WESTFORD - Standing along the baseline, sweat dripping from his forehead, Peter Lynch smiled as he waited for the play to unfold and the ball to find its way to his waiting hands. The Westford Academy senior then received a pass and, with fierce determination, drove to the basket hard.

Lynch's intensity belied the fact that this was a practice session in late January, not the first round of the state tournament.

"He's a great kid," said Westford head coach Ed Scollan. "What you see is what you get. That goes for on the court and in the classroom. He works hard, sets a great example and is the first one to give credit to his teammates. It's a special thing to see someone achieve so much through hard work."

A team leader in every sense, Lynch brings a unique presence under the net. Admittedly not the strongest forward in the league, the 210-pounder said he "has to make up for pure strength with smarts."

"He has a great outside game, too," said Alex Haines, also a senior captain. "He's not the biggest guy out there, so he uses his head and plays smart. I don't know if I'd call him a pure power player, but he definitely is a typical forward. He just adds to it because he doesn't just rely on his physical game, but his mental game, too."

Just watch younger brother, Chris, who is a junior on the team, and you'll see the same style of play that Lynch uses: aggressive in the paint, accurate beyond it.

On the court, Lynch is making headlines.

On Friday, Jan. 16, in an 89-77 Dual County League win over Newton South, the two-time team captain became the third boys' basketball player in program history to net 1,000 points for his career. Lynch joined former Grey Ghosts Zach Ellis (2002), and Marc Tocci (1999).

Lynch entered the matchup with 993 points. After scoring six quick points in the first half, he went to the bench with early foul trouble. With friends and family in the stands, sporting signs with messages of support, Lynch's memorable moment came in the middle of the third quarter.

"It was a short little shot off the backboard," recalled the 6-foot-6 forward. "It was such a relief to get it over with. They stopped the game, coach [Scollan] presented me with a plaque and took some pictures. The Newton South guys came over and congratulated me, which was really nice. It was special, but there's no way I could've done it without the rest of my teammates."

Humility. One more trait evident when Lynch speaks of the players he has shared the court with for the past four seasons. A four-year varsity starter, Lynch has seen the program transform from a 6-14 club his freshman year to a 10-0 squad at midweek.