Powerhouse Newton North Ends Rockets Win Streak
January 10, 2025
•Needham Boys Basketball hoped to hand the Tigers their first loss of the season.
While Needham’s most famous rival is Thanksgiving foe Wellesley, in several other sports Newton North is right there as well. Boys Basketball matchups between the two Bay State Conference schools are usually close, intense and down to the wire. On Friday, January 10th, however, the Tigers dominated the Rockets, winning 67-48 at the A Gym.
Needham came in with a record of 3-4, though that was only good enough for #41 in the first MIAA Division 1 Power Rankings, released on Friday morning. The Tigers, at 7-0, checked in at #4. Both teams struggled on offense early on, with the score still 0-0 nearly three minutes in.
Teagan Swint is the leader on offense for Newton North and paced his team in the first quarter, scoring nine points in the first quarter as the Tigers led 13-9. Bryson Mercedes then had six of his eight first half points in the second, as Needham trailed 36-23 at halftime.
Ben Marino and Andrew Chen each had six points to lead the Rockets, who turned the ball over 10 times in the first half, 17 in the game. They did, however, connect with 5-of-12 three pointers, 9-of-25 on the game. Marino hit two of his three on the game in the second quarter, finishing with nine points. Andrew Chen also hit three from long distance and he led Needham with 10 points.
Newton North gradually wore Needham down, as after a 13-9 first quarter and a 23-14 second, the third was just a 15-14 advantage, and the fourth 16-11. Swint led all scores in the game with 26, with 11 in the 4th. They also had nine different players score. Needham had twelve different players score, but only Chen finished in double figures. Marino had three rebounds, three steals and two blocks to go along with his 9 points.
This game was just the second at home this season for Needham… They will hit the road again for a game at Wellesley on Tuesday, January 14th before finishing the second half of a home and home at Newton North on Friday, January 17th. The Rockets then host six straight home games, with the first on Tuesday, January 21st against Weston at the A Gym.
The Needham Channel is your home for Needham Rockets Varsity Sports and you can watch every game we go to, on The Needham Channel’s HD, Community and Education Channels, as well as streaming on needhamchannel.org and our Roku app. We also have game stories on Needham Local, as well as highlights posted to our Needham Channel YouTube page. You can also follow live game action via our X page at: x.com/tnc_sports.
TNC is looking for volunteers who want to help out as crew and announcers for all of our game broadcasts this school year. If you love sports or know someone on a team, send an email to TNC Programming Manager Mike Levin at: mlevin@needhamchannel.org.
Be sure to check out the TNC Instagram page, for all of our content from the 2024-205 Needham Winter Sports Season at: instagram.com/theneedhamchannel.
