The young 2010-2011 season has been a roller coaster ride for David St. Martin’s Rebel Basketball team.  After jumping off to a 2-0 record and a successful tournament record, the Rebels have dropped their last two games in match ups with Bay State foes Newton North and Brookline.  The Rebels advanced their league record to 3-2 on Tuesday, January 11 against the 5-2 Wellesley Raiders in a Herget Division showdown.

The Rebels got off to an uncharacteristically slow start, struggling on both sides of the ball in the first quarter.  Wellesley Captain Duncan Johnson dominated the first quarter, hitting an astounding four consecutive three pointers to put the Raiders ahead 15-8.  Walpole senior Captain Tim Gallivan provided much of the Rebel offense with 4 first quarter points.  Wellesley’s Armand Menegay drilled a three with seconds remaining in the quarter, helping Wellesley to a 21-10 lead.

While Wellesley held all momentum in the first quarter, the Rebels began to show signs of life in the second.  St. Martin’s squad immediately began working a mixture of inside and outside offense in the second quarter, going inside to 6’6″ senior Dan McGovern on the first Walpole possession.  Following a stop on defense, senior Captain Mike Tempesta buried a three on the offensive end, cutting the Rebel deficitto 3.  Wellesley’s Johnson responded accordingly drilling another three pointer of his own.  After a Tempesta lay up, junior forward Tom Donnellan was hit on the hand while attempting a three pointer.  Donnellan netted two of three from the line, bringing the score to 24-21 in favor of Wellesley.  The Raider’s relentless shooting proved deadly once again as two more three pointers were added on.  McGovern and Tempesta each added a bucket of their own before halftime to leave the halftime score at 30-26 with the Rebels trailing their Herget opponent.

Early in the third quarter, the Raiders took back any momentum that the Rebels had possessed going into halftime, jumping ahead to a 42-30 lead.  With 4:30 remaining in the third quarter, Walpole sophomore Chris Collins checked into the game for the first time and immediately made a significant impact.  Collins’ inside presence opened up shots for Tempesta, who seemingly knocked them down at will.  Collins was too much for the Raiders inside, as they either fouled futilely or simply hit the deck when forced to defend his aggressive post moves.  At the end of the third quarter, Collins had scored 6 consecutive points to bring the Rebels within 7 points.

Collins and the Rebels carried this momentum into the fourth quarter, stealing the Raider lead and never looking back.  Collins and senior Mike Gilmartin cleaned up the offensive glass in the fourth quarter, each providing put backs to bring the Raider lead to 47-46.  The Rebels took their first lead of the night with 5:55 remaining in the game as Gallivan banked an eleven footer off the glass.  Gallivan then swatted Wellesley senior Captain Adam Farina on the other end, energizing the Walpole gym.  Sophomore guard Johnny Adams buried a three on Walpole’s next possession, increasing the lead to 51-47 with 3:56 remaining in regulation.  Wellesley’s Johnson would once again find an open look at the basket, drilling a deep three to cut the Rebel lead to 52-50.

From that point on, the Rebels would prove to be the team who wanted this victory more, out-hustling and out-rebounding the Raiders.  After sophomore Johnny Adams dove on a lose ball and had the presence of mind to call timeout, assuring Walpole a possession, Collins would knock down two free throws to put the Rebels ahead by four.  Walpole’s defense dominated the Raider offense for two consecutive late possessions, forcing a three second violation and a travel.  Following these turnovers, Gilmartin dished a no look pass to Gallivan who finished at the rim.  On the next possession, Gallivan knocked down two clutch free throws to put the Rebels up 58-50.  With 48.5 seconds remaining, Armand Menegay converted an athletic lay up to bring the Raiders within six.  Following two missed free throws by Gallivan, Menegay hit a clutch three with 14.1 seconds remaining, proving that the raiders would not go down without a fight.  However, after being fouled to stop the clock, Adams essentially iced the game for the Rebels by knocking down both free throws.  This score of 60-55 would hold as the Rebels defeated the Raiders in a highly anticipated Herget showdown.