Warriors fall short against Arlington Catholic, 63-57
SENIOR GUARD Brian Dickey scored a game high 19 points and was named to the All-Tournament team for his effort. However, the Warrior boys’ basketball team dropped a 63-57 game to Arlington Catholic in the consolation round of the Golden Tornado Holiday Tournament last night at Malden High School. (Donna Larsson File Photo)
By DAN BYRNE
MALDEN — After losing its opening game of the 2014 Golden Tornado Holiday Tournament to Salem on Sunday, the Wakefield Memorial High boys’ basketball team returned to Malden High School on Monday night to face Arlington Catholic in the consolation round of the tourney.
The Warriors were boosted by the return of their starting guard, senior captain Brian Dickey, who was out on Sunday due to illness. Dickey did all he could to help his team, leading all scorers with 19 points.
Dickey’s return performance wasn’t enough to hold off the Cougars as AC sent Wakefield home winless with a 63-57 defeat. Wakefield is now 1-4 overall on the season.
“It was good to have Brian Dickey back,” Coach Brad Simpson said.
Dickey’s single game performance was outstanding enough for him to be named to represent Wakefield on the All-Tournament team.
It’s been a couple of frustrating outcomes for Simpson and the Wakefield Warriors, as they played well enough to win either game in the tournament.
“We played well enough to win,” Simpson said, but his youthful team may be feeling some growing pains after going 0-2 in the showcase. “It was a tough loss, AC is a very good team.”
When asked about the most crucial aspect needed to improve the coach suggested, “We made a couple of mental errors, we’re making some mistakes and obviously we’re not a veteran team. When you’re going with younger kids, you’re going to make some mistakes.”
With Dickey back in action, Wakefield held the lead after each of the first three quarters. However, AC nabbed the lead in the final quarter and held on when it mattered most. Wakefield played well at the start of the final quarter, scoring 13 points in the first three minutes.
As time ticked down however, Wakefield’s shooters got cold and AC started warming up. The Cougars scored the final 13 points of the game and sent Wakefield home disappointed. The Warriors struggled at defending the three-point shot, especially in the fourth quarter, as the Cougars knocked down eight big shots from long range in the contest including three in the last quarter.
Despite having one of his starters back on the court, it was a struggle for Wakefield to take care of the ball offensively. When looking at close games, the turnover margin stands out as a point of interest.
“We had 28 turnovers,” Coach Simpson said. “Usually when you turn the ball over 28 times in 32 minutes you don’t win. They beat us from the foul line and we turned the ball over.”
Despite struggling to take care of the basketball, Wakefield was still in the lead most of the game and had the advantage going down the stretch. The Warrior defense deserves credit for that.
“Aside from a few breakdowns, and the breakdowns cost us dearly, our defense was terrific,” Coach Simpson said. “I thought Alex’s defense was great with Tighe Beck and Andrew Auld in early foul trouble, I thought Kobe Nadeau and Zach Price really stepped up defensively.”
But there runs a fine line between good, aggressive defense and over-aggressive defense and Wakefield’s younger players are learning the difference as the season goes along.
“They have to learn when you pick up two or three fouls you can’t be as aggressive,” the coach said.
Looking ahead, the Warriors will begin the Middlesex League Freedom division schedule after the calendar change, the next game being Jan. 2 at Watertown at 5:30 p.m.
When asked what he can draw from his team in the first part of the season, Coach Simpson suggested, “I see we can play with anybody.”
He knows there will be time for improvement and he remains optimistic the Warriors will figure out how to win, “We need to work on finishing out games and when we’re playing ahead, remember that we’re ahead and not try to force stuff. And we really need to cut down on turnovers.”
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Golden Tornado Holiday Tournament
Consolation Round
At Malden High School
Arlington Catholic 63, WAKEFIELD 57
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WAKEFIELD (57) — Imbriano 0 0 0, Dickey 7 3 19; Fitzgerald 0 0 0; Beck 1 0 2; Calnan 5 2 15; Miller 0 0 0; Urbano 0 0 0; McKenna 1 1 3; Nardone 0 0 0; Price 3 2 8; Nadeau 2 0 4; Auld 1 4 6. Totals 20 12 57.
Arlington Catholic (63) — Raymond 0 0 0; Maher 3 3 10; Garvey 0 0 0; Ryan 0 0 0; Doherty 5 5 15; Kelly 0 3 3; Rosati 0 2 2; Dynam 0 0 0; Carvello 4 1 13; Woods 4 5 16; Martel 0 0 0; Wesoloski 2 0 4; Greenwood 0 0 0. Totals 18 19 63.
Score by Quarters — WAKEFIELD 18-10-15-14 — 57. Arlington Catholic 13-14-14-22 — 63.
Three-point FGs — WAK— Calnan 3, Dickey 2. AC — Carvello 4; Woods 3, Maher 1.
