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The Winchester High boys basketball team (16-4) wrapped up the Middlesex League regular season title with an overtime win against Belmont, 55-52 on Feb. 13.
“Beating Belmont wasn’t easy,” said Coach John Fleming. “They fought hard and gave us everything we could handle. A slow first half led to an intense finish in regulation and into the overtime period. I’m glad our guys stuck with it. They showed some grit and determination to find a way to win.”
The win gave the Red & Black the league title outright with a 13-2 record, followed by Arlington (12-3) and Lexington (11-4).
“It’s a great accomplishment for the kids to win the league, and not have to share the title with Arlington,” said Fleming. “It’s just the second time since 1974 – 2021 being the other – that we have won the league, so this will be something that they will definitely look back on, and be extremely proud of the accomplishment. We thought we would compete for the league this year, and they did it. Our only losses were against Arlington by two on a buzzer beater in overtime, and then by three to Lexington.”
The Winchester boys then played in the Comcast Tournament at Emmanuel College in Boston to complete the regular season on Feb. 15 and 17. They lost the opener to North Andover, 45-38, before Newton North did the same to them, 58-48.
“It was a great experience for our guys,” said Fleming. “They got a chance to play in a great facility on a campus right in Boston. I think we learned a lot about ourselves by playing against two very good programs.
“North Andover was in the state semifinals last season, and is having another good year,” added the Winchester coach. “We didn’t really start playing until the second half, and finally got going in the fourth quarter. We were able to cut the North Andover (advantage) to three with about 40 seconds to go, but they then hit a huge three to make it two possessions. But I was still happy with the way we fought back from a big deficit; I just wish we hadn’t waited so long.”
Fleming thinks that Newton North might be the top team in the state, and was happy with the way they hung in there against a team of that caliber.
“We had untimely turnovers, tough shot selections and a missed defensive assignment (or two) during the Newton North game, but with that being said we were in the game right up until the end,” the Winchester coach added. “The 10-point differential doesn’t really tell the whole story. It was an evenly played game, but they ultimately just made a few more winning plays than we did.”
It’s now on to the Division 1 state tournament, and it all begins for the Red & Black tonight (Feb. 27) at home against Boston Latin (19-1), starting at 6 p.m.
Winchester is the ninth seed, according to the final power rankings, while Boston Latin is 24th out of 39 D-1 postseason teams.
Boys hockey begins postseason with win over Shrewsbury
The Winchester boys hockey team (12-10, 11th seed) began the Division 1 state tournament successfully with a win over Shrewsbury (10-10, 22nd seed) Tuesday night, Feb. 25, at Woburn, 4-1.
It was a Round of 32 game, and now Coach Gino Khachadourian’s team awaits the winner of the Belmont (15-6-1, sixth seed) / Bishop Feehan (9-12-1, 27th seed) Round of 32 game tonight (Feb. 27) at Watertown’s Ryan Arena, starting at 7:30 p.m.
