Wareham Vikings boys basketball beats Wahconah Regional to advance to semifinals
The Vikings celebrate their victory. Photos by Grace Roche
Cisco Monteiro, right, looks to make a play. 
Amare Rose looks down court. 
Coleman Brito snags the ball. 
Robbie Orne blocks a shot. 
Malikhi Tavares drives the ball down court. 
The coaching staff take a player aside during a timeout. 
Orne signals to a teammate. 
The Vikings won 74-51.
Wareham cheerleaders were among the fans packed into the gymnasium. 
The team cheers on as they raise their trophy high. 
Monteiro makes a break towards the net.
The Vikings celebrate their victory. Photos by Grace Roche
Cisco Monteiro, right, looks to make a play.
Amare Rose looks down court.
Coleman Brito snags the ball.
Robbie Orne blocks a shot.
Malikhi Tavares drives the ball down court.
The coaching staff take a player aside during a timeout.
Orne signals to a teammate.
The Vikings won 74-51.
Wareham cheerleaders were among the fans packed into the gymnasium.
The team cheers on as they raise their trophy high.
Monteiro makes a break towards the net.
WAREHAM — The Wareham Vikings boys basketball team secured a spot at the state semifinals after a win against Wahconah Regional High School on Sunday, March 8.
Fans packed the Wareham High School bleachers to watch the Vikings win their home game 74-51.
Coach Steve Faniel said his players worked hard for the win and played strong defense, but the competition doesn’t end with this win.
“The goal wasn't making the final four, the goal is to win the state championship,” Faniel said. “The job's not finished, and this is just a step in the road.”
He said a lot of work went into preparing the team for the season, from independent practice during the summer to a difficult schedule leading up to playoffs.
As they look toward the semifinals game on Tuesday, Faniel said the team needs to rest up and prepare. He said he wants the Vikings to control the tempo of the upcoming game, and make the opposition play on their terms.
“If we play our game, we're tough to beat, so we're going to play our game,” he said.
Senior Aaron Cote — who became the school’s all-time highest scorer during a March 4 game — said he felt great after the Sunday night win.
He’s trying not to think too much about the next game when he’s at home “because then I get a little overwhelmed,” he said, but he’s ready to give his all.
“Now that I'm here in this position and playing, it feels great,” Cote said. “It's my senior too, so it's my last shot.”
Clayton Petion, of Providence, has been following the Vikings since his daughter became a cheerleader four years ago.
He said when he watched their first game this year and they only won by two points, he didn’t have high hopes, but the team has shaped up well as the season progressed.
Petion said the team played hard on Sunday and the game was fun to watch.
“The zone defense on the other team wasn't that good, so I already knew they had a good chance of beating them, and they blew them out,” Petion said. “That was a good game.”
