Stoneham Stuns Reading at Home

STONEHAM — Much like the New England Patriots were stunned after losing to the New York Jets in the NFL playoffs on Sunday, the  boys' basketball team must have had a similar feeling after leaving  on the short end of a 61-57 game on Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday.

A spectator couldn't have asked for a better game on the afternoon. The Spartans were off and running early with a six-point lead at the end of the first quarter although they were having difficulty breaking Reading’s press.

“(In the) first half we were turning the ball over and we were not strong with the ball," said Spartans coach Paul Tanglis, "but as the game went on, we were a totally different team."

The victory was Stoneham's second in their past three contests.

It was a nip-and-tuck affair all afternoon, as neither team was down by more than nine points all game. It was truly a back-and-forth game for four quarters.  Stoneham went into the break with a 35-31 lead.

“Reading is a very quick and athletic team," Tanglis said. "Our job was to slow them down in transition, box out and just keep fighting."

Stoneham's John Gill tallied a team-high 11 points, followed by Brad Fagan and T.J. Bergin with 10 apiece. But, the play of the afternoon belonged to Zach Woodland (nine points), who was at the foul line with under a minute to go in a tie game.  

Woodland was awarded a one-and-one chance with 57 seconds left in regulation with the score tied, 57-57. Woodland hit the front-end of the rim and neither team moved.  Woodland proceeded to grab the rebound off his missed shot, only to get fouled again while in the act of shooting.  

He went to the charity stripe and knocked down two free throws that were the difference in the game. It was a heads-up play that won the game for the Spartans.

Spartan Brad Bishop also chipped in with eight points and great defense on Reading’s big men all afternoon.

“It was a great win today," Tanglis said. "We played better in the second half by breaking their press.  We were strong and used ball fakes that ended up leading to fast break points."

In a losing effort, Reading (3-5 overall; 3-5 in league games) guard Trey Jones scored a game-high 16 points with five assists, while Kenny Reed tallied 10 markers.

The Spartans, who notched their third overall victory in 12 games this season, improved their record to 2-7 in Middlesex League games. Stoneham will try to win back-to-back games for the first time this year against Wakefield Memorial High on Friday in Wakefield.

In other sports news:

•  The Stoneham High girls' basketball team dropped a 57-42 contest at home to the Rockets following the boys' game. Reading improved to 9-0 in league play and 11-0 on the season, while Stoneham (7-2 in league games) slipped to 9-2 on the year.