Arlington v. Reading Basketball. 2/7/17.
On this day Boston celebrated the Patriots Super Bowl victory...a fitting day for Arlington to stage a celebration of their own.
ON A DAY FOR CELEBRATION ARLINGTON CLAIMS MIDDLESEX LIBERTY TITLE
ARLINGTON, MA. February 7, 2017. With the duck boats otherwise engaged, the Arlington High boys basketball team staged a celebration of their own Tuesday night with a hard fought 60-47 win over visiting Reading to become the outright 2017 Middlesex Liberty Division champs.
To be sure, Reading was not a willing participant in the festivities. Playing a deliberate style, taking care of the ball and slowing the speed-happy Spy Ponders with long possessions, the game was played on the Rockets’ terms for the first three quarters.
“I thought Reading played great,” Arlington coach John Bowler declared. “They had a good game plan to slow it down, we couldn’t turn them over, so they got big chunks of the clock, and we didn’t get our transition baskets. Twenty second possessions slow us down.”
Reading’s plan was working. The Rockets went into the fourth quarter having kept the score down and held the lead at 40-38.
“At the third quarter break I told our guys that we just slept walked through the first three quarters and you just can’t do that,” Bowler said. “I told them we had to have pressure on the ball on every single dribble they take in the fourth quarter.”
Evidently, his guys listened. Turning up the defensive intensity, the Spy Ponders looked like a different team right from the start and held Reading to just 7 points in the entire quarter while exploding for 22 themselves.
The Spy Ponder rally was sparked by the usual suspects, the talented tandem of co-captains senior Colin McNamara and junior Dominic Black. The twosome (Blacknamara?) were essentially unguardable for most of the quarter taking turns creating drives down both sides of the lane and finishing with either hand.
“They’re hard to guard,” Bowler said with his usual understatement. “When we need a big play, they’re always making one.”
If there was an igniter of the explosion, though, it was freshman guard Bensley Joseph. Just after McNamara’s free throws put Arlington on top by a point, Joseph stole the ball under the Rocket basket, streaked the length of the court and converted the layup that made it 46-43. It was one of those plays that instantly change the feel of a game.
From that point on the Spy Ponders outscored the visitors 14-4 coasting to victory and to the league title.
McNamara with 20 points, 8 in the big fourth quarter rally, and sophomore forward James Gascoigne with 16 led the Spy Ponders. Black added 11 with two big hoops in the midst of the rally.
Reading guard Matthew Symella led the Rockets with 14 including a mid-court heave at the half time buzzer that gave his team the lead 26-25. Sophomore forward Will McFadden added 11 and senior center Corey DiLoreto 10.
As his players were cutting down the nets in the traditional title winning celebration Bowler was looking ahead. “We have ourselves in good spot right now for the tournament, but we really want to finish the league season undefeated. Every game matters in the tournament seeding.”
Asked how he feels about his team’s chances Bowler said, “Division 2 is loaded. There are probably 10 or 11 teams that could win it. “But,” he added, “No stage is too big for us. I like our chances.”
Arlington takes their league unbeaten string to Woburn Friday night at 7.