Minutemen no match for Raiders in 51-37 win

Published in the December 22, 2017 edition

By JENNIFER GENTILE 

MELROSE HIGH hoop beat Lexington in a convincing fashion, 51-37 during their home opener last Friday. (Steve Karampalas photo)

MELROSE—The Melrose Red Raider hoop team opened their season on a fine note with a convincing 51-37 victory over Lexington on Friday, Dec. 15 at the Melrose Middle School gym. It was a strong defensive effort for the Raiders, who held the Minutemen to five points in the last period to preserve the win.  

On Tuesday, Melrose faced one of the best opponents in the state: #3 ranked Arlington, who beat Melrose 53-45 in a very close game in which Melrose reached within four with two minutes left in game. (Additional details were not available at press time.)

During their home opener on Friday, Melrose shut down Lexington thanks to efforts from Mike Fennell and Dylan Vienot, who had steals and forced turnovers, while Melrose won the rebounding game behind forward Luca Vlajkovic, who led in scoring for Melrose with 12 points. “He’s young and so promising, still lots to learn, but he performed well for us,” says coach Mike Kasprzak. 

Though outsized by Lexington, Melrose stormed out of the gate and led 26-18 at the half behind offensive efforts from Melrose senior Anthony Colozzo (7 points, 3 assists) and senior Frantz Pierrot (6 points, 8 rebounds). Charlie Stanton also was key on the foul line.

Lexington tied the game up at 32-32 after Melrose’s sluggish third quarter but defense switched gears and increased pressure. “I thought we moved the ball well in the beginning,” says Kasprzak. “But then we missed a lot of really close shots.” 

In the fourth, Melrose enjoyed an offensive run, as Melrose defense limited Lexington to just five points. That flipped a 32-32 tie to a 51-37 lead, a result that pleased the coach. 

“We started well with defensive pressure and ended well with defensive pressure,” says the coach. “We lagged a bit in the third, and it allowed them to catch up. We want to focus on keeping our offensive momentum going during the games.”

This Thursday (post deadline) Melrose hosts Woburn at home at 6:00 p.m. at the Melrose Middle School gym.