With Wayland basketball starting last month, both teams are now into the full swing of the season. Both the girls and boys teams have played five games without ever hitting the home courts of Wayland High. The boys team has a record of 4-2, beating Newton South, Waltham, Martha’s Vineyard, Acton-Boxboro, and losing to Weston and Boston Latin, while the girls team has a record of 2-4, beating Boston Latin and Marian High School, and losing to Weston, Martha’s Vineyard, Newton South, and Acton-Boxboro.

On December 23rd, the first Monday of winter break, Wayland basketball met their match. Prior to the game, everyone was expecting intensity because the arch rivals were meeting for the first time this basketball season, and Wayland coach Dennis Doherty was facing Weston for the first time since he left his coaching position for the Weston boys team.

The game was exciting, going back and forth until the end of regulation where the score was 55 – 55. However, Weston outscored Wayland 10 -0 in overtime to take the win 65-55. The leading scorers were senior point guard Mike Synodis who scored 15 points, and guards Charles Brown and Adam Lewin who scored 11 each.

For Weston, the leading scorers were senior forward Bashir Hudson who led Weston with 24 points, which included the 8 of Weston’s points in overtime. Following close behind was senior guard Chris Mayo-Smith, who had 17 points and 5 rebounds, while junior center Alex Levine had 9 points and 9 rebounds.

Two weeks later, on January 6th, the boys played their first home game on the new courts against one of the DCL favorites Acton-Boxboro. The game ended strongly for Wayland 86 – 75, with Wayland beating one of the top basketball teams of the DCL large division. The game was riveting and close until the end when Wayland pulled away with the win.

Top scorers were senior Charles Brown with 23 points, senior Mike Synodis with 21, and juniors Ian Bonner and Adam Lewin each with 10 points. As for AB, senior guard Brett Miller led AB scoring, along with junior guard John Williamson.

The girls weren’t quite as fortunate. While they lost to Weston and Acton-Boxboro, the AB game was a turning point for Wayland. During vacation week when the girls played Weston, Wayland struggled to keep up. The score of 52-36 marked a 3rd loss for Wayland, and they were seeking any sign of improvement. The AB game gave Wayland sure indications of good things to come.

“Even though we lost, the style of our game was so much better,” said Lindsay Shelton, a Junior player on the team.

Despite the loss of 68-59, the girls were satisfied by staying so close to AB and not letting one of the best teams in the league destroy them. At one point in the game, Wayland was only 4 points behind AB rather than the usual 30.

With senior Keneisha Milton’s rebounds and junior Lauren Vachon’s threes, Wayland came together to compete with AB. Sophomore Emily Ivker even started as point guard for the first time. All in all, despite the losses, the girls team has improved in their game play. This Friday night, January 9th, the girls plan to play their first home game against Watham, and they plan to bring in a win.