BERLIN- Worcester Prep’s boys varsity basketball team closed out its season last week with a 56-51 loss to Holly Grove in the Eastern Shore Independent Athletic Conference (ESIAC) tournament championship game.

The Mallards fell to Holly Grove in the title game after beating Salisbury Christian, 47-43, in the ESIAC semifinals. The loss wrapped up a remarkably consistent season for the Mallards, who finished with an 11-8 record. Worcester started the season alternating between wins and losses for the first few weeks before starting to string together some wins.

The Mallards went 5-2 down the stretch including the ESIAC tournament games and won three in a row at one point. The lows were never very low for Worcester, nor were the highs very high. The Mallards only lost two in a row on one occasion during the season.

As usual, Worcester’s schedule was punctuated by the holidays, winter break and senior trip, making consistency difficult. For example, the Mallards went from December 19 to January 6 without playing a game, and on another occasion, Worcester went from January 20 to February 7 without playing a game.