WHS Boys Basketball Crushes Stoneham in Season Opener

With the unfortunate news of star center Anthony Fabiano's injury still looming from the end of pre-season, and a lot of personnel questions still up in the air for head coach Brad Simpson, the boys' basketball team traveled to Stoneham to kick off their 2010-2011 season. After a tightly contested first half, the Warriors broke the game wide open in the second and cruised to a monster 55-36 win, offering their coach some encouragement that there will be life without Fabiano.

Fueled by senior tri-captain Daniel Looney's game leading 19 points, the Warriors were able to spoil the Spartans' home opener with a blow out victory to start the season 1-0. The game started out at a rapid pace, with both teams looking to transition off the fast break, refusing to give up any easy baskets in the lane and fighting for every loose ball. Early in the first quarter, Wakefield would score two quick buckets off Stoneham turnovers to grab a 6-4 lead, and they would not relinquish it for the remainder of the game. The Spartans hung tough throughout the first half though, going into the break only down 20-15.

"That's (Stoneham) a very solid team over there, and one that is very well coached, so I'm definitely pleased with the win tonight," commented coach Simpson. "I thought they shot the ball very well tonight, they rebounded well and they played some very good defense. I just think that at some key times we would make the right pass ad capitalize on a mistake from them, which was the difference."

It was really a total team effort for the Warriors as they got some solid performances from a host of players. Looney's fellow senior tri-captain Matt Rej seemed to provide his team with quite the spark as he made hustle play after hustle play on both ends of the court. He ended the night with 10 points and 10 boards for a double-double. Sophomore forward Kendall Hamilton also had a very strong game for Wakefield, giving the Warriors a spark off the bench and chipping in with 12 points and three rebounds.

At the guard position, senior Brian Mata played almost the entire game running the point and really driving the offense for Wakefield. Junior Keyon Armstrong complimented him nicely at the two-guard position. Together, they gave Stoneham all kinds of trouble, as they were able to really push the temp and stretch the court with their athleticism and speed. They also chipped in with four and six points, respectively.

"I thought Matt Rej was outstanding, Brian Mata was really the glue that kept us together tonight, Kendall was very solid and I was really happy with what we got from Dan Looney," said Simpson. "Really though it was a full team effort. I think our experience really helped us tonight, since we had a lot of these guys get a lot of playing time last year. But still, it's not going to be easy to make up for the loss of Anthony. We did a great job tonight, but we still have some work to do and still need a few different guys to step up."

At the end of the night, it was almost a picture-perfect season opener for the Wakefield boys. They were able to cruise to victory in the second half, allowing a lot of different players to see some time. The Warriors will now prepare for their own Friday night as they welcome in Lexington High School.