BY Christopher Tremblay, Staff Sports Writer

Under the guidance of coach Ryan Hippert, the Uxbridge boys basketball team was able to go 13-9 and earned themselves a trip to the Division 4 State Tournament. The Spartans were able to take out Ayer-Shirley but were sent home in the second round by Monument Mountain Regional High School of Great Barrington. Hippert would like to get his team back there this year. 

“Like any other year I want them to play consistently while being competitive,” the coach said. “I also want to qualify for the Clark Tournament as well as the State Tournament, where I am hoping we can advance further but I know that’s going to be tough with the amount of teams that do make it (48 teams qualified last year for the Division 4 Tournament).”

Getting back to the State Tournament shouldn’t be too difficult as the Spartans have qualified in all but one year since Hippert took over the team. Uxbridge has also had success getting into the Clark University High School Basketball Tournament, where the top teams of Central Massachusetts are showcased. 

“We’re either first or second in appearances to the Clark Tournament,” he said. “Getting there is a really big deal for this team.”

Although Uxbridge found themselves returning a good number of players from last year’s squad they did not get off on the right foot when the season opened up. The Spartans dropped their first two games, but at the time of this writing, they have been able to right the ship and have gone above .500 with three straight victories.

Four seniors (Michael Stark, James Sanford, Colin Spencer and Darren Oliver) and two juniors (Brady Esposito and Thatcher Sweeney) will be vying for starting positions each and every game. Stark, Sanford, Spencer and role player Matt Hinchcliffe, a hard worker that plays the right way, are this year’s senior captains.

The Spartans do not have that one guy who can drop 20 points a game, but collectively these six should be able to find the basket.

“We don’t have that one go-to guy to give us 20 points a night, but we do have numerous athletes who can score,” Hippert said. “We just never know who it is going to come from each night. Brady is a 6’6” center who should be able to get us some inside buckets, we need him to play big.”

Defensively the Spartans will be lead by Stark, the team’s best defender.

“Michael will guard the opposition’s top player,” the Uxbridge coach said. “It’s a tough duty to be dealt but he does a hell of a job. It’s really impressive how hard he works defensively.”

Two other seniors who will see time on the court this winter will be Tim and Rogan Devlin, while Darren Oliver has been a pleasant surprise as of late. During the last two games for Uxbridge, Oliver has been able to score in double digits giving the team some consistency. 

“Last year he didn’t get a lot of minutes, but this year he has been thrust into the role and has started to score,” Hippert said. “He’s become more comfortable on the court and is confident in his game.”

If all the Spartans are playing to their potential Uxbridge should be able to secure berths in both the Clark and State Tournaments this season. Hippert believes that the team should look to get better each and every game and, if they can achieve that by the end of the season, they should be playing at the top of their game and their goals of advancing into the Tournament should be accomplished.