Published in the February 5, 2021 edition.
By DAN PAWLOWSKI
WILMINGTON — The Wakefield High boys’ basketball team needed no time to find their rhythm on Wednesday in Wilmington, scoring 27 first quarter points and cruising to their fourth win of the season by a final score of 78-61.
Brett Okundaye had 11 points, six rebounds and two steals in that first quarter. The senior was only getting warmed up as he finished with a triple double on 32 points, 15 rebounds and 11 steals.
The Warriors had a balanced scoring effort beyond Okundaye as senior captain Chris Alden finished with 14, sophomore Ethan Margolis had nine and senior captain Paul Holman, senior Danny Hurley and junior Andrew Quinn each had six.
Once Wakefield took control in the first, they never let the Wildcats get closer than five points although Wilmington hung around in the first half with good shooting and some untimely Wakefield turnovers. The halftime score was 40-33.
The Warriors found another gear in the third quarter to put the game out of reach, outscoring Wilmington 27-15 in the frame to extend the lead to 67-48 after three. Alden and Okundaye both had eight points in the quarter while Hurley and Holman each had four.
Wilmington was in a full court press for the entire game and although it caused some turnovers it also led to plenty of easy buckets in transition for Wakefield who especially did a great job of breaking it in the opening quarter. Wakefield’s back door cuts were there when they wanted them as well, including the first bucket of the game when Holman moved well without the ball to get open and Alden found him for an easy two. Alden and Holman each had three assists in the game. Holman was also strong on the glass with 10 rebounds.
Margolis scored five points in the first quarter, his two buckets coming back-to-back to give the Warriors a 23-14 lead. The first was a baseline drive and layup after Alden broke the press and the second was on a back door cut and pass from Holman.
Setting a tone for the rest of the game, Okundaye’s 11 first quarter points came mostly on the fast break or on putbacks. The Wildcats aren’t the first team this season with no answers on how to stay in front of the dynamic senior. After a quiet second quarter by his standards, Okundaye picked it back up in the third with four rebounds and four steals to go along with his eight points in the frame. He scored 17 in the second half alone.
Wilmington went on a 5-0 run to start the second quarter, cutting the lead to 27-22 and forcing a Wakefield timeout. Sophomore call up Michael Wilkinson hit two free throws to start an 11-2 Warrior run as the Wakefield defense picked it up. Quinn had a layup and later a nice bounce pass to Hurley for two.
Okundaye started the third off with a steal and a trip to the free throw line. An Alden 3 off an Okundaye dish made it 45-36. Okundaye’s play of the day came in the third with a block to start the fast break. He finished it off with a euro step and one to extend the lead to 50-38.
A Margolis layup off a baseball pass from an inbound play and a Holman block and assist to Hurley made it 54-38. Hurley’s third bucket came off a Quinn pass to break the press and make it 56-41.
Wakefield played hard through the fourth quarter as they continued to drive to the hoop. Okundaye had a putback to make it 71-54 and he later spent plenty of time at the line going 5-for-8 from the charity stripe in the fourth. His last two came on a steal and dunk, bringing one final roar from the Warrior bench.
Wakefield travels to Stoneham tomorrow at 11 a.m. The Warriors beat the Spartans in their first meeting on MLK Day.
