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Boys basketball extends streak to 13 with wins over Arlington, Woburn
Cruising to two more wins would pretty much sum up another week for the Winchester High School basketball team (14-1).
As a result, the Red & Black are seeded fourth, according to the Feb. 4 Division 1 power rankings, moving up from the seventh spot the previous week.
The Winchester boys defeated visiting Arlington on the last day of January, 63-55.
Coach John Fleming said afterwards that this contest had the feeling of a state tournament game.
“The gym was packed and the student section was incredibly loud,” Fleming added. “It was about as good as a high school sports environment can be. It was also a great opportunity for our guys to play in front of a community that came out to support them.
“It was a fun, hard-fought game that we found a way to win it in the fourth quarter,” Fleming added. “While it was a 10-point game at the half, we knew Arlington would fight back as they are a well-coached team that plays great defense, plus they still have James Dingman, last year’s league MVP.”
Alex Casey hit a huge three at the buzzer to end the third quarter to give his teammates some momentum. Jack Charchaflian also had a few big finishes down the stretch to seal the deal.
“I thought Carson (Sarpong) rebounded well, and also disrupted a number of shots around the rim,” Fleming said. “Dawson (English), Alex and Jack did a nice job trying to make it difficult for Dingman. It was a great team win after a few really good practices.”
Charchaflian was once again the offensive leader with 19 points. Casey chipped in with 16 points, including four threes. English poured in 10. Craig O’Callaghan was close behind with nine. Sarpong finished with 10 rebounds. Harrison Burbine was credited with four assists.
Then on Tuesday night (Feb. 4) after the aforementioned power rankings came out, the Red & Black exploded past host Woburn, 75-47.
“Our defensive pressure set the tone early on by forcing a number of turnovers that led directly to points,” said Fleming. “I thought the guys who came off of the bench were terrific. We often talk to them about being a boost of energy when they come into a game, and those guys really did that (against Woburn).”
The reserves altogether scored 28 points, and they were led by Ryan Harding and Adam Fiorentino, who had eight apiece for 16 of those points.
The Red & Black are now ready to begin the final week of the regular season. They are scheduled to face Belmont on Feb. 13, going up against the Marauders, beginning at 7:15 p.m.
After two straight losses, girls hockey bounces back to edge Woburn
The Winchester High School girls hockey team (7-8-2) dropped two recent games to Belmont (3-2, Feb. 1) and Arlington (4-0, Feb. 5), but then bounced back to beat Woburn, 2-1 on Feb. 8.
The Red & Black scored twice in the second period to tie up the proceedings at two after two periods against Belmont. But the Marauders were able to net the game-winner in the third to pull out the win as the home team at the Ryan Arena in Watertown.
Anna Beaudry lit the lamp first for Winchester in the second period from Courtney Fisher and captain Ellie Parks. Amelia Corvi then lit the lamp assisted by Madelyn Rabinovich.
But after that loss to Arlington, the Winchester girls took on aforementioned Woburn, and came away with a hard-fought victory.
“[Goalie] Claire Zhang was the difference again,” said Coach Tommy Scarpa. “She made some key stops all game long, including one real big one when we were (killing off two penalties at the same time with two players in the penalty box) with less than two minutes to go in the game.”
Scarlett Gustafson was credited with the first goal of the game in the opening stanza assisted by Clare McCabe and Corvi. Parks notched the game-winner in the second period setup by Sonia Carnes.
The Tanners trimmed the deficit in half with a goal in the third period, but Zhang and company frustrated them the rest of the way to secure the close win.
The Red & Black will now be taking on visiting Lexington in Woburn tonight (Feb. 12), starting at 5 p.m., before heading to Reading’s Burbank Arena Saturday night to faceoff against the Rockets at 6 p.m.
