Auld’s 21 point effort lifts Warriors to 51-43 triumph
Published in the January 13, 2016 edition
SENIOR CENTER Andrew Auld (#25) goes up for a shot over Burlington’s Fernando Lamin in Wakefield’s 51-43 triumph at the Charbonneau Field House. Auld scored 21 points and had 15 rebounds in the victory. (Donna Larsson Photo)
By JIM SOUTHMAYD
WAKEFIELD — When the buzzer sounded last night to end the game, senior center Andrew Auld was in possession of the ball near the Burlington basket. It seemed only appropriate that Auld had the ball last considering he took over in the fourth quarter and helped fuel a Warrior win.
The Wakefield Memorial High boys’ basketball team picked up its fifth victory of the season as it posted a 51-43 triumph last night at the Charbonneau Field House.
The Warriors are now 5-4 overall on the season and 4-3 in the Middlesex League Freedom division.
It was also a great way for Wakefield to start a five-game home stand after having been on the road for a couple of weeks.
Auld scored a game high 21 points and was terrific on the boards as he hauled in 15 rebounds. The senior also had three steals and an assist.
“That was a seat squirmer for the fans,” said Coach Brad Simpson. “I thought we had a great fourth period. We hung around in the first three quarters and then Andrew Auld took over. He had a great all around game.”
Burlington led 20-14 after the first quarter but the teams were tied at halftime, 26-26, and 36-36 after three quarters. But the Warriors pulled away in the fourth quarter with Auld scoring eight of Wakefield’s 15 points in the frame.
With the game tied at 36-36, the fourth quarter began with the Red Devils going on a 4-0 run to take a 40-36 lead. Junior guard Will Melanson (six points) scored from the baseline and both Mike DeMartinis (a team high 20 points) and Fernando Lamin each sank one of two free throws.
Senior forward Tighe Beck scored two of his six points inside before junior center Hakeen Anajarian recorded a layup with 4:43 left to put the Red Devils in front, 42-38, with 4:43 left in regulation.
Junior Zach Price (nine points) sank a three-point shot from the right side to cut the lead to 42-41 with 3:38 left. After a Burlington miss, Auld sank a hook shot to give the Warriors a 43-42 lead.
DeMartinis missed the front end of a one-and-one and then Auld scored again from inside to give the Warriors a 45-42 lead with 2:10 left. After Auld missed a pair of free throws, he scored the next two baskets. The first came on a nice pass from Beck with 1:37 left and the next one came with 19.2 seconds left which boosted the lead to seven points, 49-42.
Mariano Rodriguez made a free throw but missed the second with 17.3 seconds remaining. Warrior junior Kobey Nadeau (four points) was immediately fouled and he made both three throws with 7.4 seconds left as Wakefield prevailed.
“I thought we did a very good job defensively against number 21, Melanson,” said Simpson. “We held him to six points which was huge for us and was one of the keys to the game.
“Zach Price made a big three-point shot for us. When we went up by seven, we had a little wiggle room,” added Simpson. “Kobey Nadeau also helped by making both free throws at the end. This was a good win for us.”
Melanson drove down the left wing for a basket with 6:49 remaining in the first quarter and DeMartinis canned a trey to give the Red Devils 5-0 lead at the start.
Senior guard Corey Imbriano (seven points) scored on a runner to the basket before DeMartinis sank another three-point shot. Beck then scored and Nadeau recorded a layup to cut the Red Devil lead to 8-6 with 4:56 left in the quarter.
After a pair of Burlington baskets, Auld scored his first hoop of the night. Melanson hit a pull up jumper with 3:43 left. Then Auld put in a rebound of a missed shot and Price recorded a layup to cut the lead to 14-12 with 1:48 left in the opening quarter.
DeMartinis made two free throw and Price hit an outside shot. But Lamin banked a shot off the glass and DeMartinis recorded a layup to give the Red Devils a 20-14 lead after one.
The Warriors began the second quarter by going on a 7-0 run to take their first lead of the game. Imbriano netted a three-point shot and Auld scored two baskets, one from inside and the other with a nice spin move to give Wakefield a 21-20 lead with 3:35 remaining.
DeMartinis ended the run and scored Burlington’s first points of the quarter with 3:19 remaining as he hit a jumper. But Price made two free throws and Auld was 1-for-2 from the charity stripe to give the Warriors a 24-22 advantage with 2:30 left.
Junior center Dakota Ikier sank a jumper and Lamin recorded a layup as the Red Devils took a 26-24 lead with 1:34 left in the first half. But junior Alex McKenna got a shot to fall with 20 seconds left as the two teams were tied at halftime, 26-26.
Wakefield went on an 8-0 run to begin the second half and led 34-26 with 4:55 left in the third quarter. Imbriano recorded a layup, Auld scored on a runner, Beck sank two free throws, and Auld scored from the baseline.
But the Red Devils weren’t about to go down without a fight and they answered with a 9-0 run to take a 35-34 lead with 2:06 left. Anajarian hit a jumper, DeMartinis recorded a basket, Ikier scored from the low post and DeMartinis made three out of four free throws.
Junior John Evangelista sank two foul shots to put the Warriors in front, 36-35, with 55 seconds left in the third. But Anajarian sank 1-for-2 free throws with 19.4 seconds remaining to tie the contest at 36-36 where it stood after three quarters.
When the teams took the court for the final quarter, that’s when Wakefield took over the game. While Auld was getting the points, he did receive some nice assists from his teammates which resulted in the victory.
Wakefield stays at home and will host Watertown on Friday night at 5 p.m. at the Charbonneau Field House.
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WAKEFIELD 51, Burlington 43
At Charbonneau Field House
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Burlington (43) — DeMartinis 6 6 20; Melanson 3 0 6; Colucci 1 0 2; Rodrigues 0 1 1; Ikier 2 0 4; Cannon 0 0 0; Anajarian 2 1 5; Lamin 2 1 5. Totals 16 9 43.
WAKEFIELD (51) — Beck 2 2 6; McKenna 1 0 2; Auld 10 1 21; Imbriano 3 0 7; Nadeau 1 2 4; Carmilia-Smith 0 0 0; Price 3 2 9; A.Miller 0 0 0; Evangelista 0 2 2. Totals 20 9 51.
Score by Quarters — Burlington 20-6-10-7 — 43. WAKEFIELD 14-12-10-15 — 51.
Three-point FGs — Bur, DeMartinis 2. Wak, Imbriano 1, Price 1.
