Where there is unity, there is victory. So said the great writer Publilius Syrus, way back around 40 B.C. Actually, Publilius said it in Latin, and his words — “ubi concordia, ibi victoria” — are now emblazoned on Wilton-Lyndeborough’s warmup gear. It’s a quotation that stuck with head coach Leo Gershgorin from his college years, and on Tuesday, it came home to roost.
“The things that we do are all a part of that [mantra].” Gershgorin said. “Communicating, playing with one another, knowing who you’re out on the court with — those are things we’re addressing every day in practice. If we can get that all together, hopefully we can get that ‘victoria’ thing at the end.”
That’s just what happened on Tuesday night, as the previously winless Warriors took it to Mount Royal in an 86-32 rout.
“It’s nice getting a win,” said senior swingman Trey Carrier, who dropped 34 points on the Knights and added 11 rebounds. “We just played nervous the first few games. We needed a game to get some momentum, gain some confidence.”
Indeed, Wilton-Lyndeborough came into the game at a surprising 0-3, after falling to Woodsville, Derryfield and Epping. But, that record is deceiving, as those teams are a combined 7-1, and Epping’s only loss was to still-undefeated Littleton.
Tuesday’s game, against a Mount Royal team which just joined the NHIAA at the varsity level this season, may not be indicative of the level of play WLC will face as they traverse their tough schedule, but the formula should remain the same. Carrier was stellar, as was his senior co-captain Sean McClure, who had 19 points and a stunning 20 rebounds. To suceed, though, they’ll need to spread it around.
“I think it’s important to get everyone involved,” Carrier said. “We need everyone scoring, we need multiple scoring threats or every team is going to double me and Sean.”
True to his words, every single member of the Warriors scored last night, from the starting lineup to the last guy off the bench. It’s a young team, aside from the senior co-captains, and the starting lineup is even younger now than it was on opening day, with the insertion of freshman guard Jack Schwab. As those youngsters see the ball go in, though they’ll get better and better.
“The difference a lot of times between a scorer and a non-scorer is confidence,” Gershgorin said. “So many of them can shoot the ball, they have good form, it’s just the confidence factor. We have so many younger guys that moments like this are fantastic for them.”
The Warriors (1-3) return to regular season action on Jan. 6 at Farmington (1-1). Before that, they’ll take part in the Keene Holiday tournament, tipping off Monday at 11:30 a.m. against Sunapee.