Boys Basketball: Rams hang on in final seconds to defeat Salem

Classical seemed to have things going its way on Monday as the Rams held a 12-point lead over Salem midway through the fourth quarter.Then the Rams (2-1) began to suffer from a case of clock mismanagement as several ill-advised quick shots gave Salem life. And the Witches took full advantage, trimming the lead to a point in the final seconds and having the ball to boot.Classical, however, was able to survive a missed jumper and hit a free throw with 0.5 seconds left to seal a 53-51 win at home.”If that game was a minute longer, we might have lost it,” Classical coach Tom Grassa said. “Salem really made a terrific comeback and we certainly didn’t use the clock to our advantage down the stretch. But it was a terrific game.”Senior Jasper Grassa had a stellar outing, leading all scorers with 23 points. Younger brother Nick added nine and Kyle Buono came off the bench to add seven clutch points in the fourth quarter.Salem (2-1) was led by Antonio Reyes’ 16 points. Derek McIntyre added 15 and Raphy Medrano had 10 for the Witches.Beverly 72, Revere 66 (3 OT)At Beverly, Curtis Manuel had 19 points and Mike Clayton added 17 points and nine assists as the Panthers (2-1) were able to outlast the Patriots in a marathon of a game.”I think that both teams had this game won and lost several times,” Beverly coach Scott Lewis said.Clayton hit the night’s biggest shot in the third overtime as his 3-pointer with 32 seconds left gave Beverly a four-point bulge. After a Revere miss, Mark Hannable hit two free throws to account for the final margin.Zach Zigglebaum had 14 points and 17 rebounds for the victors.English 75, Peabody 55At the Paul F. Cavanagh Field House in Lynn, the Bulldogs (3-0, 3-0 NEC North) trailed 16-11 after the first quarter but outscored the Tanners 57-23 over the next two quarters to cruise to victory.Ryan Woumn led all scorers with 18 points to pace four English players in double figures. Jarell Byrd had 13 while Keandre Stanton added 11 and Travonne Berry-Rogers chipped in 10.”Peabody played tough in the first quarter but we kept grinding away and things started to fall for us,” English coach Buzzy Barton said.Tech 80, Shawsheen 34At the T. O’Connor Field House in Lynn, the outcome was never in doubt as the Tigers (2-2) led 21-6 after one and 41-15 at the break.Trey Gallo and Richie Warren Jr. paced the Tech attack with 16 points each while B.J. Baptiste added 12 and Adam Lawn chipped in with 10. Felix Rios added nine points and nine steals.”We had our offense going. We had our defense going,” Tech coach Marvin Avery said. “It was just a good overall team effort.”Spellman 58, St. Mary’s 51At Conigliaro Gym in Lynn, this one was close most of the way as the Spartans (1-1) trailed 37-34 after three but never could get all the way back.Nick Gagliolo had 18 points to lead the Spartan attack.”Spellman is clearly one of the top teams in our league,” St. Mary’s coach Kevin Moran said. “We played a consistent, strong game. They just wore us down a bit at the end.”Saugus 50, Swampscott 39At Swampscott, the Sachems (2-1) made former Big Blue coach Paul Moran a winner in his return home. Joe Lowe had a game-high 14 points to lead Saugus, which got seven clutch points in the fourth quarter from Omar Benabicha.Mike Walsh had 10 points for the Big Blue in the loss.Marblehead 63, Gloucester 57At Marblehead, the game was tied 23-23 at the half before the Magicians (2-1) were able to pull away in the final minutes.Matt Temme had a monster game for Marblehead, finishing with 23 points and eight rebounds. Brian Gellert added 10 points and eight boards for the Magicians.Gloucester got 19 points from Adam Philpott and 18 from Mike Tomaino in the loss.Winthrop 64, Danvers 38At Winthrop, Dino Mallios had 14 points and Jake Connors added 11 as the Vikings (3-0, 3-0 NEC South) overcame a sluggish first half with a 21-point third quarter that broke the game wide open.Twelve different players recorded points for the Vikings, who travel to Gloucester