BRAINTREE — Walpole isn’t wasting any time this winter.
Under first-year coach Scot Schaming, the Timberwolves want to play fast, physical, and smart. With one of the most tight-knit groups the program has had in recent years, players with state championship-winning pedigree and a conference All-Star in Ryan McDonald, the team knows there’s no time to waste.
Their time is now.
“We want to change the reputation around the league on Walpole basketball,” Walpole junior Shane Harrington said.
The Timberwolves took their first step toward doing that on Friday night with a season-opening win, 69-55, over Braintree.
Harrington finished with a team-high 20 points, while McDonald finished with 17. Braintree’s Ethan Elie scored a game-high 23 points, with 13 coming in the fourth quarter.
Braintree was one of the best teams in the conference last winter, earning a Division I state quarterfinal berth and finishing the year 19-4. The Wamps defeated Walpole in the first game of the season by 14 last year in Walpole.
Timberwolves upperclassmen weren’t interested in letting that happen again.
“We battled out there,” McDonald said about the team’s performance on Friday. “Last year we played them first game. … We said to each other we knew we can’t let this happen again. We’ve got to set the foot on the gas and win it.”
Walpole started the game in a high gear. Powered by offensive rebounds from Chris Niclas and 3-pointers from McDonald and Harrington, Walpole jumped to a seven-point lead.
Harrington finished the game with four made 3-pointers.
“I think we’ve all been pretty shocked by the level of shot-making,” Shaming said about Harrington. “I think he shocked himself a bit. He’s come a long way. His confidence is through the roof. I think the way we play leans into his style of play.
“Defensively, there’s no coaching. He does it all himself. Offensively, he’s just playing confident. It’s great to see a second high-level shot maker right now. It changes the way we play offense.”
Walpole stayed hot from deep early in the second quarter. Jack Sardinha made a shot from the top of the key off a pick, and Harrington followed it up with another to put the Timberwolves ahead by nine.
One of Walpole’s key tasks on Friday night was trying to slow down reigning Bay State Conference Herget Division MVP Ethan Elie.
Elie attacked the paint relentlessly on Friday night, trying to make tough layups. The senior did find ways to score, but swarming interior defense and forcing charges kept him from closing the gap for the Wamps.
Walpole successfully took three charges during the game. Putting your body on the line and doing whatever you can to help your team win isn’t just something the basketball team lives by.
The Timberwolves have multi-sport stars on their team, including McDonald and Harrington, who both played and won a state title with the school’s baseball team in ddddd. Many of the team’s players also compete on the school’s successful football team.
The sports are different, but the culture is the same.
“It’s the same tradition Walpole has in every other sport,” Harrington said. “I play baseball and football. The grit. The hustle. That’s the tradition. That’s all we talk about with baseball, and we won a state championship. You don’t want to see Walpole on the schedule, no matter who you are.”
Before becoming head coach of the Timberwolves, Schaming was an assistant coach at Lexington. In 2021, Lexington played a road game at Walpole. Lexington won, but Schaming remembers the atmosphere and the type of players Walpole had.
Tough and physical.
“That’s what Walpole kids are,” Schaming said. “They dive on the floor and take charges.”
The Timberwolves’ lead ballooned to 20 during the third quarter, powered by offense from McDonald and Cole Chase.
Walpole got into foul trouble during the first quarter, making the back end of the fourth quarter difficult for the team. Elie had a productive final quarter and closed the gap to as little as 11, but Walpole did enough defensively to close out the game.
There’s still a little under two months left in the season. But Friday’s result has Walpole feeling like it can achieve what it wants to this year.
“We want a playoff game,” Harrington said. “We haven’t had one in a few years, and the reputation of Walpole basketball the last few years hasn’t been good. Less than ten wins in two years. We want a playoff game.”
