The boys varsity basketball team defeated the Weymouth Wildcats 84-60 on Tuesday, Dec. 13 during their first game of the season in Schluntz Gym.

After the tipoff, the ball was shifted around the court until senior and guard Jaylen Haynes scored the first points of the game with a three-pointer. The Warriors held the lead for the rest of the game.

When the Wildcats crossed half-court, the Warriors were quick to put pressure on them and the ball came loose. Senior and guard Taj Horowitz swiftly recovered the ball and threw it up the court to Haynes, who scored once again. Horowitz and Haynes proved to be a strong duo on numerous occasions when Horowitz would provide the assist for Haynes to score.

The Wildcats missed a potential buzzer beater at the end of the first quarter, leaving the Warriors in the lead 17-8.

The second quarter started with the Wildcats fouling the Warriors. Then, after junior and forward Chris Sillice made the two shots at the free-throw line, he was fouled yet again.

The Wildcats, who were penalized for their pushing and fouling earlier in the game, had eight fouls by the middle of the second quarter, matching the amount of points they had at that time. The Warriors had exceeded this amount with nine fouls and there were also multiple technical fouls, with verbal comments going back and forth between the teams.

The Warriors found success in retrieving rebounds and blocking the Wildcats from scoring. New head coach Johnny Williams said that the team excelled in defense this game.

“We got a lot of fast breaks off of turnovers. I was happy that we were able to score within our offense. The guys were moving the ball, so we had an even flow on both ends on offense and defense,” Williams said.

After halftime break, the Warriors came back strong with Horowitz sinking two points in after a rebound. Silice’s height down near the basket allowed him to put up easy layups, which resulted in a basket a minute into the third quarter.

Haynes seemed to have raised his energy in the second half as he moved dynamically around the court and shot mostly from the three-point line. Senior and forward Caetano Drinkwater also rebounded and put the ball back up multiple times.

Haynes added that although the team worked hard in defense, it’s something they can always work on improving.

“We did well on scoring and putting the ball in the basket but we should get better on defense and forcing the ball left because that’s our motto for practice,” Haynes said.

As the game went on, the energy in the gym did not slow down. After every basket, cheers erupted from the crowd. Haynes said both the bench and the bleachers brought a lot of energy to the game as well.

During the game, an announcement was also made that this year fans will no longer have to pay to watch Brookline basketball games. This was with the goal of making the games more accessible and making sure that anyone who wants to watch a game has the opportunity to.

In the fourth quarter, both Brookline and Weymouth were in the bonus, as both teams had reached ten fouls within the half. The referees then called a technical foul on the Weymouth coach, awarding two free throws to Brookline.

The fourth quarter also saw a lot of plays from sophomores as guards Barry Golden, Akito Ono and Seth Thompson and forward Alan Shi contributed to the final score. The fourth quarter ended with a score of 84-60, for Brookline. Haynes led the team with 19 points, followed by Horowitz with 17.

Williams said that it felt good to win both his first game as the new head coach and the first game of the season.

“The kids had jitters. I had jitters. It was the first one,” Williams said. “So once you get over that first one, it’s kind of like riding a bicycle.”

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CARLOTTA ZANINI/SAGAMORE STAFF