Panthers’ Boys’ Basketball Looking to Build off Last Year’s Solid Season

AYER – The Ayer-Shirley Regional boys’ basketball team will be looking to duplicate last year’s success as the team ventures into the 2025-2026 winter campaign.

Under head coach Rick Kilpatrick, who is entering his sixth season at the head of the Panthers bench, the team will once again look to bring an exciting brand of basketball to 141 Washington Street this season.

“It’s a new group with a couple of returning players from last year,” said Kilpatrick. “Some of them didn’t play a lot last year. I won’t say we are young but we are inexperienced and the only to get experience is to play.”

The Panthers opened the season on the right foot on December 12 with a 57-52 victory over Monty Tech in opening round action of the Bud Tackett Memorial Tournament held at Ayer-Shirley Regional High School.

The Panthers got a game high 35 points from Grant Ebika. The Ayer-Shirley junior netted 17 of his 35 points in the second half to lock up the victory over the Bulldogs.

“Grant is a bull and we’re going to have to count on him a lot this season. He’s going to be expected to do a lot and he did a lot tonight,” said Kilpatrick. “He was gassed in that second quarter and we talked about it as a team, because he and Dylan (Bergin) will have to be out there for most of the game, we’ll have to be wise with our timeouts in the second half.”

Ayer-Shirley looked to take home the tournament title on Sunday afternoon when it hosted the Blue Knights of Lunenburg in the championship game of the tournament.

The Panthers are coming off a 20-3 season last winter. Ayer-Shirley claimed the Mid Wach D title with a perfect 12-0 record in league play and qualified for the prestigious Clark University Tournament. The Panthers saw their season come to an end with a 31-27 loss to host Littleton in Round of 32 action of the Massachusetts Division 4 Tournament back in February.

As of game time, Kilpatrick hadn’t named captains on this year’s squad. However, Ebika is one of six upperclassmen on the roster that will provide some veteran leadership. The roster features two seniors in Isaiah Mulemba and Griffon Cotter. Juniors Ebika, George Logan Jr, Aaden Torres and Dylan Bergin will also contribute.

Sophomores Ben Andrade and Cullen Gallagher along with freshmen Sheldon Masudi, Rotimi Oyekoya and Ryan Bresnahan will gain valuable experience and see quality minutes on the floor this season.

“Right now, I know my top three players but I’m trying to find figure out who my fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh players are,” said Kilpatrick. “So, it’s going to take a few games to figure it out and be sure.”

Ayer-Shirley’s schedule this winter will be a tough one, loaded with talented squads from around North Central Massachusetts. Among the teams the Panthers will square off against this winter are Lunenburg, West Boylston, Gardner, Narragansett Regional, Quabbin Regional and Littleton among others.