Sports

JIM’S VIEW: First of Three Basketball Doubleheaders in 10 Days Ends In a Split Decision

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Doubleheaders are more commonly thought of as a “baseball thing,” but many public schools set up their basketball schedules in such a way that both the Girls and Boys play on the same night at the same gym, back to back. It cuts down on travel expenses and brings more support in the building for each other’s team. Some of the best atmospheres for Raiders sports in the time I’ve had the pleasure of covering various teams is basketball doubleheader nights. Tuesday night was the first of three over a 10-day period, with the Boys playing first at 5:30 p.m. and the Girls at 7 p.m. So, onto the games … Watertown Boys Basketball was looking to build upon there 33-point non-league win Monday night with another solid performance as they stepped back into the realm of league play. Stoneham arrived in Watertown at 6-6 in league play, 9-6 overall. The Raiders were looking to notch a third Middlesex League win in what has been a difficult league season. Watertown started slow and fell behind by 8, but Senior Andrew Malovanyi single-handedly kept the Raiders in the game with rebounding and hustle and 8 points, including two 3-pointers. When the dust settled on the first quarter, the Raiders actually held a 1-point lead. Unfortunately, it was all down-hill from there, as Watertown went down to defeat, 58-39. The Raiders, who a night earlier scored 21 points in the second quarter, could muster all of four points on 1 FG and two free throws on this night. In the meantime, Stoneham had their way, led by two 3-pointers and 9 points from Senior Weston Bunnell. The Raiders could not hit the side of the barn, as the cliche goes, and inexplicably, they couldn’t execute their half-court offense either. It was as Jekyll & Hyde a first half as you could get, and Watertown found themselves down 12 at the half. Things improved ever so slightly in the second half, but never enough or consistently to make one believe a run was coming, or convincingly enough to put Stoneham on their heels.  

Michael Nshanian got into foul trouble early and Coach Steve Harrington chose to keep Nshanian on the floor to figure it out and play through it.

Sports

JIM’S VIEW: Watertown Boys Basketball Enjoys A One-Sided Win

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Raiders Basketball enjoyed a fun night on the hardwood with a 76-43 rout of the CASH (Community Academy of Health & Science) Chargers Monday night. The first of two games (Feb. 9 @ CASH) with the non-league opponent from Dorchester (and a member of the Boston City League), was won early as the Raiders raced out to a 23-10 lead after one quarter. 

The Raiders needed only two players to register on the scoresheet, junior captain Michael Nshanian and sophomore captain Michael Caterino. Nshanian scored 11 points, doing most of his damage inside and at the foul line, where he was 5 of 8. CASH had no inside presence, and therefore had no answer for Nshanian, and he made them pay — and when he didn’t, Caterino did. He was running the floor, driving to the basket, hitting mid-range jumpers, and he mixed in a 3-pointer as preview of what was yet to come. Caterino had 12 in the quarter  

In the second and third quarters, it rained inside the Victor J. Palladino Gymnasium, as in “raining threes.” Caterino, a lefty with a pretty stroke and a sweet arc on his shot, especially when he is on, made five 3-pointers and finished the night with 29 points in only three quarters of play. Same for Nshanian, who sat the fourth after contributing four 3-pointers of his own as CASH went to a 1-3-1 zone to try and combat his inside prowess.

Sports

JIM’S VIEW: Non-League Foe Milford a Hard Nut for the Girls Basketball Team to Crack

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The month of January has been nothing but league games. Tuesday night a league foe, rinse and spit, another league foe Friday night. Tuesday night a league foe, rinse and spit … you get the idea. For the past three and a half weeks. But on Thursday night, Watertown got the chance to face a non-league foe, in advance of the D3 Tournament, and see where they stand. Watertown entered the game 8-4 on the season, while Milford sat at 6-7. What started out as a back and forth contest, turned into a one-sided affair as the Raiders could never put together a stretch of consistent basketball, as they fell to Milford by the score of 60-43. Milford threw everything but the kitchen sink at Watertown in terms of defenses — half and full-court 1-3-1, a little half-court 2-3, man-to-man and a full court 2-2-1.

Sports

JIM’S VIEW: Boys Hockey Earns a Much-Needed & Much-Deserved Win Over Lexington

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The other day I mentioned the many cliches that sports forces us to say or hear and conjure up in describing the action or analyzing the game. Here’s another — “on paper” — as in, on paper these two teams seem pretty evenly matched. Paper has a way of deceiving at times, so one should never rely on paper to determine the outcome of a game. What we did know entering yesterday’s game was that on paper Watertown/Wayland and Lexington were both in need of a win. Watertown/Wayland was 1-12 and Lexington 3-11. 

The Raiders are a young team playing in a difficult league. Lexington, on the other hand, opted out of the Middlesex League for hockey and are playing as an independent. All that said, both teams needed to look past each-other’s record and bring their best game to the ice on a Wednesday afternoon in pursuit of a win. And, luckily for those who watched, both teams took nothing for granted, and indeed played hard. It was an entertaining high school hockey game in which Watertown/Wayland prevailed by the slightest of margins, pulling out a 2-1 win. The first period was a pretty clean one played at a steady pace with few whistles. Each team was penalized once, but neither power play unit could muster much.

