Winter weather, lack of practice doesn’t hurt Warriors in 61-24 rout

ALEX MCKENNA, a sophomore forward, scored 14 points and had a terrific game for the Warriors. McKenna also had nine rebounds, three steals, and an assist in Wakefield's lopsided 61-24 lopsided victory over Stoneham last night at the Charbonneau Field House. (Donna Larsson File Photo)

ALEX MCKENNA, a sophomore forward, scored 14 points and had a terrific game for the Warriors. McKenna also had nine rebounds, three steals, and an assist in Wakefield’s lopsided 61-24 lopsided victory over Stoneham last night at the Charbonneau Field House. (Donna Larsson File Photo)

By JIM SOUTHMAYD

WAKEFIELD — There have been a lot of distractions lately for the Warrior boys’ basketball team and everyone else with all the snow. That has resulted in school postponements and the lack of practice time.

The one area where Wakefield hasn’t been effected is on the court in games.

The Warriors posted their second straight victory during the snowy stretch as they blasted Stoneham by a 61-24 score last night at the Charbonneau Field House in a game that was never close.

Wakefield increased its 7-7 overall and 7-5 in the Middlesex League Freedom division with the win. Wakefield also bettered Watertown on Friday night as it needs two more victories in four games to clinch a state tournament berth.

The Warriors have league games against Wilmington, Belmont, Melrose, and Burlington remaining. Wakefield needs to go 2-2 in those games. Wakefield also has a non-league game against Everett scheduled for Monday, Feb. 16, but that is an exclusionary game and will not count in the standings for the Warriors.

Wakefield opened up a 12-4 lead after the first quarter and duplicated that mark in the second quarter to have a 24-8 advantage at halftime. The Warriors led 40-15 after three and cruised to an easy victory.

Leading the way in the scoring department for the Warriors were senior guard Chris Calnan and sophomore forward Alex McKenna as they both recorded 14 points.

Calnan also had nine rebounds, three steals, and three assists, while McKenna, off the bench, had nine rebounds, three steals, and an assist.

“It was a much needed win,” said Head Coach Brad Simpson. “We need to go 2-2 in the next four games to get to the tournament. That won’t be easy, but is manageable.”

Senior guard Brian Dickey injured his right thumb in the Watertown game and gutted it out last night. He only scored four points. But he chipped in with three assists and a steal as he looked to set up his teammates rather than shoot the ball himself.

“It was nice that Chris picked up the scoring slack. Brian and Chris reversed roles,” said Simpson. “I also thought Alex McKenna had a really good game. Zach Price was out with a knee injury and Alex was the first forward off the bench. He did a super job with Tighe Beck and Andrew Auld in early foul trouble.”

Junior forward Tighe Beck, despite the early foul trouble, scored nine points, four rebounds, and two steals. Auld had four rebounds and one assist.

Beck hit a jumper and Calnan drained a three-pointer as Wakefield jumped out to a 5-0 lead and never looked back. After a basket by Stoneham’s Tre Pignone, a freshman guard, got the Spartans on the scoreboard.

But junior forward Jon Miller (three points) hit one of two fouls and McKenna scored from underneath the basket with 3:02 left in the first. Senior guard Shane Rhuda sunk an outside jumper before McKenna scored the final two baskets of the quarter. The first came on a nice pass from Calnan and the second came on a layup as Wakefield led 12-4 after one.

The Warriors scored the first six points of the second quarter to open up an 18-6 lead. McKenna scored on a layup after taking a long pass from Calnan. Then, sophomore Kobe Nadeau (four points, seven rebounds, two assists) banked a shot off the glass. Dickey drove to the basket for a layup.

Senior forward Ryan Mooney sunk a jumper with 5:00 left in the second quarter. Calnan then scored on a layup. After senior forward Justin Oliphant hit one of two free throws, Calnan did the same. Sophomore forward Devon Chase hit hit one of two free throws for the Spartans with 20.3 seconds left. But Calnan hit a trey right before the buzzer as Wakefield took a 24-8 lead to the locker room.

