LITTLETON – It’s no secret that the Ayer-Shirley Regional and Littleton boys’ basketball rivalry is as fierce as any in the North Central Massachusetts area.
Just two weeks after the two squared off in a highly emotional regular season game back on February 13, the Panthers and Tigers met Saturday night on the biggest stage.
The No. 15 Tigers welcomed No. 18 Ayer-Shirley to Littleton for Round of 32 action in the Massachusetts Division 4 Tournament.
Offense was at a premium in this one as both teams struggled to find the bottom of the net. Despite their scoring troubles, host Littleton was able to grab some redemption as the Tigers came away with a 31-27 win to bring an end to the Panthers storybook season.
With the win, Littleton improves to 12-9 and advances to the Round of 16. As for the Panthers, they conclude their 2024-2025 season at 20-3 overall.
Ayer-Shirley ends its season with back-to-back losses after winning 20 consecutive games during the regular season.
Grant Ebika led the Panthers with seven points while Tommy Bergin and Zach Iannacone both finished the game with five points each. Bobby Manchester added four points.
Littleton’s Evan Manno led all scorers with 13 points and teammate Liam Smith contributed eight points for the winners.
With the Tigers clinging to a 27-25 lead and less than a minute to play in the fourth quarter, Ayer-Shirley’s Iannacone was fouled and sent to the free throw line with 40 seconds left. Iannacone missed both attempts as Littleton held onto its narrow lead. Littleton’s Smith knocked a free throw with 20 seconds remaining to stretch the lead to three points at 28-25 as the Panthers looked to tie the game in the closing seconds. Matty Marchand had a chance to tie the contest but his three-pointer with 12 seconds remaining was off the mark. Manno hit a free throw at the other end of the floor to make it a 29-25 game with eight seconds left before Ebika’s basket and a foul at the Ayer-Shirley offensive end with three seconds remaining pulled the Panthers to within 29-27. Ebika missed the free throw and A-S immediately fouled. Miles Blaine hit one of two free throws to make it 30-27 with 2.4 seconds left. Following a timeout, Ayer-Shirley’s full court pass went out of bounds, giving the ball back to the Tigers and ultimately sealing the Panthers fate. Littleton added one more free throw with 1.2 seconds left to put the game out of reach.
Both teams struggled to generate on the offensive end of the floor for the full 32 minutes. The host Tigers opened the contest in a zone defense and Ayer-Shirley had difficulty getting the basketball inside and was forced to settle for several shots from the perimeter.
The Tigers held a slim 9-5 after the first quarter. Both teams continued to struggle shooting in the second quarter as they combined for 11 points. Littleton carried a 13-12 lead into the locker room at halftime.
In the third quarter, neither team could create any separation on the scoreboard as the Tigers maintained the upper hand and held a 23-21 lead entering the final eight minutes of action.
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