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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Coming off the heels of a brief two-game win streak against Milton (78-49) and Medway (60-50), the Wellesley High School boys basketball team dropped a tough one at home on Wednesday night to rival Newton North to fall to 8-3 (4-3 BSC) on the season.
Unfortunately for the Raiders, senior forward Colin Blasco was unable to suit up on Wednesday night due to injury. Despite the absence of Blasco’s advanced shooting abilities, Wellesley began the game shooting hot, as a pair of three-pointers by senior guard Ryan Murrey gave the Raiders an early 6-2 lead.
Layups off of transition by senior captain and forward Ben Zimmerman and sophomore point guard Anthony Lumley extended the lead to 10-5, but the Tigers (7-3, 3-1) responded with a 6-0 run to take their first lead of the game at 11-10. A three-pointer by junior guard Alex Stoddard reclaimed the lead for Wellesley at 13-11, and another three-pointer by Stoddard extended the lead to 16-11. North again responded, however, with another 6-0 run to regain the lead at 17-16 at the end of one quarter.
Freshman forward Chris Rey gave Wellesley back the lead at the beginning of the second quarter with a layup. From there, the lead changed periodically as Newton North’s Ethan Wright caught fire and began knocking down seemingly everything the senior shooting guard put up. Following a two-point jumper by Rey and a layup by Stoddard, North went on a 5-0 run to take a 26-22 lead. A pair of free throws by Lumley followed by a three-pointer from Stoddard gave the Raiders back the lead at 27-26. Newton North concluded the half on an 11-2 run, however, and the Tigers took a 38-29 lead into halftime.
Following the break, Wright completely took over the game for Newton North. A layup by Stoddard cut the deficit to 38-31, but a 22-3 run by the Tigers throughout the third quarter all but put the game out of reach heading into the fourth, as Newton North lead 60-34.
Alex Stoddard finished the game with a team-high 14 points, but Wellesley dropped the contest by a final of 73-45.
Wellesley will look to get back on a winning note when the Raiders travel to Natick on January 26.
For funny and incisive sports analysis, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter at @fLAno0, or read his blog at www.flannylive.wordpress.com.
