Wareham High School senior Aaron Baptiste said he had been shooting well in practice on Tuesday and he felt good in warm-ups before Wednesday night's Division 3 South Section semi-final game against Cardinal Spellman. 

Talk about understatement! Baptiste scored 33 points in the game, making 9 field goals, 8 of them from three-point range, including one from half court to end the first quarter.

After the game, Wareham Coach Kevin Brogioli called Baptiste the "best 3-point shooter" he has had "the pleasure to coach."

Brogioli's team needed all of Baptiste's points to hold off a powerful Cardinal Spellman Cardinal team that battled and battered the smaller, quicker Vikings the entire game.

The Cardinal threesome of Ricky Donovan (6'5"), Paul Preziosi (6'3") and Joey Donovan (6'5") pounded the boards and often were able to overpower the Vikings for offensive rebounds and easy put-back layups.

But Wareham showed again why they are still undefeated this season (23-0).  Their speed and cohesion were on display as they jumped out to an early first-quarter lead, led by Baptiste's 9 points and junior Jeff Houde's 8. Using their defense to force the Cardinals in poor shots and turnovers, they raced up-court to find open players for layups and three pointers.

Houde was the antidote to the Cardinal power trio, getting all of his first quarter points on offensive rebounds and put-back layups.  The Vikings were rewarded for their hard work with a 14-point first quarter lead, 23-9.

But Cardinal Spellman did not roll over or start thinking about what might have been.  Instead, they came out in the second quarter with a tenacious man-to-man defense designed to frustrate the Vikings and keep them from driving to the basket.

The Cardinals used their size and physical play to push the Vikings around.  When junior guard Darien Fernandez picked up his second foul with 6:41 to play in the second quarter and was forced to the bench, it appeared the Cardinals might come back from their deficit.

Indeed, they cut the Viking lead to 6 at 36-30 with 2:30 to play in the half. But just as Wareham fans started grinding their teeth and collectively holding their breath, Stefan Montiero, Aaron Baptiste, and Mason Vasconcellos hit three consecutive 3-pointers to push the lead back to 12. The Cardinals would score the last basket of the half, but Wareham held the lead at the intermission, 42-32.

The third quarter was an intense struggle, with both teams playing hard, physical defense and aggressively going after every loose ball. The results were not aesthetically pleasing (ask senior Tyler Gomes, who was forced to sit out the second half with a broken nose) as both teams committed several turnovers and fouls.

But as in the first half, the Vikings bent, but would not submit to Cardinal pressure and physical play. Wareham added two points and started the fourth quarter with a 56-44 lead.

The fourth quarter started with the Cardinals making another run at Wareham, throwing their big bodies everywhere in an attempt to knock the Vikings off their stride. With the period less than two minutes old, Darien Fernandez picked up his fourth foul, forcing him to the bench.

But sophomore reserve Vasconcellos came in to help settle the Vikings both offensively and defensively, and Houde and junior Quintin Silveira held off the furious inside-attack by the Cardinals in the last five minutes.

Playing a controlled game over the last three minutes, the Vikings forced the Cardinals to foul them, and the Vikings accepted the free throws in return. Cardinal guard Austin Joseph and forward Paul Preziosi hit desperation 3-pointers in the final minute to bring the final score to 72-64.

"We have not faced a lot of adversity this year, and I am so proud of how our team responded tonight", a beaming and relieved Coach Brogioli exuded after the game.  "We knew [the Cardinals] would play us very hard, but we fought back every time they came at us. I am so proud of our guys."

Perhaps the best summation came from Baptiste on the night when he almost could not miss a shot. Smiling from ear-to-ear, he said: "They were the toughest we've faced, but we were tougher."

The Vikings will play Martha's Vineyard for the Division 3 South Sectional Championship on Saturday, March 10, at noon at UMass Boston.

Wareham is on Martha's Vineyard's radar. After the team defeated Westwood 89-69 in the earlier game in Taunton, players left the court chanting: "We want Wareham!"