NEEDHAM – In the darkness, it was the Needham boys’ basketball team that provided a shimmer of light to a community in mourning.
Playing at home just days after the tragic passing of classmates Talia Newfield and Adrienne Garrido, the Rockets came out fast against rival Newton North before holding off a late-game charge from the Tigers to win an emotionally-draining game, 64-57.
Senior Thomas Shaughnessy led the way with a game-high 27 points, while fellow senior Michael Klemm finished with 11 points to go along with two huge steals in the final minute of regulation that helped wrap up the Bay State Conference victory.
“These have been some tough days, but this was a really good way to for us to come together and unify as a school because we really had something to play for tonight,” said Shaughnessy. “We played inspired. It is a good feeling to come out here and give this community something they deserve.”
Following a moment of silence before the opening tip for their fallen classmates, the Rockets got their home crowd cooking with a 10-4 run to start the game before taking a 19-9 lead into the second quarter. And in that quarter, it was Shaughnessy who did most of the damage.
With Needham (14-2) leading 21-16, the Brown University commit buried a corner 3-pointer and followed that with a layup and two free throws as the Rockets extended the lead to 28-16. Another three from Shaughnessy and a trey from Brandon Monheimer later in the quarter made it a 40-24 game at halftime.
But behind some hot third-quarter shooting from sophomore Aaron Cooley (18 points), the Tigers got within 51-38 heading to the final eight minutes. Newton North (15-4) would later get as close as 57-53 on a 3-pointer with 2:02 to play from senior Ethan Wright, but a three from Shaughnessy and a steal and dunk by Klemm made it a seven-point game with under a minute to play.
“It’s been an emotional (few days) for this kids, but they all felt like they wanted to play this game tonight,” said Needham head coach Paul Liner. “They were playing for their classmates and being together with your teammates was really important for everyone."
