'We deserve respect': Wareham silences critics with dominant performance in Elite 8 win
WAREHAM — Not that the Wareham boys basketball team needed any extra motivation on its quest for back-to-back state titles, but the Vikings got some prior to Friday night’s game.
“What fueled us was predictions,” said Wareham senior guard Ajay Lopes referring to a social media post. “Some people voted for us to lose and that just fueled us. We need to earn our respect. We’re coming out here and we’re beating good teams and we just proved our point. I think we just proved we deserve respect out here.”
The top-seeded Vikings came out on a mission, going ahead 10-0 in the game’s first two minutes and never let up as they easily beat No. 8 Lynn Voc-Tech 95-49 in the MIAA Div. 4 Elite 8 to punch their second straight ticket to the Final Four.
“We just wanted to go out and make a statement,” said Wareham head coach Steve Faniel. “I don’t know how many times they want us to go prove ourselves. We wanted to go show them that little old Wareham can play some basketball too.”
The Vikings have yet to trail in three playoff games and have won by an average of 46.6 points per game.
“At the end of the day we’re just outworking teams and playing better than teams,” said Wareham senior Jaron Pittman.
Pittman set the tone against the Tigers with his defensive presence as the Vikings led by 17 after the first quarter and 27 at halftime.
“Jaron brings a lot,” said Wareham senior Diego Mello. “It doesn’t show on the stat sheet what he does, but he plays defense better than anybody in the area. He rebounds. He and his brother (Jakwon) do all the dirty work for the team and that helps out a lot.”
Lopes agreed, “Jaron brings the energy. He doesn’t care about scoring. He cares about winning the game and what he needs to do.”
The Pittman brothers combined for 19 points and 13 rebounds against Lynn Voc-Tech.
“They bring energy. That’s what they do,” Faniel said. “They know their role and they excel in their role. They’re tough kids and they do all the dirty work and we’re better because of them.”
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WINNING FOR WAREHAM
At the last home game for Wareham’s nine seniors, it was the team’s biggest and loudest crowd of the season.
“These kids deserve it,” Faniel said. “They’ve done a lot for this community. I’m glad the community came out and supported them tonight. Lynn Tech traveled pretty well so it was a good thing they came out here. It was the seniors’ last home game so I’m glad the seniors got to experience that atmosphere because it was awesome and it was rocking.”
Mello said the Vikings wanted to leave it all out on the court for their fans.
“Everybody really wanted this and not just for us, but for the entire community,” he said. “It’s the last time we’ll ever be able to play in this gym. More than us, we wanted it for them. This is the biggest crowd we’ve had all year and one of the best we’ve had ever. The crowd played a huge part in it.”
WHAT IT MEANS
The Vikings (21-3) will face the winner of Saturday’s Elite 8 matchup between No. 4 Millbury (19-5) and No. 5 Manchester Essex (21-1) in the Div. 4 state semifinals at a date, time and location to be determined. … Lynn Voc-Tech finished the year with a record of 18-3.
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TEAM STATS
The Vikings shot 48% (38 of 78) from the field and 77% (14 of 18) from the foul line with 11 turnovers. … The Tigers shot 33% (17 of 51) from the field and 56% (9 of 16) from the foul line with 20 turnovers.
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Wareham senior Antoine Crosson had nine points and a team-high 14 rebounds while Jakwon Pittman had nine points and nine rebounds. Jaron Pittman added 10 points and four rebounds. Lopes chipped in with 12 points and seven assists. Sophomore Aaron Cote had five points and five steals. Diego Mello tied senior Jayce Travers for a team-high 14 points.
Wareham 95, Lynn Voc-Tech 49
Lynne Voc-Tech
Jayden Welch 8, Andy Bautista 7 (1), Giovanni Jean 16 (2), Ederick Gonzalez 6, Brandon Antwine 9 (3), Travis Sanchez 3.
Wareham
Aaron Cote 5 (1), Ajay Lopes 12, Antoine Crosson 9, Jaron Pittman 10, Diego Mello 14 (2), Jayce Travers 14 (2), Jakwon Pittman 9, Amare Rose 10, Will Halloran 6, Kyle Susko 2, Jace Lapointe 4.
Lynn;14;15;14;6— 49
Wareham;31;25;22;17 — 95
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Wareham beats Lynn Voke to reach Final Four for second year in a row
