The Westwood High boys basketball team dug itself a hole by losing its first six contests to start the year, but they have found the winning way as they approach the midway point of the season, knocking off visiting Medway 63-57 on Friday night for its second straight win in a Tri-Valley League contest.
The Wolverines raced out to a 19-3 lead after one quarter, holding the visiting Mustangs (5-3, 4-3) without a field goal utilizing a 3-2 zone that Medway could not solve.
Matt Powers led the way for Westwood (2-6, 2-5) with 16 points, while Ries McQuillan and Jason Sementelli each tossed in 12.
"We're playing well on both ends of the floor, we're playing hard and smart. We're playing smart and finishing games,” said Wolverines coach Mike Reidy. “Credit to them, it's not easy to do when you've lost several in a row."
The Rebels scored the first six points of the second half to break a 28-28 tie and went on for the win over the visiting Warriors on Friday.
The victory caps off a perfect 3-0 week for Walpole (6-2, 5-1) heading into tomorrow’s contest at Milton, also 5-1 in league play coming off a 70-69 overtime loss to Newton North on Friday.
“Besides the first half of Brookline, I thought we played really hard all week,” said Rebels coach Dave St. Martin. “To get three conference wins in one week against three good teams is great. We feel pretty good going into Tuesday.”
Chris Cameron led Walpole with 12 points and added five rebounds, and Marven Toussaint added 11 points and six rebounds.
Derek Hand led the Rebels with 10 boards, one of six with at least five.
The Marauders had chances to take the lead on multiple occasions in the final seconds, but were unable to come away with the road win on Friday.
Ryan Welch, who was the only Marauder (4-5, 2-4) in double figures with 12 points, missed a pair of free throws with 12 seconds to go with Dedham trailing 50-49 and a 3-pointer just before the buzzer.
Framingham (4-3, 3-2) took the lead in the final minute following an offensive rebound. Dab Guadagnoli scored 12 points to crack the 1,000-point mark for the Flyers.
The Hawks erased an eight-point second half deficit, sending the game into overtime at 47-47 on a 3-pointer by Nick O’Neill with nine seconds remaining, but the Hawks fell as Chris Dazey knocked down a shot in the post with a second remaining in overtime to give the host Lancers a win.
Xaverian (1-7, 0-2) missed a pair of free throws with 11 seconds leading 51-50 to give Malden Catholic (2-5, 1-1) a chance for the win. On the night the Hawks were just 10-for-20 from the free throw line.
The Marauders pulled away in the second half to pick up their second league win of the year, improving to 3-5 overall and 2-4 in the BSC.
Dedham limited the Flyers to juts 13 second-half points after leading 27-20 at the break. Jill Moses pumped in 19 points for the Marauders while Andrea Vogt had 12, including three 3-pointers. Nicole Savi chipped in nine points, eight rebounds and five assists while Allie Treanor had nine boards.
“That was definitely the best game we have played, a complete 32 minutes,” said Dedham coach Don Savi. “We played really well defensively and got out on the break.”
The Mustangs remained winless Friday night as the Wamps expanded a three-point halftime lead to double digits in the third quarter.
Norwood trailed 19-16 at the break but the deficit jumped to 37-25 by the start of the fourth. Emily Dixon led Norwood with 13 points. Casey Ducharme handed out six assists while Justine Ryan had a pair of 3-pointers while playing strong defense for the Mustangs, who were without starting guard Stephanie Perry due to illness.
“Overall we played well, the third quarter has just been a Bermuda Triangle that we can’t get out of this year,” said Norwood coach Maureen Jennings.
The Rebels completed a stretch of three games in four days with a win Friday, staying unbeaten at 6-0 on the season.
Sydni Salvatore’s 17 points paced the Rebels, who led 29-12 at the break. Molly Grimes has a trio 3-pointers in a 15-point performance. Sarah Roof pulled down nine rebounds while Lauren Baryski dished out five assists.
