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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
The Wellesley and Xaverian Brothers High School varsity basketball teams tipped off their seasons last Wednesday night in Westwood with a non-conference matchup. Both teams traded blows throughout, but it was the Hawks who pulled away late and came out with the 50-29 victory to start the season on a winning note.
Xaverian (1-0) jumped out to a big 24-11 lead at the half thanks to incredible rebounding and put-backs at the rim by power forwards Patrick (sophomore) and Thomas (senior) Mogan. Along with his keen ability to jump up and snag rebounds, Patrick Mogan also utilized his 6’8 frame to attain four blocks on the night and make it extremely difficult for the Raiders (0-1) to drive the lane.
Senior captain and point guard Ryan Hult (seven points, 10 assists) also displayed an incredible sense of awareness throughout the match for Xaverian, constantly moving the ball around to either the Mogan brothers or to fellow senior captain and three-point shooting specialist Mike Gillespie (14 points, seven assists, three rebounds). Off the bench, junior forward Mike Allsop (four points, six rebounds) was a dominant force on the boards for the Hawks and was able to consistently win the battle for rebounds throughout the game when P. Mogan went for a breather, which proved to be a pivotal key to the Hawks’ success over the Raiders.
Despite falling behind by 13 at the half, the boys from Wellesley failed to go down quietly as senior captain and power forward Will Jackowitz was an animal on the boards, snagging eight rebounds on the night while doing battle with Xaverian’s mammoth center, Patrick Mogan.
All the while, shooting guard Andrew Walthall (eight points, three assists) went two of four from three-point range and was perfect at the foul line (two-for-two). Sophomore forward Owen DeOliveria (six points, three assists) also showed a great ability to move the ball around and find the best look while going two of three from three-point range.
Before the start of the varsity match on Wednesday night, the Wellesley JV team was victorious, 49-23, over the Hawks.
