Varsity League - Week 10 (Championship)

The 2016 Varsity Spring League ended on a high note Wednesday night with a terrific matchup between Franklin and Westwood.  Franklin had been dominant throughout the season, going undefeated with many of those victories being blow-outs.  Westwood had also come into the game after a strong season, finishing in 3rd place with their only losses coming against the top 2 seeds (Needham by 4 points and Franklin by 2 points). 

The Championship clash between these 2 strong teams did not disappoint, with a very exciting back and forth game.  Westwood captured a small lead with under a minute to go before Franklin tied it with only seconds left in regulation.  This set up the game winning 3 from Westwood Sophomore Reed Wilson as time expired (his 5th made 3-pointer of the night) to give Westwood the Varsity League Championship Title with the 50-47 win over a highly talented Franklin squad.  Wilson’s clutch shooting and team high 17 points earned him Championship MVP.

Westwood Sophomore Reed Wilson was named Championship MVP after a game high 17 points and hitting the game winning 3 pointer as time expired in their victory over Franklin.

Varsity League - Week 8 (Quarter-Finals)

The opening round of the Varsity Spring League playoffs certainly lived up to the hype with 3 close games all decided by single digits.  Game 1 pinned two border rivals against each other with #4 seed Foxboro being able to hold off for a 3 point victory over #5 seed Walpole (62-59).  The second game of the night saw a rematch of TVL foes in which #3 seed Westwood overtook Holliston with a 7 point win (56-49).  In the final game of the night #2 seed Needham was able to avenge a May 18th loss to Norwood by beating the #7 seed Mustangs by 2 points (42-40), sealed by a last possession steal by Needham’s Matt McKay preventing Norwood from attempting a game tying or game winning basket. 

This Wednesday (June 8th) will have 2 semi-final matchups and a consolation game.  At 6pm, #1 seed Franklin returns to action after their first round bye to take on #4 seed and Hockomock rival Foxboro in the first semi-final matchup.  The second semi-final game will see #2 seed Needham take on #3 seed Westwood at 7pm.  The final game of the night will be a consolation and a battle for 6th place in the league with Holliston taking on Norwood at 8pm. 

Holliston's Spencer Aronson drives by several Westwood defenders on his way to the basket.

Varsity League - Week 7 (RIVALRY WEEK)

The Varsity Spring League’s Rivalry started out hot with a high scoring affair between TVL foes Westwood and Holliston.  Westwood was able to stay hot from outside and pull away at the end for a 13 point lead (71-58).  Game 2’s Hockomock match up saw Franklin cap off their regular season undefeated at 6-0 and clinch 1st place in the league and a 1st round bye in the playoffs with a 17 point win over Foxboro (58-41).  The final game of the night featured the historic Walpole vs. Norwood rivalry, with Walpole’s Jordan Washburn leading the Rebels to victory behind 7 three-pointers to secure the 67-48 win.

This upcoming Wednesday (June 1st) will be the opening round of the Spring League Playoffs.  After finishing in 1st place, Franklin will get the bye this week and automatically advance to the semi-finals on June 8th.  The full opening round schedule for this week’s games at Thurston Middle is:

• 6pm - #4 seed Foxboro vs. #5 seed Walpole
• 7pm - #3 seed Westwood vs. #6 seed Holliston
• 8pm - #2 seed Needham vs. #7 seed Norwood

Winners will advance to the semi-finals.

Westwood's Aidan Fitzgibbon (#14) running out the clock for the win over rival Holliston. 

Varsity League - Week 4

Week 4 of the Varsity Spring League started off with a very close, very physical 2 point game between Franklin and Westwood.  With the game tied at 47 with under 7 seconds to go in the game, Franklin’s guard drove left from the top of the key making a lefty layup to win the game 49-47 to remain undefeated.  Needham also had to pull out a close 7 point win (48-41) to keep pace with Franklin.  Both teams sit atop the standings at 4-0 before their matchup against each other next week.  In the third game, Foxboro extended their winning streak to 3 weeks with a 56 to 46 victory over Walpole.

Next weeks games at Thurston Middle School (including the powerhouse Franklin vs. Needham matchup) are:

• Walpole vs. Westwood
• Franklin vs. Needham
• Holliston vs. Norwood

New England Spartan 17U guard Isaiah Shephard (#5) with the ball for Walpole vs. Foxboro

Varsity League - Week 3

Last night's Varsity Spring League kicked off with another dominant performance by Franklin in a 33 point win over Walpole (68-35).  The next 2 games were a lot closer with Needham remaining undefeated after their 4 point victory over Westwood (61-57).  And in the final game of the night, Foxboro edged out Norwood in a low scoring affair (39-31).

Next week's games will be held at Thurston Middle School on Wednesday May 4th.  The 3 matchups are:

• Franklin vs. Westwood
• Foxboro vs. Walpole
• Holliston vs. Needham

Varsity League - Week 2

This week's varsity league kicked off with a bounce back win for Foxboro. After losing a close game last week to Needham, Foxboro was able to get to 1-1 on the season with a 5 point win over Holliston.  In the last 2 games of the night, Needham and Franklin continued their hot starts each with 20+ point wins over Walpole and Norwood respectively. 

There will be no games next week due to school vacation week.  The league will start back up again on April 27th with the following matchups:

• Franklin vs. Walpole
• Needham vs. Westwood
• Foxboro vs. Norwood

Click HERE to see the updated scores and standings from the league. 

Varsity League - Week 1

In the opening night of the 2016 Varsity Spring League, Needham began their title defense with a close 65 to 62 victory over Foxboro.  The second game saw Franklin go on an impressive run to start the 2nd half on their way to the most impressive win of the night with a 64 to 41 win over Holliston.  In the final game of the night, Westwood edged out neighboring town rival Norwood 57-44.  

In next week's games, we will see:

• Foxboro vs. Holliston
• Walpole vs. Needham
• Franklin vs. Norwood

Click HERE to stay up to date with updated scores and standings for the league throughout the Spring.

The 2016 Varsity Spring League Begins Tonight!

The 2016 Varsity Spring League begins tonight.  We are excited to have some of the top teams in the region participating in our league this season, in fact every team in the league qualified for either the Division 1 or Division 2 State Tournament this past winter.  The group is headlined by the defending champion Needham Rockets who have won the championship in our 2015 Fall League and 2015 Spring League.

Due to the snow storm on Monday, this week’s games will be pushed back about an hour.  The first game will tip off at approximately 7:15pm.  Tonight’s matchups are:

Foxboro vs. Needham

Franklin vs. Holliston

Norwood vs. Westwood

Follow us on Twitter @nespartanbball or click HERE to stay updated on the Varsity League throughout the spring season.