Boys basketball: Saugus’ win means an NEC South title for Marblehead

The Saugus boys basketball team has had its struggles at times this season, but the Sachems finished the season on a resounding note at home on Friday.Saugus got 23 points from senior guard Ryan Anastos and 21 from fellow senior Adam Pelletier in their final performance in Sachem colors en route to a 70-59 win at home over Winthrop.And with that win, the Sachems gave the Northeastern Conference South championship to Marblehead, who outlasted archrival Swampscott, 54-50.”It was a nice win and it’s a credit to the seniors,” Saugus coach Titus Manderson said. “It went at our pace the entire game.”The Sachems (6-14) turned a 10-10 game at the half into a 25-17 halftime lead by handling Winthrop’s defensive pressure thanks to slick ball-handling from Pelletier.”He dominated and handled their pressure,” Manderson said. “He was constantly getting into the middle of the defense.”Saugus extended the lead to 52-40 exiting the third quarter before the Vikings began to climb back in the game.”They cut into the lead at the start of the fourth but we continued to hit shots,” Manderson said.But Winthrop didn’t get over the hump as the Sachems pulled away down the stretch. Dino Mallios led all scorers in the game with 25 for Winthrop. Mark Jenkins added 17 for the Vikings.The Magicians (14-4) got their win over Swampscott thanks to a suffocating defense and timely shooting from the offense.”It was a good basketball game,” Marblehead coach Wayne Hanscom said.”We played good defense against a good team.”The Big Blue had a 15-12 lead after the first quarter, but Marblehead outscored them 25-17 over the next 16 minutes to take a 37-32 lead after three quarters.Damola Abu led Marblehead with 15 points and nine rebounds while Taariq Allen had 14 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.Scott Leffler led Swampscott with 14 points while Ryan Squires had 11 and John Beaulieu, 10.Salem 78, Beverly 74At Veterans Memorial Field House in Salem, the Witches (13-5) trailed by 14 at the half but battled back to take the win over the Panthers (11-7).”It didn’t look good at the half but we never quit and the kids kept battling back,” Salem coach Tom Doyle said.The Witches comeback was led by Antonio Reyes and Junior Lugo.Reyes, a freshman, scored 19 of his game-high 29 points in the second half while Lugo drilled five threes en route to 17 of his 21 points in the second half.”They just made shots in the second half and we turned the ball over a bit,” Beverly coach Scott Lewis said.Matt McQuaid led the Panthers with a career high 23 points while Mike Clayton added 17 points and nine assists.Fenwick 64, Cathedral 51At Peabody, the Crusaders (9-8) moved within one win of state tournament qualification by upending the Catholic Central League/Small champion Panthers.Mike Clifford was immense for Fenwick, leading all players with 26 points and 24 rebounds. Nolan DiPanfilo added 21 points, including four 3-pointers.Phil Eagan also reached double figures with 13 points for Fenwick.Revere 68, Peabody 65At Peabody, the Tanners (7-13) suffered their sixth loss by three points or less. Kevin Skop led Peabody with 24 points while Max Steinberger added 13 and Dan Mello, 11.Revere got a game-high 26 points from Jevic Muteba. Steve Ennamorati and Mike Imbrascio added 11 points each.