By Jim Stout
MaxPreps.com
If it wasn't for football, Jordan Todman might well be one of the top basketball players in southeastern Massachusetts.
As it is, the 5-foot-8 junior guard is making a name for himself on the court. That, in turn, is helping make a name for the Dartmouth High boys basketball team this winter.
Todman led five Dartmouth players in double figures with 16 points and was the driving force behind an aggressive defense that forced 22 turnovers last Friday as the Indians (4-1) cruised past formidable neighborhood rival New Bedford, 67-49, in an inter-conference game.
"You can see the cuts (Todman) makes on the football field, but you don't really appreciate how quick he really is until you see him on the basketball floor; he's extremely quick," Dartmouth coach Steve Gaspar told the New Bedford Standard-Times.
"He's such a good football player.he doesn't spend much time working on his basketball game prior to the season and he's still a very good player. If he ever worked on his game, he'd be tremendous."
Todman, best known as a football running back, led Dartmouth to a 10-0 regular season in football last fall and a berth in the Eastern Mass Division I semifinals. He rushed for 2,219 yards and scored 168 points; both figures ranked among the best in the state.
Now he is helping a Dartmouth basketball team that relies on his defensive quickness and on a balanced scoring attack.
Also helping Dartmouth fell New Bedford (3-2) were Sean Sylvia, who scored 13 points, and Owen Higham and Justin Mello (11 points each). Nate Andrew added 10.
"That's pretty much been the story of the offense so far," Gaspar said. "We've had three or four players in double figures for all but one game (a loss to Taunton). Hopefully that's the way it will be the rest of the way."
A 10-0 run by Dartmouth snapped a 5-5 tie at the outset and nine unanswered points by the Indians helped them to their the first of four 12-point leads in the opening half.
"We had 10 days off over the holidays before finally playing a game on Wednesday," said Gaspar.
"Now we're playing two or three times a week, which is something these kids have been waiting for. The more games we play, the better they like it because they don't have to listen to me yell at them day after day in practice.
"To hold a team like New Bedford to 49 points is unbelievable," he added.
"I know we haven't done it in a long time, if ever. We have to rely on a lot of people for our offense because we don't have that one go-to guy and if we can take some of the pressure off the offense by playing good team defense, that will make us a better team."
Sounds like a plan made for Todman.
Central Rallies to Remain Undefeated
Central of Springfield, the two-time defending Western Massachusetts girls champs in Division I, improved to 6-0 by handing Northampton its first loss of the season, 58-55.
The Golden Eagles rallied from a six-point deficit during the final 1:47 of the game, all after its standout point guard, Felicia Barron, had fouled out.
Freshman forward Brie Malone made a big 3-pointer, banked jumper from the top of the key and made a late foul shot to spark the comeback.
"We just did what we had to do to win," Malone told the Springfield Republican. "She (Barron) was out, but it's a team game."
Northampton (5-1) led 51-45 at the two-minute mark after it had stopped Central on six straight possessions.
Malone cut a six-point deficit in half with a 3-pointer, and she gave Central the lead for good, at 54-53, on a jumper with 29 seconds left. Malone (14 points) combined with ninth-grade cousins Kilandra and Lia Bass to make five foul shots during the final 1:20.
"We have Malone (starting) and two freshmen off the bench and I am pleased with how well they have developed to this point," Central coach Bill Ross said.
Longmeadow Girls Stay Hot
The Longmeadow girls improved to 6-1, getting 21 points from Brittany Komack and 18 points (and nine rebounds) from Steph Whitney in a 60-53 win over West Springfield.
Komack, a senior guard, struck for six 3-pointers, Teammate Jess Halpern added eight points and five assists.
Benchmark Strides By Undefeated Lexington
In a battle of unbeaten Middlesex League boys rivals, Lexington received strong play from its bench (31 combined points) as the No. 2 Minutemen pounded Watertown, 77-47.
"Our bench was spectacular," Lexington coach Bob Farias told the Boston Globe. "Against Winchester (earlier in the week), we went with a second group of five and pulled away with them. It's a blessing. We haven't been that deep at all positions before."
Lexington senior Tom Henneberry scored a game-high 19 points, while Sean Sullivan contributed 11 more for the Minutemen.
But it was arguably the play off the bench of sophomores such as Lance Greene, who scored all nine of his points in the first half, and Danny O'Keefe, who scored 11 points overall, that sparked Lexington (8-0) to a 14-point halftime advantage.
Division 3 Watertown (7-1) used its speed and long-range shooting to grab an early 12-7 advantage. But Lexington had just as much speed, and when Watertown's starting five tired, Lexington attacked with fresh legs.
Chelmsford Pulls Out Another Thriller
Senior guard Billy Blaisdell scored a season-high 30 points, including eight points in the overtime period, to push Chelmsford to a second straight heart-pounding victory at home, a 79-73 win over Tewksbury.
In its previous game, Chelmsford upset Lowell, 66-64.
Tewksbury senior forward Brian Sullivan sent last Friday's game into overtime at 66-66 by sinking two free throws with 2.8 seconds left.
But a 3-pointer by Blaisdell snapped a 68-68 tie to put the Lions ahead to stay at the outset of the overtime period.
Mike Murphy had 15 points and five assists for Chelmsford. Jack Curtis had four points and seven assists. Chris Smart had eight points and 10 rebounds.
Another Streak Falls At Newton North
One winning steak for Newton North came to an end earlier this season, when Tigers lost for the first time in 37 games overall to Madison Park.
Now Newton's 35-game Bay State Conference streak is history as well.
Braintree beat the Tigers for the first time in six tries last Friday, 76-74, in a game that wasn't that closes until the final seconds. The Wamps led by 76-67 with two minutes to go before Newton North (4-2) made one final attempt to keep its conference streak alive.
After Newton North stole an inbounds pass and scored a lay-up with two seconds left, cutting Braintree's lead to two points, Wamps senior Brian Hapgood calmly walked over to the ball, picked it up, and just stood there. That's because he knew Newton North was out of timeouts. All he had to do was wait for the buzzer.
"A lot of players panic in that situation and try to throw the ball in," said Braintree coach Bob Crook.
In the first half, Braintree (5-1) raced to a 40-24 lead and wore down Newton North's defense by patiently waiting for open shots. Brian Ellis (20 points) and Kevin Pickup (12) keyed the Wamps' first-half surge.
Jim Stout is the MaxPreps.com master photographer for the Massachusetts/Rhode Island area and a Northeast region columnist. He may be reached at j.stout@jmstout.org