Perfect.  That is the only way to describe the game.  The Wareham boys basketball team defeated New Leadership Charter School of Springfield 80-57 for the school's first ever State title, AND senior co-captain Pat Murphy was able to pass the 1,000 points mark in his final basketball game for the Vikings.  Perfect.

Wareham trailed only once in this game (2-0) and showed their dominance over New Leadership early.  While the Springfield charter school demonstrated breath-taking athleticism from the outset, blocking almost a dozen Viking shots in the first half, Wareham's teamwork found every crack in the defense and exploited them.

Wareham led at the end of the first quarter 22-13.  Jules Tavares and Ryan Pina dominated on the inside both on offense and defense.  Tavares scored 12 of his game high 25 in the quarter, and Pina scored 6 of his 11 in the frame.  But it was also on the defensive end where they swallowed up every defensive rebound and consistently limited New Leadership to just one shot.

The second quarter was all Wareham.  At 23-15, the Vikings went on a 15-1 tear that deflated the entire New Leadership team.  The run was led by the defense, with every Wareham player on the floor contributing.  Jordan Rezendes took over the scoring load in the period from Tavares, dropping 9 of his 21 points.  At the half, Wareham was up by 20, 42-22.

The lead would swell to 28 points in the third.  Wareham conclusively showed it is much more than than just a flashy scoring team - its smothering defense frustrated the entire New Leadership team all day.  New Leadership guard Phillip Warwick, who scored 35 points in his team's victory Tuesday over Whitinville Christian, was held to 18 by the play of Darren Gray and Mike Mendes.  And when he was lucky enough to slip by them, he had to face Ryan Pina, who Coach Brogioli called "the best 6'3" center in the state" after the game.

The theme of the 4th quarter was to help senior co-captain Pat Murphy pass the 1,000-point mark for his career.  Senior Jordan Rezendes said he told Murphy: "Don't even worry about defense, just keep shooting.  We'll get you the ball." For himself, Murphy said, "There was a lot of pressure on me - I was just really happy to get them."

When Murphy made a reverse layup at the 1:46 mark of the 4th quarter to hit the 1,000 point mark, the Wareham bench erupted and swarmed the floor to lift him onto their shoulders to congratulate him - and proclaim to everyone at the DCU Center that were going to win the school's first-ever state championship.  Murphy became the third member of the 2009-2010 team to surpass the 1,000 point mark for his career - joining Jordan Rezendes and Jules Tavares.

Following Murphy's score, Coach Brogioli pulled his starters and gave his bench players a chance to join in the fun.  They finished out the game, making the final score 80-57.

Jules Tavares led all players with 25 points, followed by Jordan Rezendes with 21, Pat Murphy with 11, and Ryan Pina with 10.

For New Leadership, Devonte Vanderpool led with 21 points, followed by Phillip Warwick with 18.  After the game, Vanderpoole praised the Wareham team: "They are a really good team.  They all knew what to do to win."  And that is what they did - they won as a team.

And now it is time to celebrate and let it all sink in.  They are champions.