Two separate articles
HEADLINE: 8th Grade Warriors Remain Unbeaten at 15-0
Warriors 62 - Wakefield 43
The 8th grade Wamesit Warriors from Tewksbury remained unbeaten at 15-0, beating Merrimack Valley power Wakefield, 62-43. Joe Csokmay led the way off the bench with 18 points and 8 rebounds. Alex DiRocco contributed 15 points, including three 3-point field goals. Mike Milano and Alex Botazzi each added 8 points, James Sullivan chipped in with 6 points, and Shayne Russell added 5 points, including a big three-point shot. The key to victory was a 21-7 rebounding advantage in the second half, as the Warriors turned a close game into a rout. Derek McGaffigan, Craig Harkins, and Ryan Bednarek entered the game at the 10:41 mark of the first half, with Wakefield leading 14-5, and left with 4 minutes remaining, with the Warriors taking the lead 22-21. Great team defensive effort, and McGaffigan added 5 assists, Bednarek 1 steal, and Harkins 2 steals to turn the tide in the warriors favor.
Warriors 67 - Hamilton-Wenham18
The 8th grade Wamesit Warriors from Tewksbury are 16-0, after cruising to an easy victory over Hamilton-Wenham, 67-18. Applying their trademark defense, this game was no contest, as the Warriors jumped out to an early lead, and never looked back. Scoring was balanced, with every player getting on the board. Derek McGaffigan led with 15 points, penetrating the HM defense, and pushing the ball on the fast break early. Craig Harkins was tenacious on defense, distributed the ball to the big-men inside, and scored a basket. Joe Csokmay and Alex DiRocco added 11 and 14 points respectively. Mike Milano, James Sullivan, and Shayne Russell pitched in with 4 points apiece, and Ryan Bednarek and Alex Botazzi each contributed 5 points. Russell also had a highlight reel block, which turned into an easy basket on the offensive end in transition.
Warriors 72 - Revere 53
The 8th grade Wamesit Warriors from Tewksbury ran their overall record to 14-0, beating Revere 72-53. After a sluggish start, which saw the Warriors down by 2 points at the half, pressure defense and strong free-throw shooting were the difference in the second half. Three Warriors were in double-figure scoring, led by Alex DiRocco’s 18 points, James Sullivan’s 12 points, and Craig Harkins stepping up with a clutch 10 points, including big baskets down the stretch. Joe Csokmay added 9 points, and Mike Milano 8 points, with great energy defensively. The foursome of Derek McGaffigan, Ryan Bednarek, Harkins, and DiRocco made it difficult for Revere’s talented point guard to run his offense, denying him the ball. McGaffigan also chipped in with 4 points, Bednarek and Chris Caron contributed 2 points each, Shayne Russell knocked down a pair of free-throws, and Alex Botazzi scored 4 points to go along with a half-dozen rebounds. The Warriors look to continue their winning ways next weekend with back-to-back games.
Secondarticle
HEADLINE: 7thGrade Warriors Avenge Jan 29th Lost to Saugus to Regain First Place
Jan 29th: Warriors 49- Saugus 56
Tewksbury's Wamesit Warrior's 7th grade team suffered its first loss of the season in Saugus on Saturday. The lack of practice, (thanks to the snow), can be blamed for the sloppy play leading to the defeat. The Warriors had 28 turnovers and were never able to get a consistent clean offense going.
Once again, Justin “the terror” Derrah lead the way with 21 points,6 rebounds, 2 assist and a blocked shot. Jack Theriault had a strong game knocking down 9 points. Ryan Bain had 8 points, 2 assist and a block shot. The balance of the offense came from Ryan Briggs, (5 points), and 2 points each from Kevin Vonkahle, Josh Asselin and Nick Dunlap. Andrew “Big Baby” White and Brady Rodgers contributed defensively, at times making it difficult for Saugus to move the ball inside, and eachadding a steal. The Warriors were now in second place in the league with Saugus holding the head to head tie-breaker.
Jan 30th: Warriors 33-Hamilton Wenham 32
The Warrior's got back on the winning track with a victory over the Hamilton Wenham Generals. Installing a new system before the game, the boys worked hard throughout! In the end, the new man-to-man defense was too much for Hamilton to overcome. The Generals had an inbound play with 12 seconds remaining on the clock but Nick Dunlap stole the ball with 6 seconds left to seal the victory. Justin Derrah and Ryan Bain led the way with 11 points each. Derrah added 8 rebounds and a blocked shotwhile Bain had5 rebounds, a blockand a steal.Jack Theriault had 6 points and4 assists. Andrew White went 4 for 6 from the foul line. Brady Rodgersbalancedout the scoring with a point. Josh Asselin controlled the offense at guard filling in for missing players, and Kevin Vonkahle helped out with strong defense.
Feb 6th: Warriors 63- Saugus 58
The 7th grade Warriors improved to 10-1 and retake first place in the Eastern Hoops A Division. The Warriors came into this game without their leading scorer Justin Derrah and starting forward Connor MacLean who is still injured. The Warriors were down in height, but not in heart which would prove to be the difference in the game. Ryan Briggs played his best game of the year and started the game off strong with the first 6 pointsto put the Warriors into an early lead. For the remainder of the first half, it was a full team effort that kept the Warriors ahead and they went into the half with a 25 to 19 lead. The second half was more of the same, the difference being the aggressive rebounding by the big three, Ryan Bain, Andrew White and Kevin Vonkahle. The Warriors were in foul trouble the whole second half and Saugus took their first lead of the game with 3 minutes remaining.Andrew “Big Baby” White was able to get 2 more offensive charges called against Saugus before fouling out of the game. Nick Dunlap played very aggressive defense making key steals and controlling the ball when needed before he fouled out. Josh Asselin was a defensive standout keeping Saugus’ best player from scoring when they needed it the most. With one of the biggest kids on the Saugus team underneath, Asselin (half the height) posted up strong for the first time in his career and drew a key foul. Kevin Vonkahle drove strong to the basket in the closing minutes and hit a key 3 pointeron a nice dish from Briggs to retake the lead. Briggs fouled out with 3 minutes remaining leaving the Warriors with 2 starters and 3 players off the bench, the only ones left to keep a strong Saugus team from coming back. Brady Rodgers, Josh Asselin and Kevin Vonkahle really stepped it up to close down Saugus for good. Ryan Bain and Jack Theriault took the reins in the end and put the finishing touches on what turned out to be the game of the season. Ryan Briggs led all scorers with 21 points. Theriault scored 8, Asselin 5, Bain 11 with 7 key defensive rebounds, Vonkahle 9, and Dunlap 9. Bain, playing center in place of Derrah, played an all-around smart and aggressive game. The Warriors will play in Melrose next week.