Waltham boys basketball falls to powerful Lexington High at home

By LIAM O’BRIEN
Waltham Times Contributing Writer

There’s nothing more difficult in the sport of basketball than facing a team that brings constant pressure from the jump.

That is exactly what the Lexington High School boys basketball team carried to the floor on Sunday afternoon at the new Waltham High gymnasium, making life tough on the Hawks throughout an 86-35 victory. 

With the defeat, WHS falls to 7-10 on the season.

“They were more athletic and quicker than us,” Waltham head coach Mike Wilder said. “They are just so hard to handle and so fast in transition. We just had our hands full and didn’t play great.”

The Minutemen made a habit of forcing turnovers and stunning the Hawks with 3-pointers on the other end. Lexington jumped out to a quick 16-7 start, buoyed by a full-court press approach that stymied Waltham’s offensive hopes.

“They have five guys who can drive the ball and shoot it,” Wilder said. “They can absolutely drill 3s. We tried to come out, play some zone defense, and see if maybe that could offset it, but their ability to get off the bounce and hit 3s, it’s tough. It was all five starters.”

Senior point guard Zach Jeanphilippe did his best to quell the Lexington surge, pouring in a plethora of steady drives into the paint en route to 13 points. 

However, the Minutemen proved to be too mighty. Waltham’s border rivals are likely to be a handful in the MIAA state tournament and put their potential on full display.

Guard Amari Mow knocked down a buzzer-beating trey to hand Lexington a 44-25 advantage heading into the halftime break and the lead ballooned to 35 points by the conclusion of the third stanza.

Regardless of Sunday’s result, the Hawks are determined to right the ship heading into the final weeks of the year.

“We just have to stay together,” senior captain Matt McDonald said. “We have to be 3-0 over the next three games, so we just have to stay together, day by day.”

The first opportunity for the Hawks to get on the right track will be a festive one. The hoops team plans to honor its seniors on Thursday night against Westford High School with decorations, a DJ, and by offering free admission to all Waltham youth league players.

“Hopefully with that energy, we can bounce back,” Wilder said. “That was probably our worst game of the year. In my experience coaching, usually you are going to play better in the next game, inevitably. That’s where our focus is. I just told those guys, stick together. There are freshman and JV games tomorrow, come support them and show the program that we get back off the mat no matter what the score is.”

McDonald and his fellow Hawks will look to go out with a bang as the season winds down.

“Just soaking it all in,” McDonald said. “Because after this, it’s life. This is where I want to be. I play a sport in the spring, but this is basketball.”