The Wareham boys basketball team overcame first half jitters, poor outside shooting, and a strong defensive effort by the visiting Martha's Vineyard squad  to post a win in their season opener at Wareham High School.

Wareham begins the 2010-2011 season returning no starters from last year's State Championship team, and the first half showed just how much they missed veteran leadership.  None of the starting five had ever started a varsity game until Monday's opener, and it looked like the Vineyarders might be able to take advantage of the inexperience to sneak out of town with a rare win over the Vikings.

With his team looking confused and unsure well into the second quarter and trailing by six points, 19-13, Coach Kevin Brogioli ordered a full court press, which seemed to energize the entire team both offensively and defensively.  The new-found energy carried them to a 29-27 half-time lead, powered by senior Juwaun Gamble's 14 points.

The energy surge continued in the second half.  Wareham found its rhythm on offense, and continued to apply intense defensive pressure, totally disrupting the Martha's Vineyard offense and forcing numerous turnovers.  With the lead up to twelve at 50-38 with just over 2 minutes remaining, Wareham began to tire and withstood a Vineyarder comeback that saw the lead cut in half.  But the Vikings held on to seal their final eight-point victory.

Commenting on the pressing tactics, Brogioli said: "We'll have to press this year to be effective.  We're just happy to start with a win, but we have a lot to work on".

Senior Juwaun Gamble led the Vikings with 16 points, followed by senior Dwight Senna with 9, sophomore Jeff Houde with 8 and senior Sheldon Frye with 7.

The next game for the boys varsity team is at Old Rochester Regional High School on December 23 at 6:30 PM.