By Paul Vozzella
Hometown Weekly Sports Reporter
After suffering their first loss of the season to Norton, Medfield boys varsity basketball got back on the right track with a 80-68 win over Dover-Sherborn on Thursday.
Medfield came out firing, going on a 16-4 run to start the game. Head coach Evan Moon attributed the early start to his team’s offensive prowess.
“We were really aggressive,” said Moon. “We were pushing the ball - making the extra pass. We were swinging the ball when it was available.”
Their aggressive effort was no fluke either. “This week at practice, we emphasized getting up and down the floor,” added senior captain Rowan Tracey. “Last game we had some trouble against the zone and we really emphasized beating the other team up the floor.”
The Warriors kept their momentum up throughout the first quarter, finishing up 24-13 on the scoreboard.
Tracey catalyzed the offense, recording 17 points and three assists in the first half en route to a 38-25 lead going into halftime.
Rebounding played a big factor in the Warriors first half success, as well, but inconsistency in the latter part of the game hindered Medfield’s ability to pull away.
“The first half was good,” said Moon. “The second half we let up a lot of offensive rebounds. We gotta clean that up if we wanna beat teams in this league. We need more than one guy going after the ball.”
After a rough start to the game, Dover-Sherborn regathered themselves at halftime and went on a 10-5 run to start the third quarter.
Even with the run, Medfield was able to keep a steady lead until the fourth quarter. However, the persistent Raiders managed to make it a four point game with under three minutes left in the game.
“They kept the offensive momentum up on their end,” claimed Moon. “Offensively, we were a little flat, a little stagnant.”
Showing up when it mattered the most, Tracey scored a quick five points to seal the win for the Warriors in the closing minutes.
“[Avedis Armany] crashed in from the corner and got a tip that came right to me and I was able to finish the layup. For the three, [Dover-Sherborn was] in the two-three zone and didn’t put anyone on the ball so I was able to shoot it.”
Tracey led all scorers with 30 points to go along with his seven assists and four rebounds. Almost all of his scoring came from behind the arc, drilling nine three-point shots.
“I think what really helped us out and let me get some shots off was [Dover-Sherborn’s] two-three zone. We had guys like [Armany] flashing the middle which really opened it up for our shooters so we could get it inside and kick it out and it allowed us to stick some threes.” Armani, Thomas Behrmann and Owen Armstrong all put up double digit numbers in the win.
The Warriors will now look forward to their game against King Philip Regional on December 27th.