“We did not turn the ball over in the first half. We had seven turnovers in the third and three in the fourth,” said Simpson. “We also played a 1-3-1 zone defense and that may have bothered them. We used that defense against Watertown with success, so we figured we would employ it against Stoneham, too. We played man-to-man defense the first time we played them, so they were probably prepared for man-to-man and not a zone.”

In the third quarter, Calnan scored from the baseline and Beck hit an inside shot with 5:05 left. Rhuda hit a jumper for Stoneham’s first basket, but Wakefield netted the next 10 points to extend its lead to 28. Beck took a Calnan pass, made the basket and free throw for a three-point play. Miller then made a nice spin move inside the paint for a basket. Calnan recorded a three-point play with a layup and free throw and then Dickey scored on a layup with 2:08 remaining in the third to give the Warriors a commanding 38-10 lead.

Oliphant made two three throws to end the run. Senior MJ Urbano made a layup for Wakefield’s final points of the third quarter. Senior forward Ryan Dehmond then recorded a three-point play with a field goal and three throw for the Spartans as the score was 40-15 after three.

Wakefield had gone to its bench in the third, but by the fourth quarter all the starters came out of the game and the reserves got significant playing time.

McKenna made a baseline shot, junior Elijah Nardone (five points) sunk a baseline jumper, Beck put back a missed shot, and senior guard Neil Fitzgerald made a basket on a pass from McKenna.

After a miss on the front end of a one-and-one by Stoneham, junior guard Corey Imbriano (four points) got into the scoring act as he made a layup to make the score 50-15.

Senior guard Nick Grace (who led Stoneham with six points) sunk a three-point shot. McKenna made back-to-back layups before Grace sunk his second try to make the score 54-21.

Nardone had a three-pointer, Imbriano scored his second basket, and Nadeau scored on a rebound of a missed shot for Wakefield’s final seven points of the contest for a 40 point lead (61-21). Mooney then got a three-pointer to fall before the final buzzer for the 61-24 final score.

“Kobe Nadeau, a rookie, didn’t play like one. You have to remember that he played freshman ball a year ago,” said Simpson. “We also got a lot of help from the guys off the bench during our big run. They played well. Elijah Nardone, Corey Imbriano, MJ Urbano, although he plays regularly, and Neil Fitzgerald did a nice job. They played some big minutes. They play big minutes mostly in practice, so it was good to get them in the game.”

As for practice, the Warriors have only had two practices with all the snow and school postponements.

“We practiced on Thursday last week and we practiced on Sunday,” said Simpson. “We’ve only had two practices the past couple of weeks. There is always a chance of some rust. But this late in the season, with no school and no practice, may have helped gives the kids some rest and they needed that.”

Wakefield returns to the court on Friday night at 7 p.m. when to travels to Wilmington to take on the Wildcats at the Wilmington Middle School.

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WAKEFIELD 61, Stoneham 24

At Charbonneau Field House

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Stoneham (24) — J.Rhuda 0 0 0; Dehmond 1 1 3; Chase 0 1 1; S.Rhuda 2 0 4; Macura 0 0 0; Pignone 1 0 2; Oliphant 1 1 3; Mooney 2 0 5; Rock 0 0 0; Grace 2 0 6; DiVirgilio 0 0 0. Totals 9 3 24.

WAKEFIELD (61) — Auld 0 0 0; Beck 4 1 9; Miller 1 1 3; Dickey 2 0 4; Calnan 5 2 14; McKenna 7 0 14; Nadeau 2 0 4; Urbano 1 0 2; Fitzgerald 1 0 2; Nardone 2 0 5; Imbriano 2 0 4. Totals 27 4 61.

Score by Quarters — Stoneham 4-4-7-9 — 24. WAKEFIELD 12-12-16-21 — 61.

Three-point FGs — Sto, Grace 2, Mooney. Wak, Calnan 2, Nardone 1.