SPY PONDERS EDGE MELROSE IN OPENER
Melrose, MA. 12/11/18. In the season opener for both teams the Arlington High boys basketball team won ugly on the road, surviving Melrose 48 – 46 in a brawl of a basketball game Tuesday night.
Leading by only two at 45-43 with 1:20 to go, Arlington guard Brendan McNamara corralled a loose ball in a wild melee, headed immediately to the rim where he dropped in a lay up in traffic and was fouled. The sophomore calmly stroked his free throw, and the three-point play the old fashioned way held up over the last 70 seconds for a narrow Spy Ponder win.
Faced with the departures of last year’s league co-MVP Dom Black and co-captain Ben Wasco to graduation and de facto league’s top player Bensley Joseph to prep school, Arlington faces some challenges this year. And coach John Bowler’s task last night was made more difficult as two of this year’s co-captains started the game sitting next to him—senior guard Nick Karalis with his leg in a brace from a soccer injury and returning two time league all-star James Gascoigne battling illness.
So, it was no surprise that things did not start well for the Spy Ponders.
In the game’s first 6:30, they turned the ball over six times, did not score from the field and found themselves in an 11-1 hole.
Coming off the bench Gascoigne broke the drought with a lay in at the 1:26 mark, and the real game finally began.
After a Melrose time out, Arlington rededicated themselves to their trademark stifling defense, forcing Raider turnovers and creating an 11-2, run that lifted them out of the hole and into a 14-13 lead with six minutes left in the first half. Gascoigne poured in seven points during the run, but went back to the bench with two quick fouls.
“We just weren’t playing hard enough in the first few minutes,” Bowler said. “But after that I thought we played great defense for 3 quarters.”
And so they did, holding Melrose to just 35 points for the rest of the game.
The game was a physical struggle throughout with bodies on the floor and hard fouls given at both ends. And it was close, tied at 23 at halftime and 36-33 Arlington at the end of three.
The Spy Ponders started to click on offense in the fourth quarter. Senior co-captain Sam Swift ignited things, burying a deep three from a tough angle in the left corner.
Junior guard Phillip Cherrie hit a lay up on a feed from McNamara and McNamara followed with the first of his two important, fourth quarter three-point plays to carry the Spy Ponders to their biggest lead at 45-37 with 4:23 left.
But impressive Raider freshman forward Holden Symonds, with two quick scores, and senior co-captain Jay Tucci with a lay up off a textbook high post feed from junior co-captain Luka Vlajkovic brought Melrose back to just a hoop behind, 45-43, with two minutes left setting the stage for McNamara’s final three point play.
“This was a grind it out win,” Bowler reflected. “There was a lot of first time, big time varsity minutes for a lot of guys tonight. We played nine guys, and they stepped up. We didn’t shoot the ball well (34% from the floor) but this was a typical first game. We’ll get better. We’ve got guys that can shoot.”
Gascoigne led the Spy Ponders with 14 points despite sickness and foul trouble that kept him on the bench for long stretches.
McNamara and senior forward Jhalani Joshua had 10 points each for Arlington. With 10 rebounds as well, Joshua recorded his first double double.
The Red Raiders were led by Symonds with 14 points and Vlajkovic with 11.
Arlington stays on the road with a visit to Woburn Friday night at 7.