Doherty stuns Wachusett in OT.

Story by Bruce Marchand Jr.

12/15/22 Holden, MA | Thursday night, Doherty traveled to Wachusett to take on the Mountaineers. In the 1st quarter, Wachusett surged back from a 2-7 deficit, and finished the quarter leading 13-9. The Mountaineers attacked the softened interior defense of a Doherty team who graduated Kofi Asare (Umass football) and Myzel Vilbrun (Umass Dartmouth football). All but one basket (a Jake Chaisson 3) was scored in the paint for Wachusett.

Doherty was paced in the first half by Freshman Josiah Reyes who played like a seasoned varsity player. Reyes created opportunities off the dribble for his teammates and also finished the game with a team high 14 points. On the other end, Anthony Zinagarella was a force to be reckoned with; using his size advantage over smaller guards to get to the basket at will. Wachusett took a 22-17 lead into half time.

Wachusett's Tucker McDonald had a rough first half as he appeared to be ill. Scoring just one basket in the 2nd quarter, Tucker sat out and did not play again until the the start of OT. Wachusett relied on junior Drew Croce who hit some key three pointers in the 4th quarter.

Crunch time

Despite being down 7 points in the 3rd quarter, Doherty used their pressure defense and 2-3 zone to rally back into the game. By the beginning of the 4th quarter, they swung the game with a three point lead over Wachusett. Jake Chaisson (11 points) and Anthony Zingarella (game high 22 points) took over in the final minutes. After chipping away at the lead, Wachusett forced a Josh Romeo turnover and tied the game up 45-45 on Jake's clutch three pointer.

During the OT period, Zingarella dominated. He used the opposing crowd to get fired up and pushed his team ahead 52-47 with less than two minutes to go. However, Doherty stuck to their pressure defense and never gave up, forcing costly turnovers for the home team. The game was tied with under two seconds when Azeir McClain-Hines (11 points) walked up to the line to shoot the two biggest free throws of the night. After missing the first he made a key second free throw that ultimately gave Doherty the 53-52 win.

Fans out of hand

Doherty's fan section was rocking all night and after their win, they stormed the court. Upon leaving, some obscenities could be heard coming from their section. One has to wonder: How will this affect their attendance at away games?

Also, North High was in attendance and appeared to be waiting for their chance to play Doherty after their chants at the end. They are set to play at Doherty on January 4th