Medfield Boys' Basketball Falls to Dedham, 53-48 in Foxboro Winter Classic

FOXBOROUGH – It was too little, too late for the Medfield High School boys' basketball team Tuesday evening as the Warriors fell 53-48 to Dedham in the Foxboro Winter Classic Championship game. 

Medfield came out sluggish for most of the first half and trailed 26-19 at halftime and 41-32 after three before coming to life in the fourth quarter. 

"We were in a funk all night, it seemed like offensively we struggled to put the ball in the basket but we put ourselves in a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter and that's all you can ask for," said Medfield High coach Herb Grace. 

The Warriors stepped up their defense, rebounding and scoring in the final eight minutes but could never catch Dedham. The closest Medfield (11-9, 10-8) got was three, 49-46 with 41.6 seconds remaining after Johnny McCarthy drilled a 3-pointer. Dedham made its foul shots down the stretch, however, and the rest was history. 

Medfield trailed in every quarter: 13-11 after the first, 26-19 at half, 41-32 after three and 53-48 at the final buzzer. Tommy Conlon led the Warriors with 14 points. Dedham's defense did a great job on defense, playing aggressive and challenging Medfield's shooters. McCarthy ended with eight points and Ben Coutinho finished with just six points. Drew Shea added eight points and Jake Bankert scored five. Dedham's Jeremy Clifford netted a game-high 20 points. 

The Warriors will rest up and prepare for the state tournament. Pairings will be announced Friday. 

"[We will work on] everything," Grace said of his team's focus in practice leading up to the tourney. "We've got some time, shooting, rebounding, defense. All facets of the game we have to get better at and get ready for it."