The still-undefeated Wareham High School varsity boys basketball team stormed the court in the second half on Friday, February 10 to clinch their 6th straight South Coast Conference (SCC) championship with a 62-41 win over the Bourne Canalmen.

"Bourne came in early and played well. I think it's more important to play well late, and that's what we did," said head coach Kevin Brogioli.

While a championship is more than enough for Brogioli and the varsity team that he has been coaching for the past 14 years, the head coach also garnered the added bonus of winning his 250th game.

"I think it was great to have the opportunity to coach a lot of talented athletes over the years," Brogioli commented about his 250th win. "I've been blessed to have a lot of different assistant coaches ... Larry Senna, a volunteer assistant coach, he's been along for every one of these 250 games."

The Wareham-Bourne match-up followed a short celebration marking last year's SCC win with the arrival of a banner showcasing the team's championship status.

With their spirits high, both the Vikings and the Canalmen came out driving aggressively to the basket.

The Vikings' defense kept the score low, however, and Wareham led Bourne 13-4 with a minute left in the first quarter.

The championship stakes kept the players' nerves on end as both teams missed shots and garnered fouls -- there were 17 committed by Wareham and 23 by Bourne by the end of the game, according to Assistant Coach Stephen Faniel.

But with only 3 losses in the season and a glimmering ray of hope at the league championship, the Canalmen brought on a strong offense in the 2nd quarter to nudge closer to Wareham.

With 2 minutes left and the score 20-16, Bourne sunk a crucial 3 pointer to come within 1 point of Wareham. A subsequent free-throw by Darien Fernandes ended the first half with a not-so-comfortable 21-19 Wareham lead.

"I was getting aggravated," explained Aaron Baptiste about his half-time huddle with his team. "[We] said we were a better team [than how we were doing]," said Baptiste, and the players resolved to come out stronger in the second half.

The rest was history.

Baptiste, the highest scorer of the night, got into a rhythm and landed one 3-pointer after another for a total of five 3-pointers in the second half.

"I got the ball [and] my shot was going in," he humbly explained.

Sophomore Mason Vasconcellos also stepped up with 10 points, while the ever-reliable Fernandes had 13.

Even with the star power, the rebounds, steals, and blocked shots of the Viking defense kept Bourne at bay.

"It was definitely a team effort," said Brogioli. "It wasn't just one kid dominating today."

The Vikings move forward with 2 games left in the regular season and the state championships after the school district's February vacation.

Even with the league championship secured, the Vikings still have something to fight for -- their undefeated 18-0 record.

"We hope we can be undefeated champions in the next 2 games," Baptiste said.