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Wellesley?s Joe Roberts may have mixed emotions about the rivalry between Bay State Conference foes Natick and Wellesley.
But teammate Aidan James doesn?t.
Roberts? grandfather was a captain for the Natick boys basketball team, so his blood spills over both sides. But for James, there?s only bad blood after he and Natick guard Alex Hilger ramped up the rivalry in a chippy Raiders win earlier this season.
But with a playoff spot on the line in Tuesday night?s Herget Division matchup, Roberts and James had no problems showing their true colors as the two juniors combined for 29 points in a 67-56 Wellesley victory over Natick.
The win not only gives the Wellesley a sweep of the season series with Natick, but also gives the Raiders their 10th victory, which clinches a playoff berth.
"Natick is a good team and they played really well," said Wellesley coach Glen Magpiong after his team improved to 10-7 (9-6 BSC). "And Hilger is a terrific player, but to get into the tournament now, now anything can happen. We got three more games, but we?re in and believe when we play right we?re a tough match."
Yet for the majority of Tuesday?s contest, Natick proved to be the tougher match, until a sloppy fourth quarter got in its way.
In a game that featured 20 lead changes or ties thru the first 27 minutes of play, Wellesley ramped up its defensive pressure in the final frame and out-executed Natick.
After a basket from Natick?s Justin Robinson brought the Redhawks within three at 46-43, the Raiders garnered five steals ? four in a span of five possessions ? to help extend their lead to 57-46 in just three minutes of play.
Natick (11-6, 10-5) could never get the deficit lower than nine after that as Wellesley hit 9-of-12 free throws in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
"Our hard work definitely paid off tonight," said James, who poured in team-high 16 points. "We put a big emphasis on free throws in practice, because free throws win you games and free throws won it for us tonight."
For Natick, it was a lack of execution in the final minutes of the game that proved costly.
"We just couldn?t get over the hump (in the fourth quarter)," said Natick coach Jay Johnson, whose team already clinched a tournament spot. "They made everything (Alex Hilger) did difficult tonight and they were just well prepared and ready to go."
Wellesley went 13-of-19 from the charity stripe and had three double-digit scorers in James, Roberts (13 points), and Matt Lawrence (12 points). But it might have been Wellesley?s defending of Hilger (13 points) and Joseph Carty (8 points) that helped the Raiders clinch a tournament berth.
"I don?t know if I won (the battle between me and Hilger), but it feels good to win as a team," James said. "I think (Hilger) is joining the AAU team I?m on. We won?t continue our rivalry then if he?s on the team."
For Wellesley, it was a rivalry win that came with an extra sigh of relief, as the Raiders won?t be pressing too much when they play Thursday at Framingham.
"We had high expectations coming into the season," said Wellesley senior Brian McMahon. "It?s been an up-and-down year, but now we have that monkey off our back."
It was a nice bounce back for Wellesley after falling to Milton, 51-40, on Friday night. Lawrence led the way with 15 points but it was not enough for the Raiders to overcome an early 15-0 deficit.
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Girls basketball
The Raiders lost a chance at the Herget Division title with a 52-41 loss to Natick on Tuesday night, as senior Lauren McCall scored 14 points and pulled in five rebounds in the win for the Redhawks.
Walpole earned the division title while Wellesley slipped to 11-8 overall.
Senior captain Charlotte Bussema had 13 points, three assists and three steals to help the Raiders to their 11th?win on Friday night with a 47-36 triumph over Milton.
Fellow senior captain Grace Miller (15 rebounds, 6 points, 4 blocks, 3 steals, 2 assists), junior guard Sophia Mavrommatis (11 points), and freshman guard Emma Ivey (7 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists) all played well for Wellesley.
The girls have just one game remaining in the regular season ? Thursday night at home against Framingham ? and then will prepare for the upcoming state tournament.
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Wrestling
The snow forced the postponement of last weekend?s Sectional tournament, which will now take place this weekend at Quincy High.
The Raiders wrapped up the regular season last Wednesday with a 37-23 victory over Needham to close the slate with a 17-3 overall record.
Winners for Wellesley against the Rockets included sophomore Steven Selvidge (113 pounds), senior Cameron Heydari (132), senior Clayton Krueger (145), sophomore Thomas Nocka (182), senior Will Dario (195), and senior Dan Farina (220).? Senior Zach Zetoonjian, who has been injured most of this season, came back to win a decision at 285 pounds.
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Boys swimming
The snow also cancelled the Sectional swim meet, which will not be made up. Instead, all Sectional qualifiers will compete in the State Championship Meet on Sunday at Harvard University.
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Alpine Skiing
The Raiders finished their regular season last week with two slalom races at Blue Hills and Ski Ward.
The girls clinched the season?s Mass Bay Ski League East title with first-place finishes in all four races. Freshman Sami Rubin showed her strength in slalom, winning two of the races, and placing second and fourth in the other two. Senior Katherine Carbonaro was just behind with two thirds and a fifth. Junior Maggie McKenna also scored top 10 finishes in all four races.
The boys wrapped up their season with a strong fourth-place league finish. Leading the charge were sophomore Michael Carbonaro, with two third place results, and junior Matt Piispanen, with his best race of the season - a fourth place showing in one of the slaloms.
The Alpine State Championships are scheduled for Feb. 25 at Berkshire East. Individuals qualifying for states will be named this week.?
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