The Chelsea High boys basketball team opened its 2012-13 season against Minuteman Regional, dropping a 59-54 contest Tuesday evening at the CHS gym.
Senior center Carlos Vega led the Red Devils in the scoring department with a fine 19 point effort. “Carlos played a very good game for us,” said CHS head coach Jay Seigal of Vega’s performance, which also included nine rebounds, including some offensive boards.
Freshman guard Guillermo Zelada, who teamed with fellow freshman Nelson Vega to form the starting backcourt, also reached double figures with 12 points. Junior forward Jorge Ramos had a nice night with seven points.
The contest was a closely fought battle most of the way. The Red Devils trailed by two points at the half, but Minuteman slowly pulled away after the intermission to open up an 11 point advantage with about three minutes to play.
However, the Red and Black refused to fold and moved within two points with about 1:30 to go. However, Chelsea could not get over the proverbial hump and Minuteman held on for the victory.
“Overall, I was pleased with our effort,” said Seigal. “The team played hard and gave 100 percent to the end. But we committed a lot of unforced errors and made mistakes that are to be expected by a team such as ours with a number of players who have little or no varsity playing experience.
“We just have to be patient and hope that as we play more and get that necessary experience, we’ll reduce our mistakes,” added the coach.
Seigal and his crew will travel to Greater Lowell tomorrow (Friday) and then host Greater Lawrence Monday at 5:00. The Devils then will entertain ancient archrival Revere on Wednesday at 7:00.