SCITUATE – Fresh off a Super Bowl victory over Tewksbury, Scituate boys athletics kept its momentum going with an upset 78-69 basketball win on opening night over Whitman-Hanson, the fifth-ranked team in Division 2 in 2024-25 with an 18-3 record.
Junior captain Jack Novak led the Sailors victory with 23 points, followed by 17 from senior captain Rafe Norman, while the ball was pretty spread out for the rest of the Sailors offense, which was a key to their victory among the minimal amount of fouls from coach Matt Poirier’s squad.
The disciplined Scituate team was never down throughout the game, jumping out to a 13-4 lead to start and not letting the dominance from Jack Martin (20 points, 11 rebounds), Seth Hall (17 points) and Josh Manchester (15 points) stand in the way.
This Patriot League Fisher/Keenan Battle got close towards the beginning of the second half as the Panthers defense became prevalent with consistent scoring, but couldn’t prove a difference as the Sailors won the turnover battle.
Scituate maintained a 62-57 lead going into the fourth quarter and would build the lead out throughout the fourth quarter. The Panthers attempted multiple three-pointers in the final minute but the Scituate defense was able to grab the rebounds and draw fouls to keep extend the lead to its final nine-point margin.
While Novak and Norman led the team, depth scoring help from Malouf, Duane, and Stelljes helped the Sailors remain ahead while junior captain Chrysto Brown contributed eight assists and three steals while making his presence felt on Whitman Bob Rodgers’ W-H game plan.
The Sailors will look to continue their impressive performances against Plymouth South on Friday, while the Panthers will look to bounce back against Silver Lake this Friday as well.
