Scores and summaries from Monday's basketball tournament games:

Medford 49, Peabody 48 — The Medford boys' basketball team muscled its way into the first round of the Division 1 North tournament last night after junior center James Hawkins blocked a layup attempt by Peabody in the final seconds to secure a 49-48 home victory.

The 6-foot-4-inch center finished with a season-high 15 blocks to go along with four points and eight rebounds as the Mustangs earned their first tournament win since 1999.

‘‘He really swallowed up the paint and anchored our defense early in the second half when we failed to produce offensively,'' said Medford coach Anthony Faradie.

The Tanners jumped out to a 10-2 lead to start the game when Faradie called a timeout to let his team settle down.

‘‘They [Peabody] are a good shooting team from outside and we had a couple of mental lapses and we gave them a couple of easy layups to start the game,'' Faradie said. ‘‘We used a timeout after Peabody's run and we got our guys to focus on their key shooters.''

Point guard Sean Doncaster took control of the Mustangs' offense, scoring 9 of his 23 points in the second half as Medford clawed back to take a 21-18 halftime lead.

‘‘We were fortunate to be up 3,'' Faradie said. ‘‘It was back and forth and we were able to get some key stops and score on the offensive end. I thought we needed to execute better and we needed to penetrate the zone a little bit more and improve our transition defense because [Peabody] continued to beat us on the break.''

The teams traded baskets early in the second half, with Peabody clinging to a 39-38 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

‘‘We struggled to score the entire half,'' Faradie said.

The biggest lead for either team in the second half was 3 points. The Mustangs continued to press the Tanners on defense and deny the passing lanes. Shooting guard Maurice Magras (10 points) sparked the Pioneers' offense with three long 3-pointers. Doncaster also continued to get to the basket and finished 7 of 9 from the free throw line.

‘‘We dug in on the defensive end and it was a great home game,'' Faradie said. ‘‘We have Central Catholic coming up. We have our hands full but we have an opportunity to shock everybody.''

Marlborough 57, North Middlesex 56 (OT) — Conner O'Leary hit the winning shot as time expired in overtime to lift the visiting No. 10 Panthers (12-9) in a Division 1 first-round game. Spencer Little scored 19 points, Mike Tirpak had 13 and Little finished with 8 for Marlboro, which advances to play No. 2 St. Peter-Marian at 7 p.m. Thursday at Assumption. Kyle McDermott had 14 points, and Kevin Marciano scored 13 for the No. 7 Patriots (13-8).

Salem 73, Malden Catholic 68 — After being down by 12 at the half, the Witches made a comeback led by junior guard Marvin Baez (25 points). Christian Dunston added 21.

Marblehead 46, Tewksbury 43 (OT) — Jeff Peras had 13 points and 10 rebounds and Phil Coughlin hit the winning 3-pointer with 1:50 to play in overtime as the Magicians (11-10) held the Redmen scoreless for the final two minutes of overtime.

Dedham 66, O'Bryant 43 — The Marauders were led by junior point guard Jeremy Clifford and senior center Vinny Iarrobino. Clifford scored 21 points and Iarrobino scored 16.

Millis 67, CASH 46 — Senior guard Derek Latosek led the Mohawks with 22 ponits.

Girls’ basketball

Hingham 69, Sandwich 59 — Freshman Sierra Irvin scored 28 points, going 11 of 12 from the free throw line and 3 of 6 from behind the 3-point arc, and senior co-captain Katharine Alger added 11 points for the Harbormen (12-11).

Sharon 50, Silver Lake 28 — Sophomore guard Karlie O'Driscoll powered the Eagles with 20 points, 15 rebounds, and 6 steals.

By Michael Giesta, Globe Correspondent

While it was important to start off his 15th season with a victory, it was also a milestone win Wednesday for Dedham girls' soccer coach Don Savi - his 200th.

When reflecting on the 3-2 triumph over Needham, Savi was quick to note that he's had a lot of talented teams over the years.

“It feels good, wish we did it nine months in the semis against Duxbury, but it’s good to get a win against a quality team like Needham,” said Savi.

The Marauders' Sarah Warjas contributed a goal and an assist and Jenna Savi two assists.

By Jason Mastrodonato, Globe correspondent

After seven years of operating as a varsity program, the Ursuline Academy (Dedham) girls’ hockey team this season will be playing in meaningful games in late-February.

The Bears picked up a 3-2 victory over No. 11 Walpole Monday night to punch their inaugural ticket to the state tournament.

“The girls are ecstatic,” said coach John Enright. “And I said to them, ‘We don’t want to wait until till last game to decide our fate. We want to take care of business tonight.’'

Ursuline (8-6-4) will enter the Division 2 bracket, which includes No. 7 Fontbonne, a team that has beaten the Bears twice this season by a combined score of 12-4. But Enright believes his team can make a postseason run.

“We’ve seen [Fontbonne] before and I think the girls are ready if we have to face them,” the coach said. “Wherever we get placed, we’re going to come out and be ready to go. We’re ready to take them.”

