Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/tag/basketball/page/12/)
A Watertown High School wrestler competed at the MIAA Div. 3 Wrestling Tournament at Wakefield High School over the weekend. Freshman Waqas Khan competed in the 113 lb. class, but fell in his two matches. His first match was against the eventual Div.
The Raiders’ boys basketball team – led by the senior duo of John Korte and Julio Fulcar – suffered a close loss to rival Belmont Friday night in the WHS Gym.
Watertown lost 59-56 to the Marauders in the Middlesex League matchup. The Raiders battled back to make it close after being down 36-22 in at halftime. The team dropped to 8-5 on the season and 5-5 in the Middlesex League. The Raiders were coming off a 10 point win over Boston United earlier in the week, where senior guard Julio Fulcar scored a career high 30 points, according to Wicked Local Watertown. The team has been led this season by senior John Korte, who passed the 1,000 point mark for his career during a 27-point performance at Wilmington last week.
Watertown’s Gabriella Coppola moved into second place on the Endicott College women’s basketball program’s assist list during the game at Gordon College on Thursday night.
The former WHS star tallied five assists in Wenham, Mass., and gave her a total of 46 through 12 games in her senior year and 306 in her career for the Gulls. She came into the game tied with Kaylin Burke at 301, so her first assist in the 78-55 win against Gordon put her into second place. The assist record at Endicott is held by Heidi Stevens, who had 472 in her career. Coppola is also second on the single-season assists list at Endicott with 135 during her sophomore year. She is also among the top active NCAA Div.
Gabriella Coppola had had quite an encore to her stellar career on the Watertown High School girls basketball team. Now a senior at Endicott College, she has steadily climbed up the list of assist leaders at the Beverly-based college and in all of NCAA Div. III. Coppola, who plays guard for the Gulls, has 15 assists through five games during the 2017-18 season, putting her at 275 for her college career. This is fourth best all-time at Endicott and 30th highest among active D3 players.
(The Watertown High School Athletic Hall of Fame submitted the following team profile)
Hall of Fame Coach Steve Harrington consistently had his teams knocking on the door of a State Championship in the early 2000’s. In 2000, 2005 and 2006 the Red Raiders lost in the North Sectional Finals. In ’03 they lost in the Garden in the EMass finals. The gyms at Watertown High and the rest of their Middlesex League opponents was the place to be on Tuesday and Friday nights. Both home and away games were packed with loyal Red Raider fans.
Like many of the esteemed student-athletes in the WHS Athletic Hall of Fame, Anthony Coppola, class of 2007, was a multi-sport athlete. But it was in the gym and on the basketball court under the direction of Hall of Fame coach, Steve Harrington, where he was most dynamic and successful. The WHS Athletic Hall of Fame sent out the following profile:
“Anthony was relentless,” Harrington told us. “He had tunnel vision all the time, but especially as a senior, when we knew as a program we could make a good run at the program’s first State Title.” And after a grinding 18 game Middlesex League schedule, a brutal battle through the D3 North sectionals, a glorious trip to the Boston Garden, and four clutch free-throws by the cool, calm, and collected Coppola down the stretch to cap a nail biting one point victory in Worcester, the Red Raiders did indeed get to hoist the trophy. Like many of Harington’s troops, Coppola started out at the Boys and Girls Club playing Biddy Basketball.
A 5-on-5 basketball tournament will be held at Casey Park in Watertown with a cash prize for the winning team and raffles and activities through the day.
The Second Annual 5-on-5 Mobar Classic Basketball Tournament will take place on Saturday, Aug. 19, 2017 form 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Casey Park, 124 Watertown Street. The winning team will take home a $3,000 prize, and there will be a special guest. There will be food, raffles, music, and activities for kids. Mobar Mobile Barbershop is based out of Waltham and cuts their clients include some members of the Boston Celtics.
The Watertown High School wrestling team continued its successful season by qualifying several athletes for the State Divisional Meet.
Watertown had 12 wrestlers competing in the Div. 3 Central Section meet on Saturday at Ashland High School. Van Athanasopoulos was the highest finisher for there Raiders. He went 3-1 and won the third-place match in the 145 pound competition. He will compete in the Div.