday. The Northeast Regional game began disastrously, with the Red Devils trailing 36-19 at intermission. “We dug ourselves a hole early and couldn’t quite get out of it,” explained Seigal. “We missed a lot of easy shots and it came back to haunt us.” Despite a determined second-half effort, Chelsea fell short 47-46. Vazquez paced the offense with 18 points and Sabillon contributed 16.
The Lexington contest the previous week featured an unusual scenario: Chelsea started well with a 15-14 first-quarter advantage. Greater height proved insurmountable for the Red Devils, however, as Lexington built a 31-20 halftime lead and never looked back, winning 58-35.
Ramos led Chelsea with 10 points in that contest. Vazquez contributed seven, Sabillon six, Vega four, and Sarmiento three. Guillermo Zelata, Montel Johnson, and Daquan Starwood each scored two.
Standing at 6-11 on the season, Seigal’s team concludes their campaign with home games against Lynn Tech tomorrow (Friday) at 5:00 and versus Lexington on Saturday at 7:00. They travel to Shawsheen on Tuesday.