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Warde Drops 5th Straight in 58-56 Squeaker

In a season of tough losses for the Fairfield Warde High School boys varsity basketball team, Tuesday night’s might have been the hardest to swallow. Sam Martens buried a three-pointer from the corner to tie the game at 56, only to see victory snatched away by a last-second pull-up jump shot by the Brien McMahon High School's TJ McCrae. Despite a physical and high-energy effort, Warde lost its fifth straight, 58-56.

"I'm not going to say this game was the story of the year. It's only game 11 and we've shown fight throughout," Warde head coach Ryan Swaller said. "It's just getting over that hump. We've shown no matter who we play with, we're with them all the way."

Both teams played an aggressive full-court press the entire second half, resulting in a flurry of fouls. Both teams were in the free throw bonus for the whole fourth quarter. Warde was an impressive 11-for-17 from the foul line in the second half

Warde led 7-6 after an ugly first quarter, 26-24 at halftime, and went on an 11-0 run to open the fourth to take a one-point lead. Every time Warde muscled back, McMahon answered.

"I keep telling the guys we have to play the full 32 minutes," Swaller said. "It's not just playing hard the last two minutes. It's about closing strong in a half or a quarter. No matter how much we're down, I don't want to see quit from them."

Warde's fifth-straight loss blemished a fine effort by Terrell Walden, who finished with a double-double and a team-high 12 points. Walden also left late in the fourth with a collarbone injury and is being assessed by the team. Sal Siciliano also finished with 12 points, while Mike Wright put up 11 while going 6-for-10 in free throws.

Five of Warde's seven losses this season have been by five or fewer points. At 4-7, Warde opens tough homestand, hosting all three division leaders, Westhill, Ridgefield and Bassick. within a week.

Has the Fairfield Warde boys varsity basketball team suffered from tough luck this season? Start the discussion below.

Follow Eric Gendron on Twitter for the latest MSC sports coverage.

 

 

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