By Mike Rubin

Only one month ago, the Somerville High boys basketball team was prepared for a rebuilding season. Now after a 7-1 start, the Highlanders have emerged as one of the teams to beat in the Greater Boston League.

After cruising to a 73-38 win over Malden last Tuesday, the Highlanders escaped with a high scoring 86-77 win over Medford on Friday.

“We had a lot of unproven talent coming into the season, and they’ve really stepped it up big time so far,” said coach Mark Antonelli. “We don’t have a lot of height, but we do have a lot of depth in some areas, and were getting a lot of balanced scoring from our guys.”

After both teams battled early, the Highlanders grabbed a 15 to 13 lead through the end of the first quarter before the Highlanders slowly opened the contest en route to a 32 to 24 halftime edge.

“We knew that at the end of the second quarter, we had a good feeling that we were going to be able to pull away from them,” said Antonelli. “We started getting some good open looks to the basket and we were able to play a solid perimeter defense.”

Led by Kevin Silva and Skerby Odivin, the Highlanders broke out to a 12 to two run in the third quarter while grabbing a 16 point lead before outscoring the Golden Tornadoes by a 25 to four margin in the fourth.

“We were able to go out and control the second half,” said Antonelli. “The game was a lot closer than the score indicated, and we were able to play our style of basketball. We’re a small team, but we are quick and we were able to apply some pressure up at the top of the perimeter.”

Leading the way in the win was Silva, who notched a team high 12 points while Odivin added 11. Other key contributors for the Highlanders included Shane Desrochers with nine and sophomore Gustavo DeMoura with eight.

In Friday’s 86-77 win over Medford, the Highlanders trailed 26-11 at the end of the first quarter before erupting with 32 second quarter points en route to a 43-39 halftime edge. In the third quarter, the Highlanders extended the lead to seven before securing the win late in the contest.

Leading the way was Johnson Thomas, who recorded a game high 26 points while hauling in 12 rebounds while Billy Bonnet added 22 points. Other contributors in the win included Silva, who delivered 14 points and 12 assists.

“(Thomas) had a great game, and Medford played a very up-tempo game,” said Anotnelli. “It was one of those games, where it was great to watch as a fan. Medford was running a run and gun style of basketball, and we had to make some adjustments after a slow start. I was very happy with the effort and our play by our bench. Everyone’s been contributing, and it’s been a different player every night.”

The Highlanders certainly had a long road ahead this week. After facing Everett on Tuesday, the Highlanders will face-off against top ranked Cambridge at the Brune Field House on Friday.