Needham Boys Host Brookline for Home Openers

• Needham teams went 2-0-1 at home this week. 

Needham boys basketball and hockey hosted Brookline in their home openers this week. Basketball kicked things off with an 65-55 win over the Warriors on Tuesday, Dec. 16, while hockey followed with a 2-2 tie on Wednesday, Dec. 17. 

Foster Wilinski and Ben Marino led boys basketball offensively, scoring 41 of Needham’s 65 points in the victory.

The Rockets took a 18-10 lead in the first quarter. Brookline went 0-4 from behind the arc in the quarter and struggled offensively. Needham added 16 more points in the second quarter, including seven from Matthew Cloonan, to go up 34-21 at halftime. Neither team shot exceptionally well from three-point range in the first half, but the Rockets finished 3 of 9 (33.3%), while the Warriors were just 1 of 7 (14.3%).

Brookline kept it closer in the third quarter, but ran into foul trouble early. Needham took advantage of that, shooting 11 of 14 from the free throw line in the quarter. The Rockets were outscored 21-16 in the fourth quarter, but had established a big enough lead to secure the win. They finished 4-12 (33.3%) from three, and 19-25 (76%) from the free throw line. Caleb Haynes was the leading scorer for the Warriors with 17 points.

Needham hosted Braintree on Thursday, Dec. 18 for their next game and defeated the Wamps 77-43. Andrew Chen led the team in scoring with 15 points, followed by Marino with 12 and Luca Varano with 11. They will host Catholic Memorial on Saturday, Dec. 20, at 12:30 p.m. in the A-Gym for Youth Fan Day.

Boys hockey followed with a 2-2 tie against Brookline on Wednesday in a physical game that had seven penalties between the two teams.

The Rockets got on the board first when Carter Alderman scored just over five minutes into the first period. But the junior didn’t have much time to celebrate his first varsity goal, as the Warriors answered 30 seconds later, with a goal from Collin O’Connor. With 2:32 left in the period, Brookline went on a power play. Needham killed most of the clock, but Corey Tow scored right after the penalty expired to make it 2-1 Brookline.

Needham evened the game at 2-2 with 5:10 left in the second period when Matt Ledbury scored on a long shot during four-on-four play. The Rockets outshot Brookline 10-5 in the period, but the score stayed tied throughout the rest of regulation, forcing a five-minute overtime. Both teams had chances in overtime, but neither could score, ending the game in a 2-2 tie.

Carson Brownridge played well for Needham, stopping 21 of Brookline’s 23 shots on goal (91.3%). The Rockets’ power play unit struggled, however, failing to generate many scoring opportunities with a man advantage throughout the game.

Needham will host Braintree on Saturday, Dec. 20 at 1:30 p.m. at Babson for their next game, hoping to get their first win of the season.