Dynamic scoring trio leading the way

By Chris Villani

A dozen games into the season, the Nipmuc boys’ basketball team had already amassed 10 wins and a perfect record in the Dual Valley Conference. It’s a fitting start for a team that set the bar high for itself at the start of the year.

“Our expectations are inside-out, not outside-in,” said Head Coach Jason Gosselin. “We had a good season last year and returned quite a bit, so they had high expectations and they have done a great job setting the standard and going about their work.”

Much of Nipmuc’s offense runs through three players, James McKinney, Chase Kelly, and Logan DeMarzo. McKinney, Nipmuc’s 6-foot-7 center, is averaging 17 points and 13 rebounds per game.

“He has just been exceptional,” Gosselin said. “He is a little bit of a cheat code at times because he poses a really big matchup issue for our opponents.”

McKinney surpassed the 1,000 point mark for his career earlier this season. 

His classmate Kelly is right behind him in the scoring column at around 16 points per game and is shooting over 40% from three-point range. DeMarzo is also driving the offense at a 15-point clip per contest.

“It’s been contributions top to bottom, but those three are definitely a huge part of the solution for us,” Gosselin said.

A pair of juniors, Eben Consigli and Mason Kirkpatrick, have also jumped in and contributed multiple double-digit scoring efforts. 

“They have had some great games for us,” Gosselin said. “The depth of scoring has been great.”

As a result, Nipmuc entered February in the driver’s seat to win the DVC and in a great position to secure a coveted spot in the annual Clark Tournament as well. The team had already clinched its place in the MIAA state tournament.

Gosselin said repeating as league champs and earning a top-four seed going into the Clark are among the team’s biggest goals for the second half of the season. As the tournaments approach, he said he wants the team to continue to work hard on the defensive side of the ball and not become complacent just because they are such a strong offensive team. On offense, he said continued success will involve sharing the ball and playing together as a team.

“We will play anyone in the tournament,” Gosselin said. “We just need to continue to handle our business.”