Juniors Emily Sullivan and Delia O’Malley (who leads the team in scoring with 15 goals and 6 assists) have captained a young team that includes just one senior.

Sophomore Erica Ragazzo has played strong between the pipes, making 18 saves in the win over Walpole.

“She’s been playing phenomenal,” Enright said. “And she’s been playing pretty strong towards the ends of the games. We’ve had a couple let downs but one spot that has been strong and consistent has been the goaltending.”

Nobles baseball coach and athletic director Alex Gallagher has resigned as the coach of the Independent School League's baseball team, he said in an e-mail to fellow coaches and the Globe.

Gallagher just recently took over as the athletic directer of the school.

"It has been a genuine honor to coach beside all of you over the last seven years," Gallagher wrote to his colleagues. "I look forward to following all of your teams in the months and years to come."

He cited a combination of his new job, a new assistant athletic director, and his wife expecting their fourth child as reasons for resigning his coaching position.

Junior varsity coach Andy Shumway will take over the varsity coaching position.

Many teams are beginning league play this week and its time to identify title contenders. Take a look at Wright's Reads -- my personal take -- to get a feel for the current league forerunners in Division 1A and the games which can make-or-break title runs.

Weymouth is up first. The Bay State Carey leader is undefeated (4-0) and has outscored its opponents by at least 26 points, including a 26-0 rout over Needham last weekend. The offensive front is led by two brothers, Dylan and Austin Colarusso, who are each tied with one other Div. 1A player for second and third for overall touchdowns scored this season, respectively. Dylan, a senior, is rebounding and proving his strength after an injury-riddled 2009 season. The elder Colarusso has scored nine TDs for 54 points. Austin, a sophomore, has recorded seven scores (42 points) and the brothers total contribution of 96 points makes up more than half of the team's 168 points this season.

This week: Weymouth travels to Dedham (1-3) on Saturday for a 2 p.m. start. The Wildcats have held their opponents to just over 10 points per game and Dedham has yet to score more than two TDs in a venture.

The DCL Large has three teams tied for first at 3-1: Acton-Boxboro, Westford and Lincoln-Sudbury. Each member of the top-trio will play a non-league game this weekend with the goal of breaking away from the pack. A-B will be on the road at Wayland on Friday at 7 p.m. Wayland is the only team which has handed Westford a defeat (36-7). Westford hosts defending Div. 2A Super Bowl Champion Marshfield on Saturday at 6 p.m. Marshfield is fresh from a victory that came down to the final four seconds in last week's 14-12 nail-biter against Dennis-Yarmouth. Lastly, Lincoln-Sudbury travels to DCL Small school Concord-Carlisle (2-2) on Friday at 7 p.m. L-S has a 14-7 win over Marshfield under its belt.

This week: The DCL is proving to be a tough league in the early weeks. This weekend will give a strong indication of which team has what it takes to make it to the playoffs.

It looks like the 2010 Old Colony League championship is going to be determined on Friday, Nov. 5 when the Bridgewater-Raynham Trojans (3-1) host Barnstable (2-2). Taunton and Dartmouth round out the OCL and neither team has won a game this season. B-R is rebuilding a squad which made it to the Div. 1A Super Bowl last year against Gloucester, but coach Dan Buron knows what he's doing. The team started off rocky against Duxbury in Week 1 and has rebounded with wins over Durfee (33-21), Marshfield (21-0) and New Bedford (42-14). The Red Raiders have struggled to find their groove this season with lopsided victories over Durfee (38-15) and Sandwich (49-13). The 2009 OCL Tri-Champ was not as lucky at D-Y, where the Dolphins edged out Barnstable 41-38. The Red Raiders fell to No. 3 Everett last weekend, 43-14.

This week: Bridgewater-Raynham is taking on Plymouth North on Friday at 4:30 p.m. at home. B-R will not start it's league schedule until Friday, October 29, one week before it is slated to play the Red Raiders. Barnstable hosts New Bedford on Friday at 7 p.m. before opening up league play against Dartmouth on Friday, October 15.

Trae Weathers is making a name for himself in the Northeastern Large. The 6-1, 210-pound Revere running back is No. 1 in scoring in the East with 14 TDs, five 2-point conversion rushes and a PAT, totaling 95 out of the Patriots 155 points. Revere is tied for second place in the conference with Lynn English and Salem, each of which are 3-1. Salem hosts the defending Div. 1A Super Bowl Champion, Gloucester, on Friday night at 7. The Fishermen are undefeated, (4-0) and on a quest for another crown. Lynn English is set to battle No. 1 Xaverian in Westwood in the same time-slot. Xaverian is 4-0 and has shut-out every team except for No. 2 Brockton.

This week: Look at Weathers' stats to see if he can keep up the tradition of scoring at least three TDs in a game when he faces Northeastern Small opponent Marblehead on 7 p.m. Friday.