Sports

JIM’S VIEW: A Tough Hockey Doubleheader for High School, Semi-Pro Teams

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The John A. Ryan isn’t the only rink around that gets used with the frequency that matches Massachusetts drivers running red lights, but it sure feels that way. This past Saturday at 4 p.m. Watertown/Wayland was faced with the challenge of trying to end a drought dating back to Dec. 23 — as in the last (and only) time they won a hockey game, and they had to do it versus the sixth ranked Spy Ponders of Arlington. Up next would be the Boston (nee Watertown) Gold Kings of the Senior Power Play Hockey League as they welcomed the first place and undefeated Hudson Valley (as in New York State Hudson Valley) Reapers to the JAR. Six periods of hockey on a Saturday on the eve of a predicted whopper snowstorm. Up first, Watertown/Wayland versus Arlington, and the Spy Ponders showed why they are one of the best teams in the State. They played disciplined hockey, they skated hard and fast, they passed well, and they never seemed out of position. Arlington scored 43 seconds in and it was all they would need on this afternoon. They scored seven more times though on the way to an 8-0 shutout. 

Earlier in the week Watertown/Wayland played a top 20-ranked Winchester tight in impressive fashion, ultimately losing 3-2. One wondered if Watertown/Wayland could carry that effort over to this game, but it was ultimately an unfair expectation. This is not to say that Watertown/Wayland gave up or failed to play hard. That hasn’t been the case all season, despite the frustration that comes from entering the game with a 1-11 record. But Arlington was relentless with every aspect of their game, and made it very difficult for a team that struggles to score goals as it is, to find scoring opportunities.  

Seven games remain for Watertown/Wayland to grow and improve. They remain a young team with a lot of underclassmen, and the Watertown/Wayland coaching staff will refuse to let this team hang its collective head. They will practice hard and play hard, and don’t be surprised if a win or two knocks on the door in the weeks ahead!

Sports

JIM’S VIEW: Friday Night Hoops Doubleheader vs. Burlington is a Split-Decision for Watertown

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Doubleheader nights are always a cool experience. The pep-band often is on hand, as they were on this night. And, by the way, under the direction of Spencer Klein, they are superb! Doubleheaders usually bring a good-sized crowd, which of course adds to the atmosphere. And given the relative strength of Raiders hoops over the years, you can typically anticipate two entertaining and competitive games. Well, the night lived up to expectations for a game and a half, and then the wind went out of the sail. In the opener, the Girls led most of the night, went cold early in the fourth, found their way late, gave up the tying basket at the buzzer, and then won it in overtime thanks to a Brooke Lambo layup as the buzzer sounded. Final Score Watertown 37 Burlington 35.  The Boys, 1-8 in league play, stayed with Burlington, 8-1 in league play, for a half, but hit the wall early in the third period and never found their way back into contention, losing to the Red Devils 56-42.

Sports

JIM’s VIEW: Watertown Faced Arlington in a Matchup of Top Middlesex League Girls Basketball Teams

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Tuesday’s game versus Arlington was likely one Watertown Coach Mike Tempesta had circled on his schedule, especially after Watertown made it to this game 6-2 in league play and Arlington 7-1. It would surely be a chance to measure one’s success to date, and figure out what kind of team he had when facing the strength of the league. 

On a frigid winter’s night in mid-January, both team’s started out intense and focused. The lead changed hands numerous times, with Watertown pulling away first to an 11-5 lead. But Arlington quickly responded and went ahead 16-13 after one. It was still close at the half with Arlington holding a six-point lead. All that changed though in the third quarter as the Spy Ponders put the game away with a dominant stretch, outscoring the Raiders 19-4 on the way to an 18-point margin of victory, 58-40. Both teams seemed intent on executing their half-court offense in the first half, and in the case of Arlington, they hardly even looked or settled for an outside shot until Senior Melina O’Hagan made the first three pointer of the game for either team late in the second quarter. Watertown, on the other hand had many good looks from the outside in the first half, and believe me when I say I’d be writing a different recap had they been able to find their range. But they weren’t able to, and an 8-point second quarter for the Raiders was a bad omen of worse things to come. Coach Michael Tempesta prides himself on coaching teams that play solid, fundamental man-to-man defense. Move one’s feet. Don’t reach. Play big, but don’t create contact. On this night these principals would be really important, but his squad just seemed a step slow and they stood around too much against a team that was clearly all about running their sets and taking it to the basket. The Raiders played into their hands by not anticipating screens or calling them out or switching up. They allowed too many drives to the hoop, and then stood still too much or were a step slow marking a Spyponder, which led to offensive rebounds galore and second and third opportunities to score.  

Worst of all, the Raiders just came out flat in the third quarter, while Arlington came out the locker room intent on stronger defense that would create offensive opportunities.