Tanner boys slip past Salem in overtime

PEABODY ? If its first two games are any indication, the Peabody High boys basketball team is in for a wild ride in the Northeastern Conference.After losing their NEC debut to Beverly in a game on Tuesday that was decided in the final minute, the Tanners (1-1) defeated Salem, 56-53, in a thrilling game that went into overtime, at Peabody Veterans Memorial High.Peabody blew a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter, nearly won the game with a shot by Kevin Skop (team-high 17 points) at the buzzer at the end of regulation, fell behind for the first time in the game late in overtime, but got two hoops from Mark Linehan (12 points) in the final minute to survive.”This was a good win for us,” Peabody coach Chris Mastrangelo said. “The kids felt like they gave one away to Beverly and we almost gave this one away. Salem had all the momentum in the fourth quarter, but we stepped up and made some big plays at the end.”The Witches (0-2) trailed, 39-25, at the end of the third quarter but went with a full-court man press and used their quickness to convert turnovers into baskets. Peabody still led by six (46-40) when Linehan glassed in a short jumper with 1:42 left in regulation, but Chris Dunston (11 points) scored five points in a 6-0 run, including a 10-foot jumper from the left elbow with 54 seconds to play.Salem got the ball back with 32.5 seconds, but Beau Theriault (10 points) missed a runner from the lane. The Tanners took over with 7.3 seconds left and looked like they wouldn’t get off a good shot until Skop collected a loose ball near the right baseline. His 15-foot heave hit the back iron at the buzzer.”Our press really got us back into the game,” said Salem assistant coach Kevin Keilty, in place of head coach Tom Doyle, whose father died earlier this week. “We knew we had to do something to change the tempo.”The teams traded hoops in overtime until Theriault gave Salem its first and only lead when he drained a 3-pointer from the left wing to put the Witches ahead, 53-52, with 1:42 left in the extra period.After an exchange of possessions, Linehan took a pretty feed from Max Steinberger ? who despite scoring only two points played solidly in every other aspect of the game ? and put Peabody back on top with a 5-footer from the left wing.After a timeout, Salem hit the floor with 37.2 seconds left, and Theriault tried to drive the lane on Steinberger, who suffocated the shot, and found a streaking Linehan with a perfect lead pass that led to a layup that put the Tanners ahead by three.Salem had 18 seconds to get off a shot, but tough defense by Peabody resulted in a rushed 3-pointer from the left wing by Theriault that hit the top of the backboard.”That was just some great defense on their last possession,” Mastrangelo said. “We were going to let them have two, but weren’t going to let them have three.”Peabody broke out to a 10-point lead in the first quarter behind four points each from Skop and Brad Piza and some poor shooting from Salem, which made only one bucket from outside the paint in the entire first half. The Tanners’ lead expanded to 13 points late in the second period, which ended at 24-11 in favor of Peabody.Despite some foul trouble to Linehan, Piza and point guard Dan Mello, the Tanners went on a 10-5 run to close out the third quarter and led, 39-25. Junior Lugo (game-high 18 points) started Salem’s comeback by scoring seven points in a 9-2 spurt that put the Witches back in the game.