Wareham has its statement win.

Diego Mello scored 23 points as No. 9 Wareham held off No. 10 Charlestown, 69-68, on Sunday night in the Citi Hoops Classic at Emmanuel College

The win was an impressive one for the defending Div. 4 State Champion Vikings (8-2) who’s lone in-state loss came against No. 2 Franklin.

“Great win against a good team,” said Wareham coach Steve Finale. “We did what we needed to do and stepped up to make the plays when we had to against their pressure.”

Wareham led 55-51 after three, using a combination of its full court pressure and an aggressive 2-3 zone to overcome a two point half time deficit. The Vikings then opened it up as Aaron Cote drilled a triple and Ajay Lopes finished in transition as part of a 7-2 run that put Wareham up 62-53 with 4 minutes remaining.

Charlestown came charging back. On the heels of star Jaylen Hunter-Coleman (25 points), the Townies cut the deficit to four with under a minute remaining. The Vikings, however, got four offensive rebounds in the final moments and got a key put back from Lopes to get the victory.

The two teams traded blows in the opening quarter. Damante Vanheyningen hit three triples for Charlestown before Mello scored 8 points of his own to give Wareham a 19-16 lead after one.

Hunter-Coleman poured in seven straight points to pull the Townies back within two, but Mello scored five more to up his first half total to nine and put Wareham up 32-25. Charlestown got the last laugh of the second quarter as Hunter-Coleman buried a triple and finished through traffic to put the Townies up 36-34 at the break.