Roundup: Swampscott boys hoop holds off Saugus

Christmas came a bit early for the Swampscott boys basketball team as the Big Blue escaped in their own gym with a hard-earned 65-59 victory on Thursday.Mike Walsh played the role of Santa Claus, delivering a team-high 16 points to go with 11 rebounds. Teammate Val Temin chipped in with 15 points.Saugus, who played catch-up all night, got a game-high 20 points from Curtis Casella, but couldn’t stop Swampscott down the stretch.The Big Blue led by five at the half and carried a seven-point lead into the final quarter. Saugus turned it on in the fourth but Walsh’s effort was enough to hold down the win. “Mike was awesome tonight,” said Swampscott coach Justin Fucile. “He was strong on both sides of the ball and came up big at the end.”The Big Blue (2-2) have won two straight to get back to .500. Saugus dropped to 4-2.St. Mary’s 83, Trinity Catholic 18The Spartans (4-1) cruised to an easy win over Trinity (1-2), as four players scored in double figures. Devin Thompson (14 points) and Nick Gagliolo (12) led the way for St. Mary’s, who got 10 points apiece from Kyle Difillipo and Scott Betts.Whittier 63, Tech 43At Whittier, Tech was down 33-18 at the half and could never dig out of that hole.”Whittier played a really well balanced game and played very well tonight,” Tech coach Marvin Avery said.Leading the way for Tech was Mike Duarte (16 pts.). Tech is now 1-3.GIRLS BASKETBALLS’scott 37, Saugus 33At Saugus, Ara Talkov’s game-high 15 points led Swampscott to a pre-Christmas victory over the Sachems.”She has been amazing all year long,” said Swampscott coach Jack Hughes of Talkov.Teammate Marina Padovani added 10 points to go along with eight rebounds and four assists.”Marina put in a really good effort tonight as she always does. Her and Talkov together are terrific,” Hughes said.Saugus kept things close the entire way and entered halftime with an 18-17 lead. Norma Waggatt paced the Sachems with 15 points while Ashley Furtado added eight points.Swampscott next plays on the 27th in the Malden Christmas Tournament. The Big Blue’s opening game comes against Malden at 5:30 p.m.Danvers 44, Winthrop 36At Endicott, Kasey Sherry’s 30-point performance was enough to outdistance the Falcons from the host Vikings. Sherry, who is averaging 25 points per game, kept up her hot shooting from beyond the arc with six three-pointers.Whittier 62, Tech 35At Whittier, Tech coach Kevin McDormand was happy with his team’s performance.”My team played very hard today, unfortunately Whittier (is) one of those teams that can overwhelm you. My team played very aggressive and I was very pleased with my team’s performance despite the result,” McDormand said.Leading the way for Tech was Hattie Watkins (22 pts.). Claribelle Ramirez had a strong game on the defensive side of the ball once again for Tech. Tech is now 1-4.BOYS TRACKPeabody 51, Marblehead 31At Peabody, the Tanners had six winners. Winners for Peabody (2-0): Zachary Grube, high jump (6’5 1/2); Austin Brewer, 45 meter dash (5.3); Robbie Losanno, 300 dash (35.6); Nick Ingham, 600 (1:24.5); Nick Christensen, 1,000 (2:28.2) and T.J. D’Amato, mile (4:48). Winners for Marblehead were: Danny Plunkett, shot put (45-10); James Wigglesworth, 2-mile (10:20) and Nolan Raimo, 55 hurdles (6.0). Marblehead is 1-1.GIRLS TRACKMarblehead 45, Peabody 36At Peabody, Marblehead took seven out of the nine events. Winners for Marblehead were: Olivia Vener, 55 meter hurdles; Mimi Goetz, dash; Maura Tubridy, 600; Paige Ferucci, 1,000; Madeline Piela, mile; Janaya Randall, 2-mile and Lily Cummings, high jump. Marblehead coach Mike Toomey was happy with his team’s performance.”It was a tough win over the defending champions, and it’s always tough to win at Peabody. We got some big points from our freshmen and sophomores, so the future looks very bright,” Toomey said.