Winter sports season has officially tipped off, with Meridian High School’s boys’ basketball team hosting its season opener on Tuesday night against Kettle Run for a divisional showdown. The team was without senior big man Grant Greiner, who is out for a few weeks with a wrist injury, but with depth being a notable strength, there were plenty of others to step up in his absence.

Daylen Martino got things started by converting a tough and-1 for the opening points, and the Mustangs jumped out to an early 8-2 lead. Kettle Run came storming back to go up 11-9, but the home team scored the next 11 points to lead 20-11 after a quarter. The run would expand to 15 before Kettle Run stopped the bleeding, and they were able to erase some of the deficit as Meridian took a 34-26 lead into halftime.

Kettle Run scored the opening basket after the break, but then a three-pointer by Boston Fitzpatrick and back-to-back turnovers leading to fast breaks put the Mustangs back up by double digits at 41-28. Meridian used its vicious press defense to wreak havoc on their opponent, while Martino ran an effective offense as he dished out dimes and scored with ease. His three-pointer at the start of the fourth quarter gave his team its biggest lead of the game at 59-38, and though Kettle Run used a 10-0 run of its own to get back within striking distance, they ran out of steam as the Mustangs won by a final tally of 73-55.

Martino had 24 points to lead all scorers, while newcomer John Lyman added 15. Head coach Jim Smith has had high praise for Martino, who he says could be the best point guard in the district this season. Meridian will have an opportunity to assert itself as Falls Church’s premier high school basketball program this Friday when the Mustangs play at Justice.