By Paul Vangos –
On Monday, Jan. 5, the 4-2 Millbury Woolies played host to the 4-1 Auburn Rockets for a much hyped early-season matchup. Both teams came into the matchup following a loss, with Millbury losing to Westfield and Auburn to North Middlesex.
There is a lot of history between the two neighboring rivals who are located just 15 minutes from each other, with the Woolies holding serve in many of the recent matchups. With elite athleticism as a strength for both teams, the heavyweight bout took place in a packed house at Millbury’s gymnasium which was filled with a raucous crowd and high anticipation.
Immediately, Millbury would start out hot. In the first half, the Rockets came out in a zone defense which would be countered by phenomenal shooting from beyond the arc from the Woolies. Auburn would trail by 10 after the first quarter, and found themselves in a deeper hole heading into the half with a 37-20 deficit on their hands.
For the Woolies, Ryan Nikiforow led the way with 14 points at the break, and their stifling 2-3 zone held the Auburn offense in check. On the other end of the court, Auburn could not buy a bucket in the first 16 minutes, with Luke Martin as one of the few bright spots and doing a little bit of everything with 11 points, good passing, and stern defensive play.
Beginning the second half with a new defensive scheme, the Rockets went on a 22 to 10 run in the third quarter to cut a previous 21-point deficit down to just five, with Nathan Ikonyea driving hard to the basket and penetrating the defense for easy layups and an and-1. During this stretch, Millbury’s shooting went dry, and it seemed that Auburn might have a chance to pull even and potentially ahead.
However, the Woolies would get back to their bread and butter with good ball movement and patience, opening up the Auburn defense and leaving players wide open from three. In a four-minute barrage, Millbury went on a 12-0 run to reopen a 17 point lead with six minutes to play. The Rockets would attempt to pull closer and hang in, but to no avail as the Woolie defense tightened up and the offense continued to move the ball and chew up clock late in the contest.
To put the exclamation point on a Millbury victory, Junior Jayden Delaleu secured a steal which led to a fast break with three minutes to play. He would launch up and throw down a thunderous hammer at the rim that looked eerily similar to the likes of which the great Dominique Wilkins would finish fast breaks with. To the joy of the Millbury faithful, both teams pulled their starters following this play, and the Woolies defeated the Rockets by a final score of 71-54.
Ryan Nikiforow was outstanding for the Millbury squad, being able to finish hard in the paint and knock down multiple three-pointers for a grand total of 25 points. Jayden Delaleu also played a solid game, finishing out with 15 points for the Woolies. On Auburn’s side, Luke Martin put together another good showing to add to his brilliant start to the season, posting 17 points from all over the court. He was complemented by a fiery second half from Senior Captain Nathan Ikonyea, who scored 10 of his 15 points in the last 16 minutes of play.
While the scoreboard displayed a dominant showing from Millbury, both teams had many good moments on the floor tonight, and both also have some flaws to correct as the season progresses. Stay posted here at NewsTalk New England for more high school basketball news!