MIDDLEBORO— The Sachems and Lakers girls and boys basketball teams kicked off the season last week and faced each other over the weekend in two nail-biting games. Middleboro boys basketball walked away with a win Friday, Dec. 13 against the Lakers while in the girl’s game on Saturday, Dec. 14 the Lakers came out on top.

The score was close for the majority of the boys basketball game on Friday but the Sachems took the lead for good with just over three minutes left in the third quarter. Middleboro snagged the victory in the Sachems’ home court with a final score of 67-58 against the Lakers.

The win was especially significant given that the Lakers had defeated the Sachems three times last season, said Sachems Head Coach Joe Pauze, noting “we really wanted this one.”

“We turned it on and played our grade of basketball in the second half,” he said.

Apponequet Head Coach James Cabucio said the Lakers “showed great effort but fell short.”

In the girls’ matchup, the Lakers walked away with a 52-46 victory over the Sachems at Middleboro’s home court.

The win was the result of the “solid team game,” with “balanced scoring and solid defense” according to Lakers Head Coach Trevor Gagnier.

Despite the loss, Sachems Head Coach Jeff Powers is happy with how his team played. “I’m very proud of our effort and proud of the way we competed for 32 minutes,” said Powers.

Powers added that there is no shame in losing to the Lakers. “Apponequet is a very talented squad, and they shot the ball extremely well. We will hopefully learn from this game as we focus [on] our upcoming South Shore League opponents.”