By DAN PAWLOWSKI
WOBURN — The Wakefield High boys’ basketball team made it three in a row to start their season after a hard-fought, 61-47 road victory over Woburn on Dec. 20.
The Warriors held a slight, 22-21 lead at the break to end a first half, rock fight between two tough teams. The game opened up in the 3rd with Wakefield holding a slight, 40-37 edge. The 4th quarter belonged to the Warriors as they outscored the Tanners 21-10 to run away with their third straight win to start the season.
“It was a typical, physical, Middlesex League game,” said Wakefield head coach Colin Halpin. “It’s always tough in our league to go on the road and win a game.”
Personifying that toughness in the 4th were senior captain De’Ari Burton and sophomore Jack Millward who scored 9 and 11, respectively, in the final frame.
Burton finished with 20 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Millward had a game-high 28 points and 7 rebounds.
Senior captain Jackson McDermott (4 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast, 3 blk) who was phenomenal defensively all night for the visitors, impacted the offense with his playmaking in the 4th helping set up Burton and Millward to go to work. A pick and roll with 6 minutes left led to a finger roll for Burton and a 46-37 lead, followed by a nice bounce pass and smooth finish by Burton again. McDermott next found Millward wide open for a corner 3, concluding a game-winning, 11-0 run to start the 4th.
Wakefield’s passing is a team-wide endeavor, as evidenced by McDermott and fellow big men starters, juniors Matt Beaver and Jackson Fitzpatrick. Beaver had 5 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals in the win, often using his height to find teammates over the top.
Meanwhile, Wakefield’s length and toughness make them a top-notch defensive team once again this season, something that was on full display throughout the game, especially in a first quarter that Wakefield would end up winning 12-10 thanks in large part to Burton’s 6 points and relentless pressure on Woburn’s guards.
The physicality only ramped up in the 2nd quarter as both teams had to earn every point.
The floor burns, bruising block outs and coaching chess match between Halpin and first-year Woburn coach David White completely shifted in the 3rd as both teams turned up the tempo and started knocking down shots.
Burton’s 14 second-half points started with a transition 3 to reclaim the lead at 27-26. After Fitzpatrick’s loud block later kept the Warriors down just two, Burton’s strong take tied it up again.
The hustle play of the game came from senior Declan O’Callahan who picked Woburn’s point guard, started a fast break and found Millward trailing for an easy bucket, getting the visiting fans going.
With the game tied at 37, Millward hit an impressive, crossover, step-back triple at the buzzer, three of his 22 second-half points, to give Wakefield at 40-37 lead after three.
The sophomore starts as a guard for Wakefield due to the aforementioned and quite literal big three of McDermott, Beaver and Fitzpatrick, but Millward’s own length leads to plenty of matchup problems, something he took advantage of in the 4th, especially on a quick post up and tough finish to give the Warriors a 44-37 advantage to start their 11-0 run.
“Our guys have been working hard to clean up our details and I thought some of those things showed in the 4th quarter,” said Halpin of his team’s ability to pull away in the final frame.
An and-one from Burton led to a scrum between the two teams as the result of the game became clear. The situation de-escalated quickly with the Warriors doing a nice job of sticking up for their teammates but in a way that wouldn’t lead to more trouble.
That unity will be required for the team to accomplish their goals this season. Through three games – including dominant wins over Arlington (76-63) and Melrose (83-42) – Wakefield has proved that they have the talent to accomplish any goal they set this year so long as they stick together and continue to put in the work to improve.
The Warriors will go for four in a row on Friday at 3 p.m. when they host Salem at the Charbonneau Field House.
| Name | Pts | Reb | Ast | Stl | Blk |
| Millward | 28 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Burton | 20 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Beaver | 5 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| McDermott | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Fitzpatrick | 4 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| O’Callahan | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 |