Varsity League - Week 4

Week 4 of the Varsity Spring League started off with a very close, very physical 2 point game between Franklin and Westwood.  With the game tied at 47 with under 7 seconds to go in the game, Franklin’s guard drove left from the top of the key making a lefty layup to win the game 49-47 to remain undefeated.  Needham also had to pull out a close 7 point win (48-41) to keep pace with Franklin.  Both teams sit atop the standings at 4-0 before their matchup against each other next week.  In the third game, Foxboro extended their winning streak to 3 weeks with a 56 to 46 victory over Walpole.

Next weeks games at Thurston Middle School (including the powerhouse Franklin vs. Needham matchup) are:

• Walpole vs. Westwood
• Franklin vs. Needham
• Holliston vs. Norwood

New England Spartan 17U guard Isaiah Shephard (#5) with the ball for Walpole vs. Foxboro

Varsity League - Week 3

Last night's Varsity Spring League kicked off with another dominant performance by Franklin in a 33 point win over Walpole (68-35).  The next 2 games were a lot closer with Needham remaining undefeated after their 4 point victory over Westwood (61-57).  And in the final game of the night, Foxboro edged out Norwood in a low scoring affair (39-31).

Next week's games will be held at Thurston Middle School on Wednesday May 4th.  The 3 matchups are:

• Franklin vs. Westwood
• Foxboro vs. Walpole
• Holliston vs. Needham

Varsity League - Week 2

This week's varsity league kicked off with a bounce back win for Foxboro. After losing a close game last week to Needham, Foxboro was able to get to 1-1 on the season with a 5 point win over Holliston.  In the last 2 games of the night, Needham and Franklin continued their hot starts each with 20+ point wins over Walpole and Norwood respectively. 

There will be no games next week due to school vacation week.  The league will start back up again on April 27th with the following matchups:

• Franklin vs. Walpole
• Needham vs. Westwood
• Foxboro vs. Norwood

Click HERE to see the updated scores and standings from the league. 

Varsity League - Week 1

In the opening night of the 2016 Varsity Spring League, Needham began their title defense with a close 65 to 62 victory over Foxboro.  The second game saw Franklin go on an impressive run to start the 2nd half on their way to the most impressive win of the night with a 64 to 41 win over Holliston.  In the final game of the night, Westwood edged out neighboring town rival Norwood 57-44.  

In next week's games, we will see:

• Foxboro vs. Holliston
• Walpole vs. Needham
• Franklin vs. Norwood

Click HERE to stay up to date with updated scores and standings for the league throughout the Spring.

The 2016 Varsity Spring League Begins Tonight!

The 2016 Varsity Spring League begins tonight.  We are excited to have some of the top teams in the region participating in our league this season, in fact every team in the league qualified for either the Division 1 or Division 2 State Tournament this past winter.  The group is headlined by the defending champion Needham Rockets who have won the championship in our 2015 Fall League and 2015 Spring League.

Due to the snow storm on Monday, this week’s games will be pushed back about an hour.  The first game will tip off at approximately 7:15pm.  Tonight’s matchups are:

Foxboro vs. Needham

Franklin vs. Holliston

Norwood vs. Westwood

Follow us on Twitter @nespartanbball or click HERE to stay updated on the Varsity League throughout the spring season.

Hoops for Hunger 3 v 3 Tournament by Davonte Higginbottom

Former NESB player and Westwood High School Captain Davonte Higginbottom has put together a fundraising 3 on 3 basketball tournament to raise money for the Westwood Food Pantry.   Only current Westwood High School students are allowed to play in the tournament but anyone's support or donations are welcome.  To register a team or to find out more information about the event, click HERE.

First 2 Spring Clinic Dates Announced!

New England Spartan Basketball (NESB) will be hosting their 2016 Spring Clinic Series at Westwood High School on Monday evenings in April, May, and June.  This will be a great chance to learn and practice skills throughout the Spring at a very low cost.  The clinics will be coached by NESB staff members and run by NESB coach and WHS JV Head Coach Ryan Douglass.

The first couple of session dates have been set and will be FREE.

• Session 1 - this will be only open to 5th and 6th grade basketball players and will take place on Monday April 4th from 6pm to 7pm at Westwood High School
• Session 2 - this will be only open to 7th and 8th grade basketball players and will take place on Monday April 11th from 6pm to 7pm at Westwood High School

Please arrive to the gym at least 15 minutes prior to the start time to get ready and warmed up.  Players are encouraged to bring their own basketball, but to write their name on it so that it doesn't get lost. 

Although these first 2 sessions are FREE, each player will still need to register for them online prior to participating in a clinic to reserve their spot.  To register please click HERE and follow the instructions. 

Hoops for Troops JV Classic

We would like to thank everyone that came out to the NESB Hoops for Troops JV Classic this past Sunday.  The turnout was awesome, all 8 teams played hard, and we were able to raise a lot of money for a great cause.  We'd also like to congratulate Brookline, Franklin, Walpole, and Wellesley and coming away with wins in their games but each of the losing teams, Westwood, Lincoln-Sudbury, Ashland, and Foxboro played with a tremendous amount of effort.  A special congratulations also goes out to Brian Sundstrom of Walpole for winning the 3 point contest. 

NESB presents the Hoops for Troops Junior Varsity Classic

We are very proud to announce that we will be presenting the 2015 Hoops for Troops Junior Varsity Classic.  This will be a great day of competitive basketball going towards a great cause.  This event will be held on December 13th, 2015 at MPLEX in Mansfield, MA. The event will consist of 8 Junior Varsity boys basketball teams playing one game each against out of conference opponents.  After the games, we will hold a 3 point contest with 1 player from each team competing.  The 8 teams competing are Ashland, Brookline, Foxboro, Franklin, Lincoln-Sudbury, Walpole, Wellesley, and Westwood.

The purpose for this event is to raise money for the Semper Fi Fund to help provide immediate financial assistance and lifetime support to post-9/11 wounded, critically ill, and injured members of all branches of the United States Armed Forces, and their families, ensuring that they have the resources they need during their recovery and transition back to their communities.   The Hoops for Troops Junior Varsity Classic was created by NESB Co-Founder and Co-President Ryan Douglass, who is also a member of the United States Marine Corps

Along with the basketball being played we are looking to have t-shirts made to sell the day of and are also looking to have a 50/50 raffle. Food and beverages will also be sold on site.  Any donations to this cause would be greatly appreciated and can be made by clicking HERE, then hitting the DONATE button in the middle of the page. 

Needham Wins the 2015 Fall League Championship!

Needham came into the Championship game as the #1 seed with the best record in the league at 7-3.  However, they were matched up against the hottest team in the league #2 seed Xaverian who were riding a 5 game winning streak, which included 2 back to back wins over Needham prior to the start of the playoffs. 

The Championship game had a great intensity level right from the tip that kept up throughout the game.  Xaverian jumped out to an early 10-2 lead but Needham clawed back to make it a one possession game by halftime.  It remained a back and forth game down to the final minutes when Needham started to make some clutch plays and big shots allowing them to start pulling away.  In the final 2 minutes, Needham hit allow of their free throw attempts to seal the victory, ending with a 56-43 win.  This caps off a great offseason for Needham, who were also our 2015 Spring League Champions.  

We would like to thank all of the teams that participated in the league this season, which included Needham, Xaverian, Norwood, Walpole, Wellesley, and Westwood.  This was another season with no incidents and filled with great basketball.  This season had great balance amongst the teams, where every team was capable of pulling out a win against any opponent each week.  The players showed great effort and improvement throughout the season and all of the teams have the potential to accomplish great things this varsity season.