DECLAN O’CALLAHAN continues to provide relentless defense off the bench for the Warriors this year. Wakefield moved to 7-1 with their win over Stoneham on Friday night. (Brian Cusack Photo)
By TYM BROWN
STONEHAM — The Wakefield High boys’ basketball team is on an historic hot streak to begin this season. The 2012-13 season was the only time in the last 15 years that a Wakefield boys’ basketball team has started a season with a 7-1 record, a start that has been matched by this 2022-23 team.
This year, Wakefield is winning dominantly in almost every game and their matchup against Stoneham was no different as they collected a 78-57 victory.
Though the game ended with a big gap on the scoreboard, it began with extreme offensive blunders for both teams. The Warriors missed all five of their shots to start the game and Stoneham turned the ball over twice. Two minutes in, Stoneham was finally able to get on the board with a layup from Collin Ferren.
Ethan Margolis (12 points) got the Warriors’ first point with a free throw and from there on out the offense was fluid. De’Ari Burton (19 pts) found John Porter under the basket for an easy layup and then hit a three off an assist from Michael Wilkinson (30 pts) on the next possession.
On the other side of the ball, Stoneham stayed aggressive, driving to the basket early and often to keep the pace of the game very high. Wilkinson scored six straight points to end the quarter, giving Wakefield a 15-10 lead going into the 2nd period of play.
The 2nd quarter started with an amazing display of chemistry as Margolis grabbed a defensive rebound and pushed the ball up to Wilkinson who found Burton cutting downhill for a fastbreak layup.
DE’ARI BURTON scored 19 points in Wakefield’s win over Stoneham on Friday, the 5th straight victory for the Warriors. (Brian Cusack Photo)
“I love the chemistry,” said Burton when asked about the trio’s connection. “We all play aggressive.”
A big takeaway from this game was Wakefield’s ability to play with controlled aggression as they forced 18 steals throughout the game including 5 in the 2nd quarter. This pressure was not enough to contain Stoneham guard Collin Ferren who scored 10 points in the quarter and kept the Spartans afloat. The Warriors scored 21 points in the quarter with the last of these points coming from a Wilkinson 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the first half to give Wakefield a 36-24 lead at the break.
The Warriors began the second half with inefficient shooting just as they had at the beginning of the game. The team’s solution to their efficiency problem was getting their own misses. Wakefield played the best they have this season on the boards, grabbing seven offensive rebounds just in the third quarter that turned into nine second-chance points.
MATTHEW BEAVER and the WMHS boys’ basketball team has been playing strong defense and working hard on rebounding during their five-game winning streak. The Warriors will try to keep it going tomorrow night when they host Winchester at 6 p.m.
The Warriors started out 0-for-6 from the field in the second half half until Porter finished with a put-back after getting two offensive rebounds in a possession to restart Wakefield’s offensive flame. Immediately, the away team went on a 15-5 run, finishing with a Burton 3-pointer.
The offensive persistency remained until the very end of the quarter when Margolis hit a buzzer-beating 3 that sent the Wakefield fans in attendance into an uproar. Going into the final quarter of play, the Warriors were up 67-39 and looked to have secured the victory already.
Buckets from Burton, Wilkinson, and Jack Millward gave Wakefield their first 30-point lead of the game with about four minutes left to go in the game. The final made basket of the game for the Warriors would come from Declan O’Callahan with his first 3 of the year. O’Callahan has been an important part of this defensive-minded culture that head coach Colin Halpin has brought to this team and has been earning himself more playing time as the year goes on with his intense defensive play.
At this point in the game, defense was the least of the Warriors’ concerns and it showed. Stoneham went on a 13-0 run to close out the game, but their efforts were futile as Wakefield cruised to a 21-point win.
Burton, Margolis and Wilkinson combined for 61 points in this win to keep Wakefield’s five-game winning streak alive. One huge part of this victory that cannot go unmentioned is the great work on the boards. The team notched a new season-high in team rebounds with 46. The boys will be back in town Tuesday, January 17th at 6 p.m. to face Winchester who should be their toughest opponent yet as they hold a 7-2 record.
