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By Douglas McCulloch
Hometown Weekly Staff
The Walpole High boys' and girls' basketball teams took on Wellesley last Friday at a doubleheader at Wellesley High.
On the boys’ side, the Rebels picked up a 55-33 win against Wellesley. The girls team fell to Wellesley 49-39.
As Walpole High boys varsity coach David St. Martin noted, the team’s success to a strong defense and the team’s strong communication skills.
“I thought we played great defense tonight and rebounded the ball well,” St. Martin said. “The kids were talking and rotating very well. Our offense was a little flat but Wellesley did a good job trying to slow us down.”
St. Martin pointed to two moments in the game that showed him how hard the team plays. A loose ball with just three minutes left in the game was secured by James Randall, who dove in between two defenders to gain control of the ball, and Jordan Washburn’s charge attempts towards the end of the game.
“It shows that no matter what the score or time is, we play hard,” St. Martin said. “It is a great example of what this team is all about.”
In addition to serving as the team’s fifth straight win, the game also marked an important milestone for St. Martin. It was his 100th win with the team, and accomplishment he was excited to achieve.
“I was very proud to pick up my 100th win,” St. Martin said. “When we started out the program was struggling and now we are competitive. I have coached great kids, have had awesome assistant coaches and the families have been very supportive.”
The boys' team has been showing improvement since the beginning of the year. After starting out the season with several wins and losses, the team hit a turning point after winning a game against Norwood on January 15. After that game, the team began a winning streak, beating out Natick, Weymouth, Framingham and most recently Wellesley.
The boys' and girls' teams faced Milton on February 2, and will take to the court next against Dedham on February 5.
See more photos from the games at http://timhoffman.zenfolio.com/p301091059 and http://timhoffman.zenfolio.com/p518770608.
Douglas McCulloch is an editor at Hometown Weekly. He can be reached at news@hometownweekly.net and followed on Twitter at @doug_mcculloch.
