My introduction to Arlington basketball came as I was covering this game for Lexington. I was very impressed with Arlington's fast paced, unselfish style of play and happily accepted the assignment of covering them for the rest of the season.
ARLINGTON STREAKS THROUGH LEXINGTON 73-52
LEXINGTON, MA. January 13, 2017
On the night of Friday the 13th with a full Wolf moon glowing outside (Google it) Lexington’s senior post man Spencer Kendall delivered a monster game, but it wasn’t enough as the visiting Spy Ponders, remembering who they were at half time, exploded for 24 points in the 3rd quarter and ran back to Arlington with a 73-52 victory—their eighth straight.
Lexington’s strategy was to feed Kendall in the low post to exploit the usual mismatch he presents, and it worked for the first 2 quarters. The Minutemen welcomed the Spy Ponders with an 8-0 run as Kendall scored 6 of the 8, grabbed 3 rebounds and handed out an assist to junior Odi Okafor in just the first 2:30 forcing an early Arlington time out.
It took the Spy Ponders 12 minutes, but they finally seized the lead--for good as things turned out—with 2:18 left in the first half on a typically unselfish back door feed from junior forward Ben Wasco to a cutting senior guard Colin McNamara who easily laid it in for a 27-25 Arlington lead.
The half ended with Arlington up 31-27 despite Kendall filling out the stat sheet with 12 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 assists in his best half of the season so far.
Arlington emerged after the break looking like the undefeated team they are. Pressing with new intensity, their hands seemingly everywhere, they created havoc in the Minuteman backcourt and played brilliant team offense on their way to a blistering 19-5 run cued by McNamara who had several steals and 8 of the 19 points in the run.
As has been the case in several of Lexington’s losses, turnovers in bunches have led to their demise, and this game was a classic example as the Minutemen turned it over 6 times during Arlington’s decisive run.
By the end of the third the Spy Ponders held a commanding 55-37 lead.
Kendall carried the Minutemen with 23 points, 15 rebounds, 6 blocked shots and several assists. It is telling that Arlington could weather such a performance and still win by 21 points in a gym that is not friendly to visiting teams.
Junior Odi Okafor chipped in with 8 points for the Minutemen. Junior guards Anthony Clough and Jack Amsler added 5 each.
The Minutemen made 8 of 11 shots in their hot first quarter. By contrast, in the third quarter when the game got away, they had 6 turnovers and a missed shot on their first 9 possessions.
Arlington’s poised senior McNamara had 24 points on an impressive array of drives, turn-arounds and jumpers. He had lots of help from his junior backcourt mate Dominic Black with 17 points and sophomore forward James Gascoigne with 11. The latter’s two first quarter 3 pointers helped to erase Lexington’s early lead.
The good news for Arlington’s Middlesex league foes is that McNamara graduates. The bad news? He’s only one of two seniors on this smooth running team. Everyone else comes back.