Underclassmen duo has Whitman-Hanson boys basketball excited about the future (and now)

WHITMAN-HANSON — For opponents, there’s a scary duo on the Whitman-Hanson High boys basketball team.

And both are underclassmen.

Their names are freshman Isiah Bean-Brittian and sophomore Ryan Baker.

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“I would say the bigger thing is when you have young players like Ryan and Zay,” said W-H coach Bob Rodgers,  “it’s a testament to the older players how much they believe in them and welcome them. If you were around them you’d never know how young they are from how they carry themselves.”

Baker led the offensive charge for the Panthers Friday night in a win over Hingham High, 80-63. He finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds, using his long-range shot and quick first step to get to the charity stripe.

For Baker, his head coach gave him and Brittian the green light, something they’ll keep in mind for games to come.

“(Coach told us to) just to play united and keep working because our time is going to keep coming and there’s more games in the future,” said Baker.

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The atmosphere of rivalry games is different than any other regular-season matchup. To pull out a win always feels a bit tougher no matter the final score.

“It’s just nice because they’re our Patriot League rivals,” said Ryan Baker. “So it’s nice to beat someone that it’s going to matter in the future. We just got to keep playing, play hard, and play together.”

Bean-Brittian finished with 10 points. It was his ability to use his length around the rim to not only score but alter shots on the defensive end.

“They’ve been great, their energy has been great. They bring a lot to the team,” said senior captain Drew Daley who scored all of his 16 points in the second half.

“It’s really what kind of teammates they are that made them who they are this season,” said Rodgers. “Being able to play at the level they are, the guys just love them and respect the heck out of them.”

Despite trailing for the entirety of the game, the Harbormen didn't go away without a fight. After entering the fourth quarter down 11 (61-50), the Harbormen rallied to cut the deficit to four with 5:33 remaining.

The Panthers answered with a big 3-pointer by Daley to help put the game away. Not even Hingham’s senior captain Liam McBride’s 26 points could pull Hingham closer to victory.

“I’m proud of their effort,” said Hingham head coach Bob Kniffen, who celebrated his 200th win at the school earlier this week. “In terms of effort that’s the most they brought all season. They worked hard, came in and some new guys got opportunities. They got down and clawed back, we got it to four.”

Hingham was without their starting guard Chase Mello, but Nick Dubois helped with the scoring load with 15 points.

Both schools have red as a team color, but the crowd was filled with blue to support a fundraiser for Tripp Nugent, a young boy who’s been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. The girls/boys doubleheader raised $1,865. The family has a GoFundMe page and uses the hashtag #TeamTrippy.

“I think it matters a lot,” said Ryan Baker. "I think we played out hearts out for him. The blue is just to represent to his spirit, and we played to his spirit.”

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Whitman-Hanson High boys basketball picks up big league win