BOYNTON BEACH – Odyssey Middle School will be coming to a close this summer due to low enrollment, and Friday was the basketball teams’ last home game to ever be played.
The first game would start off at 4:30 p.m. with the boys and the second game at 5:30 p.m. with the girls team. The two teams faced off with neighboring Christa McAuliffe Middle School.
The gymnasium was filled with teachers, students, former students and staff. Boynton Beach alum, FIU graduate, and Odyssey Middle School basketball legend Taylor Shade would be a spectator on hand for today’s basketball games. Shade led Odyssey to back-to-back girls basketball South-Central titles in 2005-2006 and 2006-2007.
BOYS GAME
Odyssey would end the first quarter with a 7-1 lead as both teams struggled to find their shot. The Stars would go up 10-6 midway through the second, but McAuliffe would surge to close the gap to 10-9 after applying some pressure defense.
McAuliffe would tie the game up 15-15 with two minutes left in the second and then take its first lead of the night with 26 seconds left in the second. But Odyssey would get back on top and go into halftime with a 19-18 lead.
During the third quarter Odyssey would catch its groove and take the momentum to go up 27-23. The Stars would end the third on a buzzer-beater layup by Nedgee Noelzoius, which gave them a 29-23 lead.
The Challengers would come close in the final frame, but the Odyssey Stars would pull away to secure their spot in the playoffs with a 38-28 win.
Noelzoius would get emotional as he spoke about the victory and this being his last home game at Odyssey.
“So many memories here,” he said. “It’s the last game here ever. It was an honor to play here.”
Odyssey head coach Zach Moncilovich would talk about his experiences at Odyssey after coaching his last home game for the Stars.
“This is a bittersweet feeling,” Moncilovich said. “We got the win tonight to go out in style, but I’m out of a job as a coach. It’s something that’s sad, but I’ve had a great time here and this group of kids I have are a great group to go out with.”
Leading scorers for each team
Odyssey: Nedgee Noelzoius with 15 points
Christa McAuliffe: Three players scored 8 points each
GIRLS GAME
The first quarter would be a back-and-forth battle as both teams kept pace with each other. The quarter would end with McAuliffe holding a 10-9 lead.
McAuliffe would dominate the second quarter as it started with a 12-1 run that led to a 22-10 lead. Odyssey would stand its ground in the second and cut McAuliffe’s lead down to single digits, but it would be a 23-15 lead for McAuliffe at halftime.
The Challengers would play another dominating half as they pushed their lead back to double digits.
The Challengers would be up 40-23 midway through the fourth and put all of their reserves in as the game was well in hand.
Odyssey’s struggles would continue in the fourth as McAuliffe surged all the way through. In the end, the Challengers would down the Stars for a 46-28 victory.
Lady Stars head coach Kimberle Teper would give some insight on her time at Odyssey and what’s next for her and the team.
“Although this was my first year here at Odyssey, it was great,” she said. “Most of the team will be going on to other schools and I have three eighth graders that will move on to high school. For myself, I’ll probably go back to high school where I was at for 12 years or continue to coach at the middle school level.”
Leading scorers for each team
Odyssey: Brittney Chery with 14 points
Christa McAuliffe: Paulina Lang with 13 points
