Credit: Emily Wyner

The Wayland Boys Basketball team heads to Weston on Wednesday night to face the 4-1 Wildcats. Wayland lost the previous meeting with Weston 62-59 and enter this game with a 2-3 record.

On Wednesday, Jan. 8, the boys varsity basketball team will travel to Weston to face the Wildcats for the second time this season. Wayland enters this game with a 2-3 season record, while Weston has a 5-1 record. Weston is on a five game win streak and Wayland is on a two game losing streak.

The first time that these rivals faced this season, Wayland lost 62-59 in what head coach Dennis Doherty described as “a really competitive game.”

“I think that was a really disappointing loss for the boys going into the break,” Doherty said. “We didn’t feel great about the loss, but I certainly thought Weston deserved to win that game.”

According to senior Santi Whelton, Wayland struggled with rebounding and defense during their first matchup against Weston. In the final minutes of the game, Weston went 1-9 shooting free throws, yet Wayland couldn’t get the rebound and had to keep putting Weston on the line.

After learning from their mistakes the first game, Wayland knows what adjustments they have to make in order to beat the Wildcats who currently possess a 5-1 record.

“Going to the game on Wednesday, we know we need to rebound the ball better [and] we need to take better care of the basketball,” Doherty said. “Offensively, we’re going to have to really execute to get some good looks in the half court offense.”

According to sophomore Cooper McFarlane, not only have the teams faced each other on the court this season, they have also played against each other in pick up basketball over the summer.

“We know what to expect of [Weston] at this point,” McFarlane said. “We just have to go out there and play hard.”

As the season progresses, the team has started to figure out what works best for the team dynamic. Doherty believes that they play better with a fast-paced offense that pushes the ball up the court.

“I think we’re starting to figure out offensively that we really need to push the ball in transition as much as possible,” Doherty said.

While Wayland’s offense has been fast-paced, their defense is designed to keep the other team confused with different styles.

“We typically mix defenses quite a bit,” Doherty said. “We play some man and we play a lot of different zones. I think we just have to try to keep mixing defenses to keep the other team off balance.”

For the Wayland seniors, this game could be the last time in their high school career that they play Weston in basketball, so winning during what is potentially their final matchup is a goal for some.

“[Beating Weston] would be a lot of fun,” Whelton said. “In my Wayland career, I’ve never won at Weston, so it would be really good to get a win there.”

As was the case in their first game vs Weston, Wayland is anticipating an intense rivalry atmosphere with fans from both teams at the game. Whelton and McFarlane both agree that the fans make rivalry games more fun and intense.

“We’re expecting a great crowd in Weston,” Doherty said. “It should be a really fun atmosphere for the boys to play and I’m expecting another competitive game.”

According to the members of the team, the goal of the game is to get a win on the road against their rival and end a two game losing streak.

“We’re going to go in there [Wednesday] night, and our focus is just try to find a way to win that game and leave there [with a record of] 3-3,” Doherty said.