THE WARRIORS earned another convincing win on Friday night, this time with a 70-41 victory over Wilmington. Wakefield (2-0) travels to Arlington (1-1) tonight at 7 p.m. (WMHS Athletics Photo)
By TYM BROWN
WAKEFIELD — The Wakefield boys’ basketball team picked up their second win of the season in dominating fashion, beating Wilmington by 29 points on Friday night at the Charbonneau Field House (70-41). The Warriors scored over 65 points for the second time in two games this season, a feat they accomplished eight times in total the year prior. As a team, the Warriors have displayed such amazing chemistry on both sides of the ball very early this year, unlike any team before them.
Before the game, Warriors star guard De’Ari Burton stated that, “Wilmington is a pretty good team this year so we gotta just outwork them.”
The Warriors came out of the gate strong in this game as Michael Wilkinson hit a crafty floater from the free-throw line immediately after tip-off. A steal by Ethan Margolis set up a layup for Wilkinson and then a steal and successful and-1 for Burton on the following Wildcat inbound pass put Wakefield up 7-0 just one minute into the game. The big three of Burton (13 pts), Wilkinson (17 pts) and Margolis (11 pts) combined to score 41 points.
The Warriors took a commanding first-half lead, doubling the Wildcats in points 38-19 thanks to a smooth drop-step move from Matthew Beaver to end the 2nd quarter.
Wakefield showed no mercy in the second half either as junior Connor Mauriot scored 10 points in the 3rd quarter including a corner 3-pointer that pushed the lead to 31 points.
Toward the end of the quarter, freshman Jack Millward scored his first high school points to continue Wakefield’s offensive barrage. Mauriot and Millward combined for 20 points off the bench and were a huge reason the Warriors were able to maintain such a large lead throughout the game.
The Warriors were inefficient from beyond the arc this game after being stellar in the Dec. 13 win over Lexington, but were very productive in the paint, shooting 49 percent on all two-point shots. Despite how well the Warriors performed offensively, the defense may have been even more impressive.
Wakefield’s defense proved to be elite once again in their one-sided contest with Wilmington as they held their opponent to under 50 points for the second time this season, showing just how much head coach Colin Halpin works to promote defensive intensity throughout his roster.
The Warriors were a strong team defensively last season and much of that can be attributed to Halpin’s coaching. Another quality that coach Halpin has brought on from the season prior is Wakefield’s proficient use of zone defense.
When asked about the team’s zone usage, De’Ari Burton said, “We do that on teams that we know can’t handle pressure. If we know they can’t handle pressure, we’re going to try to deny the off-ball and pressure the ball.”
Though not much zone was played by the Warriors on Friday night, Wakefield still pressured Wilmington well. Throughout the night, Wakefield defenders stood in Wilmington passing lanes and ambushed every Wildcat that came in possession of the ball, racking up 20 steals in total. Burton (6), Margolis (6) and Wilkinson (3) amassed 15 steals, leading the Warriors on both ends of the floor to an impressive victory. Two-way stars are rare to find in today’s fast-paced game, but Wakefield has three that are all playing at a very high level to start the season.
With this assertive win, Wakefield moved to 2-0 on the season as they preserved their eight-year winning streak against Wilmington.
Looking ahead, the Warriors are set to face the Arlington Spy Ponders tonight at 7 p.m. in Arlington. The Spy Ponders hold a 1-1 record so far this season, suffering a 5-point loss to the Lexington Minutemen- a team that Wakefield beat by 21 points.