Boys Basketball: Prep hoopsters survive late run from Catholic Memorial

It took a half for the No. 1 ranked basketball team in Eastern Mass. to show up, but when St. John’s finally got going against Catholic Memorial on Friday at Memorial Gymnasium in Danvers, the Eagles and Pat Connaughton were nearly unstoppable.The Notre Dame-bound senior put together his best game of the season, finishing with 27 points and 20 rebounds as the Prep (8-0) held off a late game charge by CM to take a 65-62 win over the club that handed the Eagles their only league loss a year ago.”Pat carried us (Friday) down the stretch,” Eagles coach Sean Connolly said. “He made a bunch of big shots and hit critical free throws at the end.”The Knights looked like they were ready to knock off the Eagles in Danvers for a second straight year as they put together a solid second quarter to lead 29-26 at the half. The Prep then cranked up the intensity in the third quarter and would carry a 48-40 lead into the final eight minutes.St. John’s was still well in control with 2:00 remaining when CM forced a bevy of turnovers and cut the lead to one possession before running out of time.”We didn’t do a good job of finishing the game off,” Connolly said. “We had a couple of bad turnovers and CM hit some big shots.”Freddie Shove added 14 points for the Eagles while Steve Haladyna finished with 13.English 85, Saugus 56At Saugus, the Bulldogs (9-1) got 22 points from Keandre Stanton and 17 from Travonne Berry-Rogers as they simply overwhelmed the Sachems in the second half.”Our defense was awesome (Friday),” English coach Buzzy Barton said.Corey McMillen finished with 10 as 11 different Bulldogs got on the scoresheet. Omar Benabicha and Brett DiPanfilo had 17 points each for Saugus.Classical 65, Swampscott 54At Swampscott, the Rams, playing without Nick Grassa because of an injury, shook off a sluggish first half and outscored Swampscott, 26-12, in the third quarter to take control. Joelle Reyes led all scorers with 21 points, going 6-for-6 from behind the 3-point line for Classical.Keith Nance added 16 and Carlo Buono had 12. A.J. Baker and Dan Santanello had 12 points each for Swampscott.Gr. Lowell 75, Tech 74At Lowell, the Tigers (4-3) led most of the way but fell on a buzzer beater by the Reggies. Richie Warren Jr. had 16 points to lead Tech.Marblehead 62, Revere 42At Marblehead, Matt Temme had 19 points and Bryan Gellert added 13 as the Magicians (8-1) bounced back from a loss to Peabody with a solid win at home.Trae Weathers had 11 points and Greg Cabral finished with 10 for Revere.Winthrop 77, Salem 65At Winthrop, the Vikings (5-4) pulled off one of the stunners of the season as they completely dominated the 6-2 Witches from the get-go, leading by as much as 25 points at times.Five players scored in double figures for Winthrop, led by Quinton Dale’s 20 points. Joe D’Amore had 16 while Michael Griffin (14), Taj Generazzo (12) and J.P. Doherty (10) also had double figures.Salem got 31 points from Raphy Medrano and 23 from Antonio Reyes.Beverly 63, Gloucester 55At Gloucester, the Panthers (5-5) trailed heading to the fourth period but outscored the hosts, 17-8, to take the win. Zach Zigelbaum had 19 points and 13 rebounds while Chris Keaton added 19 points as well for Beverly.Gloucester got 19 points from Adam Philpott and 15 by Mike Tomaino.