Boys Hoops Blow Out Weston, Hold Off Natick

January 24, 2025

• The Rockets have now won two straight as they attempt to get into position for the postseason.

Not even two years removed from their first ever trip to a State Championship Game, the Needham Boys Basketball team has struggled to find their way during the first half of the 2024-2025 season. Playing eight of their first ten games on the road, the Rockets were just 3-7 before beating Weston 84-35 on Tuesday, then holding off Bay State Conference rival with Natick 52-42 Friday night.

In Tuesday’s win over Weston, the Rockets jumped out to a 23-5 lead at the end of the first quarter, with the Wildcats scoring just one point in the final six minutes after a 19-1 run. Needham led 45-18 at halftime and 67-31 at the end of three quarters, only giving up four points in the 4th.

Ben Marino led Needham with 14 points and five steals, going 2-of-4 from three point range. Matthew Cloonan added 12 points and seven rebounds, while Jeremy Gould chipped in 11 points.

On Friday night, Marino again led the Rockets on both ends of the floor, finishing with a team high 12 points, while also grabbing three rebounds and stealing five passes. For the second straight game, Gould had 11 points.

Needham had a 15-10 advantage at the end of the first quarter, after Sean Walker hit a buzzer beating three pointer. The Rockets dominated the second, outscoring the Redhawks 18-7 and taking a commanding 33-17 halftime lead. Gould would hit another buzzer beater for the home team before the break.

But Natick came storming back in the third, starting on a 9-0 run and outscoring Needham 19-5 to cut the lead to 38-36 heading into the final quarter. Head Coach Paul Liner’s team kept their composure, however, with a 14-6 advantage in the 4th, spreading the ball around. Marino and Foster Wilinski each had four points, Max Goodrow three, Matthew Cloonan two and Gould with one free throw. Marino’s fifth and final steal down the stretch helped clinch it for Needham.

The Redhawks were led by Ryan Bernard’s 14 points, though he failed to register any in the fourth. But he did score six in the third during Natick’s big comeback. Colin Bubanovich also added six of his 12 points in the third, with four more in the 4th.

Coming into Friday’s game with a record of 4-7, Needham moved up from #44 to #39 in the MIAA Division 1 Boys Basketball Power Rankings, but will need to either move up to at least #32 or get above .500 in order to make the postseason.

They are now 5-7 and will welcome Milton to the A Gym on Tuesday, January 28th at 6:45pm, then Weymouth on Friday the 30th at 5pm, a doubleheader with the Girls which will be broadcast live on The Needham Channel’s Community and HD Channels, as well as streamed on needhamchannel.org and our TNC Roku App.

Check out the following Instagram video for the two buzzer beaters and Ben Marino’s game sealing steal:

 

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For highlights of Boys Hoops vs. Weston, check out the highlights from “The Needham Channel News,” with Sports Anchor Ben Gilman:

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