MIKE WILKINSON scored a career-high 35 points in Wakefield’s 66-54 win over Salem on Friday night at home. The 3-1 Warriors host 2-4 Woburn tonight at 6 p.m. (File Photo)
By TYM BROWN
WAKEFIELD — The Wakefield High boys’ basketball team seized a hard-earned 66-54 win against the Salem Witches to improve to 3-1 on Friday night at the Charbonneau Field House.
Per usual, the Warriors were stellar on the offensive end with great ball movement and perimeter shooting. Wakefield seemed to struggle defensively against the Witches as they allowed their opponent to score over 50 points for the second time this season, the first time being their only loss to the Arlington Spy Ponders. Nonetheless, the Warriors’ offensive explosion was enough to capture the victory.
Scoring has certainly been Wakefield’s strong suit all season with the top contributor being star forward Michael Wilkinson. This game proved to be no different as Wilkinson set a season-high and a career-high for himself with 35 points against Salem. Guards De’Ari Burton (11 pts) and Ethan Margolis (11 pts) also made impactful contributions on the offensive end. Burton, Margolis, and Wilkinson combined to score 88 percent of the Warriors’ total points in the game.
Wakefield kicked off the game with a three from Burton to get the scoring barrage started. Two possessions later, Burton hit a second three from the same spot on the left wing.
Wilkinson then hit two triples of his own and John Porter finished off of a beautiful pass from Burton to find him wide open in the paint. Burton hit a third three to put the Warriors up 17-10 at about the 2-minute mark of the first quarter when the Witches finally started to piece things together.
Brayson Green and Chris Qirjazi led Salem in a 7-0 run to end the first quarter as Qirjazi tied the game with a spin through the paint off of a dish from Green.
Salem started the second quarter with that same intensity, taking a four-point lead during their first two possessions. Green and Qirjazi were the biggest offensive threats the Witches had and were the main reason Salem was able to hang in this game for so long.
The Warriors were playing very relaxed defensively up to this point in the game and the Witches took control of the game because of it. Head coach Colin Halpin took a timeout to fix this pressing issue two minutes into the second quarter.
The Warriors quickly turned a new leaf as a Connor Mauriot three-pointer cut the Salem lead to one. Wakefield’s defensive intensity spiked as they caused two turnovers on the next three Salem possessions. Ethan Margolis then hit an open top-of-the-key three to give Wakefield the lead once again.
The Warriors ended the first half with a five-point lead thanks to a mid-range pull-up from Margolis.
DE’ARI BURTON scored 11 points in Wakefield’s win over Salem on Friday night. (File Photo)
In the third quarter, the Warriors continued to dominate in all facets of the game. Margolis grabbed two steals midway into the quarter and turned them both into assists as Wilkinson hit a mid-range shot to give the Warriors their first double-digit lead of the game. At the end of the quarter, Margolis found Wilkinson once again for a buzzer-beater, three-pointer to put the Warriors up by 12 going into the final eight minutes of action.
Margolis was excellent as a facilitator for the Warriors all night as he accumulated nine assists along with an amazing defensive effort with eight steals.
Meanwhile, Wilkinson scored 11 points in the fourth quarter to help fend off Salem’s final comeback efforts.
The Witches cut the Warrior lead down to single digits thanks to a three from senior Jack Doyle with three and a half minutes left to go in the game. Salem was ultimately unable to complete the comeback as their main offensive sources, Green and Qirjazi, both fouled out in the fourth quarter.
The Warriors put a stamp on this win with immaculate defense as they only allowed three points in the final two minutes of the game.
This was Wakefield’s most impressive win so far this season, not because of the strength of the opponent, but because of their proven ability to adjust and turn up the intensity when it matters most.
Another great sign to see from Wakefield was the magnificent showing of perimeter shooting as they shot 50 percent from beyond the arc in this game, something they struggled with greatly in the Arlington loss.
The Warriors will host the Woburn Tanners for the first game of the New Year tonight at 6 p.m. The Tanners are 2-4 on the season, fresh off of a 33-point loss to Billerica and should be hungry to get back in the win column.
