Home, Sweet Home

The boys basketball team ran and hid from Tewksbury early in the third quarter on Friday night. Though the visiting Redmen eventually caught back onto the scent of the Wildcats, it was too late as Wilmington escaped once more and earned a 67-51 victory.

Wilmington, co-champion of the Cape Ann League, entered halftime with a modest 47-38 lead against a team at the basement of the Merrimack Valley small school division. 

That edge ballooned to 19 in the third quarter, but Tewksbury responded and carved its deficit to seven points before Wilmington stuck several key shots and went on for the win.

"We played good tonight. Yeah, we were flat at times, but there's been a lot of pressure," said Maiella. "We've played a lot of games, we've played big games. They played us tough. We played well in the fourth quarter to win the game."

Vinny Scifo quietly led the Wildcats with 17 points while captain Chris Frissore chipped in 13 points after he was one of eight players honored on Senior Night. Classmate Nick Godzyk also had a stellar night as he registered 10 markers of his own.

Tewksbury's scoring was balanced as Kevin Dick led the team with nine points and Joe Hulme, Sean Gorman and Chris Fandel each dropped in eight points.

"I'm really proud of our guys in the second half. I thought our intensity level was terrific (after halftime)," said Redmen mentor Jim Sullivan, Jr. "Our sense of urgency was much better in the second half than the first half. We got more stops on defense and converted off of those stops."

Fandel cashed in a jumper with 32 seconds remaining in the third quarter to pull the visitors within 45-38, but Scifo answered back with a juke, drive and score with two minutes remaining to push the lead back to nine.

Tim McCarthy, who was held in check but added eight points of his own, provided Wilmington with several clutch shots in the final frame to seal the win.

"We don't like to turn it on, turn it off," said Maiella, who prepares his team for the playoffs with a pair of non-league games before the tournament tips off. "We think we can play with anyone, but we've got to play defense. Defense has been our Achille's heel all year long. We can score points with everyone, but Division II is loaded."

Tewksbury, which its coach said has played better in recent weeks, looks to end its campaign on a positive note.

"There's always something you can take out of a game, win or lose, but we'd like to be on the other end of these games a little more," said Sullivan. "We're improving, and that's what we're focused on."