It didn’t start out great for Watertown High with three turnovers in the first quarter, but the Raiders put that behind them and stomped on Stoneham, 75-53, on Friday night in boys’ basketball action.

After their win on Tuesday in Burlington, the Raiders looked to keep the hot hand in the Middlesex Freedom Division with another win over a division foe.

Senior Dan Macura led the Spartans with 14 points, but iIt just wasn’t enough to keep up with the Raiders, who were led by junior Brendan Hoban (26 points).

Watertown didn’t get out to the start it was looking for with three quick turnovers to begin the game.  Stoneham with two 3-pointers by senior Jesse Rhuda had an early lead that they weren’t able to hold on to.

Coming out of a timeout, Watertown junior Derek DiPietrantonio dominated in all aspects of the game. DiPietrantonio led both teams in points (11) and rebounds (5) in the first quarter.

“Derek played great tonight,” said Raiders head coach Steve Harrington. “Great leadership, rebounding, and defense. That’s what the team needs from him in order to succeed.”

Hoban took over in the second quarter. He scored 13 points and added a block to his efforts in the eight-minute period. Senior Mike Hagopian contributed 6 more points in the quarter to give the Raiders a 42-24 lead at halftime.

Led by Hoban’s 9 points, and Hagopian’s three steals and four assists, and great defense by seniors Nate Munson-Polumba and Angel Carrion, the Raiders were able to stretch the lead to 34.

“We played hard, good defense led to layups,” said Hagopian. “This win was big bringing us back to .500.”

The win brings the Raiders’ record to 4-4, and next they will prepare to visit Wilmington on Tuesday night for a 5 p.m. game.

–Jan. 10, 2015–