The Boston Latin School boys’ varsity basketball team won the New Year’s Day alumni game by three points. When it came down to the last ten seconds, the varsity team maintained a strong defense, resulting in a missed buzzer beater three-pointer by the alumni team, securing the win for the younger players. 

The tradition of the alumni game connects players from different generations under two hoops. Players who already graduated are able to reconnect with students they knew as freshmen; alumni players are able to see the new gym for the first time and the changes made by the school since their graduation. 

These feelings of connection are well-put by Angel Amaya (‘22) who played on the alumni team. He states, “Even though there was a bit of an age gap between some of the players, we were all there to play some basketball, so it ended up being all of us just having a good time. It’s cool to be able to see the kids you’ve played basketball with before, and it’s definitely one of those things where you’re there to see the people you played with and everybody else is a plus.”

The game was also highly competitive throughout. The varsity team was able to gain a strong lead in the start, but the alumni team had a few secret weapons. Some alumni, who played in college, came back to their alma mater and showed off their college-level skills. “One guy that hooped at Dartmouth, literally nobody could stop him, he did what he wanted on that court,” Amaya remarks.

One thing that made this year’s game so special was the high turnout. Varsity basketball coach and guidance counselor Mr. Jerry Etienne used new methods of outreach, such as working through BPS’s database, and was able to send out an email to a greater number of alumni than before. “There were about 40 alum who showed up, which is beyond what we could have thought.”

Head of School Jason Gallagher shares, “I was so excited to see everyone there! We had alums from as far back as the late ‘60s all the way up to students who graduated last year.” In addition to the alumni, there was also a large number of BLS basketball players from the junior varsity and freshman teams as well as the girls teams to watch the game in support. 

After the whistle blew, some of the older players continued to hang around afterward to get more hoops in. Players of all different levels worked together and helped each other out. Boys’ varsity basketball player Zev Ramey-Winikur (II) says, “I think that it is always enjoyable for us to play with the alumni as they can give us some pointers and we can give them that high school young feeling again. I know that everyone definitely enjoyed the day and it is a fun tradition that I hope will continue for years to come.”

Overall, it was a highly successful event that highlights the strength of the BLS alumni community and the skills of the varsity basketball teams. “It was at a time that people were excited to be there, so everything just came together for the perfect opportunity to get together and play some ball,” remarks Head of School Gallagher. “It’s something that everyone had in common, we all played basketball here at Boston Latin. That makes it a lot of fun and brings back a lot of memories.”