On paper, it seemed like one of the more intriguing matchups so far this season in the Northeastern Conference as a red hot Lynn Classical hosted a Winthrop team fresh off a 64-62 win over talented Salem.But that’s why games aren’t played on paper.The Rams held the NEC’s scoring leader Dino Mallios to 13 points and used 24 points from Jasper Grassa and 17 from forward Tony Wonde to cruise to a 68-48 win over the Vikings.”They came in 9-2 and off the win against Salem and we did a great job against them,” Classical coach Tom Grassa said. “It really is a good win.”The Vikings game plan was to limit the damage that Jarell Byrd could do on the inside and they did that, holding the senior to four points. But Byrd had 10 rebounds and 10 blocks while also making several nice passes to find open shooters.”To his credit, Jarell was able to find people wide open and did a nice job of controlling the boards,” Grassa said.Nick Grassa finished with 11 points to help the Classical cause.English 73, Swampscott 51At the Paul F. Cavanagh Field House in Lynn, the Bulldogs (10-0) stayed unbeaten and clinched a state tournament berth with the convincing win.Four English players reached double figures, led by Ryan Woumn’s 14 points. Travonne Berry-Rogers, Jeremy Subervi and Archie Allen each finished with 11 points.Mike Nimkar and Brian Sullivan each had 14 for the Big Blue. Sullivan also dished out five assists.M’head 40, Peabody 36At Peabody, defense certainly was the main attraction throughout as the Magicians (8-2) held Peabody (3-7) to just 12 second half points to overcome a 24-17 halftime deficit.Brandon Lee led all scorers with 14 points for Marblehead. Taariq Allen added nine and Tom Powers pulled down 12 rebounds.Ryan English was the lone Peabody man in double figures, finishing with 10.Revere 64, Saugus 58At Revere, it was a close battle throughout as Revere (5-5) put all five of its starters in double figures to hold off the Sachems.Paul Cinelli led the Revere attack with 16 points while Matt Handy added 13 and Trae Weathers 12.Will Weathers had 12 points and Ruben Vargas rounded out the quintet of double digit scorers with 10.Saugus got a game high 17 points from Brian Boyajian and 11 from Omar Benabicha.Beverly 75, Danvers 43At Beverly, the Panthers (5-4) jumped out to a 26-3 lead after the first quarter and led by Curtis Manuel’s 15 points rolled to an easy win.Nate Knudson added 13 with Chris Mooney having a career-high 12 points. Mike Clayton made it a quartet in double figures, finishing with 10 points, seven assists and four steals.Salem 70, Gloucester 58At Veterans Memorial Field House in Salem, the Witches (8-3) got 18 points from Antonio Reyes as they had to hold off a pesky Gloucester team in the fourth quarter.Reyes added eight steals and six assists while Danny Byors had 13 points and 12 rebounds. Bryan Ortiz added 14 while Sean Linehan also had a double-double for Salem, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds.Wilmington 73, Lynnfield 47At Wilmington, the Pioneers got 18 points and 10 rebounds from John Mahr but it wasn’t enough against the Wildcats. Dan Carney chipped in 12 for Lynnfield.uAt Middleton, Lynn’s Keith Mercurio had 12 points in Essex Aggie’s 65-31 win over North Central Charter.