It wasn't pretty, but it was never in doubt. Despite cold shooting, Arlington's defense doubles up Stoneham.
ARLINGTON DEFENSE SMOTHERS STONEHAM 52 - 25 IN SEASON OPENER
Stoneham, MA. 12/15/17. Relying on a relentless trapping defense to overcome a frigid shooting night, the Arlington boys varsity basketball team held the Spartans from Stoneham to a mere 25 points on their way to a season opening rout 52 -25 Friday night in Stoneham.
Defensive gems are rarely pretty and this one was no exception as Arlington’s suffocating mix of man-to-man pressure and zone traps forced Stoneham into countless turnovers many of which led to easy baskets for the Spy Ponders. Their defense completely masked the fact that they were ice cold hitting on just 36 percent of their shots from the floor and only 61 percent from the line.
“We just didn’t shoot the ball well like we usually do,” said Coach John Bowler. “It was the first game, though, and maybe some jitters were a factor. But we were huge defensively tonight. I loved the way our guys were flying around the court. Holding a team to 25 points is pretty good.”
This game had “first game of the season” written all over it. With a young Stoneham team turning the ball over on almost every possession and Arlington doing some serious bricklaying on the offensive end, it was an unattractive 30 - 17 game after three quarters.
The Spy Ponders finally looked like themselves in the fourth burying Stoneham 22 to 8 over the final eight minutes.
The final quarter featured a typical Spy Ponder 90 second avalanche keyed by their defense. Junior guard Nick Karalis, a defensive pest all night, picked a Spartan pocket at mid court and scored on an uncontested lay-up to extend the lead to 16 at the 4:20 mark. Three steals and 40 seconds later the lead had ballooned to 22 with junior co-captain James Gascoigne converting twice on the end of break-aways and sophomore Bensley Joseph scoring on a floater in the lane to officially turn out the lights on Stoneham.
Swingman Joseph led Arlington with 13. Senior co-captain Dom Black chipped in with 11 points along with several rebounds, steals, assists and an impressive blocked shot. Gascoigne added 10.
Junior Evan Cann led Stoneham with 12.
Melrose, “a team that always plays us tough,” according to Bowler, visits Arlington for the second league game of the season next Tuesday night at 6.