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BOYS’ BASKETBALL | WAREHAM 69, OLD ROCHESTER 66

Destine Haywood pushes Wareham past Old Rochester

WAREHAM — In the biggest game of the season, Wareham junior Destine Haywood didn’t hesitate to give up his starting spot.

With the South Coast Conference championship on the line Friday, usual starters Haywood and sophomore Darien Gibson came off the bench behind seniors Devin Gonsalves and Samari Auguste. But when it mattered most, Haywood was on the floor providing clutch shot after clutch shot to help Wareham squeeze out a 69-66 victory over Old Rochester on senior night.

“We’re all a family, so I wanted the seniors to start,” said Haywood. “They’re great leaders and it’s their night.”

Haywood, who transferred to Wareham this season after two years at Bishop Stang, scored a game-high 24 points and combined with senior captain Taylor Carlson (20 points) to spark a Vikings comeback.

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Down, 62-56, with 3:45 remaining, Wareham could not buy a bucket. The Vikings were 9 of 35 from 3-point range until Haywood and Carlson combined to hit four of their next five attempts.

Haywood hit consecutive 3-pointers to tie the game, 62-62, and with just less than a minute remaining, Carlson swished a pull-up three to put the Vikings ahead, 69-66.

“Teams are focused on me shooting, but they forget, Destine is a shooter, too,” said Carlson, who broke the program’s single-game scoring record earlier this season with a 46-point performance. “We all contribute and it don’t matter who is scoring, as long as we get the ‘W.’ This was a great environment and it’s going to get us ready for playoffs.”

This marks the second year in which the SCC champion was crowned via a “Crossover” matchup, pitting the first-place finisher in one division against the other in a winner-take-all final.

Wareham (15-3, 13-1 SCC) already had defeated Old Rochester (11-7, 9-5) twice this season, but the new format set up a third meeting with everything on the line.

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“I like it because it’s an all-or-nothing game that really prepares you for the tournament,” said Wareham fourth-year coach Steve Faniel. “The positive part is that the pressure is on, now we’ve proved that no matter what the situation is against a good team, we can come back.”

Behind a big first half from junior Nick Johnson (19 points) and steady play down the stretch from senior captains Cole (20 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists) and Noah McIntyre (11 points, 3 assists), the visiting Bulldogs seemed poised to wrest the conference title away from Wareham, but the Vikings’ depth proved to be the difference.

“We believe our 10 guys are better than your guys,” said Faniel. “That’s our mantra. All these players have sacrificed something, but all of them have contributed.”


Nate Weitzer can be reached at nweitzer7@gmail.com.