Tanners’ three-point shooting results in 70-57 setback for the Warriors

 

By JIM SOUTHMAYD

WOBURN — Team defense has been an issue the Warrior boys’ basketball team and its coaching staff have been addressing during the preseason. After last night’s season opener at Woburn High School, defending the three-point shot is an area for Wakefield to improve on.

The Tanners sank 10 treys and scored 70 points as Wakefield dropped a 70-57 contest to begin the 2014-15 season.

While the Warriors lost the game, there are some positives that they can take away from the game.

One is the play of several individual players, including junior forward Tighe Beck who had a team high 16 points. Another was the play of sophomore Elijah Nardone off the bench late in the game as he canned two treys and recorded 10 points.

Senior guard and co-captain Brian Dickey had 12 points and both senior guard and co-captain Chris Calnan and sophomore Zach Price each recorded six points.

“We couldn’t contain their three-point shooters. We need to do a better job defending the three,” said Coach Brad Simpson. “We also had a short bench. Andrew Auld was out sick and we were without Corey Imbriano and Lou Spaziani. Then we lost Zach Price. He doesn’t have a concussion like we first thought but he had a bloody nose that didn’t stop until there were a couple of minutes left in the game. He’s a sophomore and he did a nice job in his first game.”

Price was involved in a collision with a Tanner player in the third quarter and took a shot to the face. He had to leave the game. There was also no foul called on the play to the dismay of the Wakefield fans in attendance.

Simpson was also happy with the play of several of his other players including Beck and Nardone.

“Tighe Beck was all over the place for us rebounding and scoring,” said Simpson. “Neil Fitzgerald gave us a little spark off the bench as well in the second quarter. Elijah Nardone, at the end of the game, did a nice job.”

The story of the game, however, was Woburn’s ability to hit the three-point shot. The Tanners were led by senior guard Mat Catizone who recorded a game high 22 points including four three-pointers.

Senior forward Jimmy McRae was next with 13 points and three treys for the Tanners. Junior guard Dan Moscat ripped the cords for nine points, while senior guard Josh DeMonico and junior forward Andrew Claflin each had eight points. DeMonico recorded two shots from beyond the three-point arc, while Claflin had one trey.

“Woburn is a very good team. I expect them to be one of the top teams in the Middlesex League along with Arlington and Belmont,” said Simpson. “Catizone, McRae and (Dion) Williams are all seasoned veterans. They’re also a very well coached team.”

The Tanners jumped out to a 7-0 lead and never looked back. McRae canned a three, Catizone recorded a layup and Williams drove the baseline for a basket as Simpson called a timeout with 5:39 left in the first quarter.

Beck got Wakefield on the board with two free throws but Catizone hit a layup and Moscat scored from under the hoop to extend the Woburn lead to 11-2 with 4:15 left in the opening period.

Calnan drove to the basket for Wakefield’s first field goal with 3:53 left in the first. After a pair of free throws by Williams, Dickey scored on a rebound of a missed shot and Price hit a jumper with 1:56 left in the first to cut the lead to 13-8.

Claflin scored three points on a field goal and free throw and Catizone canned a trey to give the Tanners a 19-8 lead after the first quarter.

Price recorded a layup and Claflin canned a trey as Woburn led 22-10 with 7:35 left in the second quarter.

Wakefield went on a 10-0 run to cut the lead down to two points, 22-20, with 5:06 left in the first half. Beck put back a missed shot, sophomore Kobe Nadeau scored from inside, Fitzgerald sank two foul shots, Beck put back another missed shot and Calnan scored on a jumper inside the paint as the Warriors made things interesting.

But Catizone ended the run with a trey and Williams scored after receiving an inbounds pass to get the lead back up to seven points.

Beck sank two free throws, Claflin scored on the fast break and Price had a steal and an uncontested layup which made the score 29-24 with 2:46 left in the second. McRae canned another trey and Williams drove to the basket to get the lead back to double digits, 34-24, with 1:22 left in the half.

Dickey had a three-point play with a field goal and free throw but Catizone recorded a trifecta and Moscat got a layup to fall to give Woburn a 39-27 lead at halftime.

The Tanners came out and started off the third quarter the way they started the first quarter — by scoring the first seven points to take a 19 point lead, 46-27, with 6:28 left. Catizone and Moscat hit baskets and then McRae canned a three-point shot.

Dickey scored on a three-point play with a basket and a free throw, but DeMonico got into the three-point act with a trey to get the lead back up to 19. Beck and Dickey recorded baskets but McRae and Catizone answered with hoops of their own. Dickey hit two more foul shots before Catizone canned a trifecta and Moscat scored three points with a field goal and free throw to give Woburn a commanding 59-36 lead after three quarters.

Woburn went deeper into its bench in the fourth quarter and led by as many as 26 points twice (68-42) and (70-44). In fact, Woburn scored its final two points on a basket by McRae with 3:44 left in the game.

The Warriors showed that they weren’t about to quit and closed out the game with a 13-0 run. Nardone did the majority of the scoring with two treys and a pair of layups. Senior forward MJ Urbano also hit a three-point shot which wound up making the final score more respectable when the final buzzer sounded.

Wakefield hosts Lexington in its home opener on Friday night at 5:30 p.m. at the Charbonneau Field House.

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Woburn 70, WAKEFIELD 57

At Woburn High School

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WAKEFIELD (57) — Urbano 1 0 3; Nadeau 1 0 2; Beck 6 4 16; Dickey 4 4 12; Calnan 3 0 6; Price 3 0 6; Miller 0 0 0; Fitzgerald 0 2 2; Nardone 4 0 10. Totals 22 10 57.

Woburn (70) — DeMonico 3 0 8; Moscat 4 1 9; Catizone 8 2 22; Williams 3 0 6; McRae 5 0 13; Claflin 3 1 8; Ludwig 1 0 2; Dangora 1 0 2; McDonald 0 0 0. Totals 28 4 70.

Score by Quarters — Wakefield 8-19-9-21 — 57. Woburn 19-20-20-11 — 70.

Three-point FGs — Wak, Nardone 2, Urbano 1. Wob, Catizone 4, McRae 3, DeMonico 2, Claflin 1.