Boys Hoop Roundup: Lynnfield surprises Masconomet

Over the past couple of seasons, the Lynnfield boys basketball has taken its fair share of lumps as the Pioneer program had sunk to the basement of the Cape Ann League.But on Tuesday at home, the Pioneers went a long way towards restoring the glory of that once-proud program. Facing a Masconomet team that sported a 12-2 record, Lynnfield trailed 45-28 at halftime before exploding for 65 second-half points, 30 of them from Mike Kennedy, to take a 93-79 win that clinched a berth in the Division 4 tourney for the first time in six seasons.”This is probably the most satisfying feeling I’ve had as a coach,” Lynnfield coach Scott McKenzie said. “The kids were so excited and we’re kind of creeping back into the picture now.”Kennedy was a one-man wrecking crew on Tuesday as he finished with 43 points, leaving him four shy of the school scoring record for boys, seven assists, six rebounds and four steals.”He put us on his back in the second half,” McKenzie said.Jeff Millinazzo added 20 points and 18 rebounds while guard Matt Connolly had 12 points and seven assists.”We just caught fire in the second half and I think we got them back on their heels a little bit,” McKenzie said. “Mike’s energy rubbed off on the whole team in the second half.”English 63, Revere 47At English, the Bulldogs (14-2) got a scare from the visitors, but used a 13-3 fourth quarter to pull away.Ryan Woumn led English with 11 points while Eugene Turner had 11 for the Bulldogs, who had 10 different players get in the scorebook.Jevic Muteba had a game-high 19 points in the loss for Revere, which also got 13 points from Ruben Vargas.Classical 55, Beverly 53At Classical, it was another in a line of stirring contests between the Panthers and Rams as Classical (11-6) clinched a state tournament berth by stopping Beverly’s (10-5) eight-game win streak.”It was a great game the whole way,” Classical coach Tom Grassa said.The Panthers led throughout the first half but Quivari Jackson (17 points) hit a three to cut the gap to 27-24 before Jarell Byrd took over en route to a game-high 23 points and 21 rebounds.”It was just too much Jarell in the second half,” Beverly coach Scott Lewis said. “That was the difference.”Matt Tobin had 18 points for the Panthers and Nate Knudson added 14.Salem 51, Peabody 48At Salem, the Witches (10-5) pulled a rabbit out of their hat as Chris Maxson completed a five-point spree in the final 3.8 seconds of regulation with a fade-away three at the buzzer to send Salem to the state tournament.”The kids never quit and played hard right to the end,” Salem coach Tom Doyle said.The Tanners (7-10) had an 18-point lead in the first half before Salem hit the comeback trail. The Witches cut the lead to 48-46 and then tied the game on a Maxson hoop and won it following a steal of Peabody’s inbounds pass.”It was like a lead-footed kick in the gut,” Peabody coach Chris Mastrangelo said. “It sucks the air right out of your lungs.”Kevin Skop led Peabody with 14 points while Junior Lugo had 16 for Salem.Swampscott 72, Winthrop 47At Swampscott, the Big Blue (11-5) offense was firing on all cylinders as five players reached double figures in scoring, helping avenge a 15-point loss to the Vikings earlier in the season.”We played very, very well (Tuesday),” Swampscott coach Paul Moran said.John Beaulieu led the balanced Swampscott offense with 16 points. Scott Leffler had 15 with Mike Nimkar and Craig Rodenstein having 11 and Ryan Squires, 10. Winthrop got 14 points from Dino Mallios and 11 from Kenny Quist in the loss.Saugus 57, Gloucester 47At Saugus, the Sachems (5-11) were without the services of Dan Internicola, who missed the game because of an illness. But they had Adam Pelletier and Ryan Anastos, who scored 24 and 23 points respectively to lead the way to victory.”Ryan and Adam totally dominated the game,” Saugus coach Titus Manderson said.Marblehead 61, Danvers 39At Marblehead, the Magicians (11-3) got 25 points and 13 rebounds from Damola Abu and 11 points fr