The Classical boy’s basketball team had a tough time with Northeastern Conference rival Beverly the first time around. The Rams dominated Round Two to the tune of 66-45 at Beverly Friday night.The Rams started red hot from the field, as they sprinted to a 20-5 lead at the end of the first quarter, and led 33-14 at the end of the first half. The Panthers never threaten the Rams at any point in the game. Classical coach Tom Grassa was ecstatic about the win.”We did a great job on both sides of the ball. We really struggled with Beverly the first time, but it was nice to see the boys respond against them in this fashion. We executed very well and took great care of the ball, it was great to see,” Grassa said.Phillip Rogers had a monster performance for Classical (31 points). Eraldo Custodio was more then just a sidekick (15 points). Classical has now qualified for the state tournament (11-7).Saugus 67, Gloucester 59At Gloucester, the Sachems trailed 36-30 at the end of the first half. Saugus outscored Gloucester 37-23 in the second half. Leading the second half surge for Saugus (9-7) was the trio of Brandon Wladkowski (18 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds) Shane Ripley (24 points, 17 rebounds) and Joe Bertrand (17 points, 8 rebounds).Fenwick 55, Cristo Rey 50At Fenwick, Fenwick coach Mike Kane was very pleased with his team’s effort.”This was a really good win tonight. Our defense really got us back in the game in the third quarter and we executed efficiently down the stretch,” Kane said.Leading the way for Fenwick (6-9) was Matt Costello (19 points, 10 rebounds), Ben Maxner (8 points, 6 rebounds) and Joe Buccheri (10 points, 3 steals).Arl. Cath. 63, St. Mary’s 56At St. Mary’s, the Spartans had a great start to the game, as they were up 28-23 at the end of the first half. Arlington Catholic outscored St. Mary’s by 12 in the second half to pull away. St. Mary’s coach Kevin Moran was pleased with his team’s performance.”The boys played pretty well tonight. Arlington is a very good team, and they just executed a little better then we did down the stretch,” Moran said.St. Mary’s is now 8-7.Lynnfield 70, Manchester 58At Lynnfield, the Pioneers (9-6) got off to a freezing start, as they trailed by as many as 16 in the first quarter. Lynnfield outscored Manchester 24-10 in the second quarter, and took a 34-32 lead into the half. The Pioneers never trailed in the second half. Leading the way for Lynnfield was Connor Sullivan (15 points, 5 rebounds) and Eddie Moore (14 points).St. John’s 59, Cath. Mem. 54At Catholic Memorial, the Eagles got off to a slow start in the game. St. John’s battled through its rough start, and was able to take a 29-24 lead into the half. It was a tight game throughout for St. John’s, but the inspired play from Drex Costello (20 points), Ben Judson (13 points) and Max Butterbrodt (16 points, 8 rebounds) kept Catholic Memorial at bay. The Eagles (14-1) won the CCL outright with the win.Salem 61, Peabody 49At Salem, it was a tale of two halves for the Tanners (5-10). Peabody led 34-32 at the end of the first half. Salem (12-3) outscored Peabody 29-15 in the second half. Salem’s Shaky White hit three big three-pointers in the final quarter to pull away for Peabody. Christian Dunston once again led the way for Salem (17 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds). Leading the way for the Tanners was Bobby Sullivan (6 points, 6 rebounds).Winthrop 72, Swampscott 49At Winthrop, the Big Blue was only down 27-26 at the end of the first half. The Vikings dominated the second half, as they outscored Swampscott 49-26. Leading the way for Swampscott (5-11) was Danny Trentsch (16 points).Whittier 63, Tech 44At Tech, with his Tigers out of the tournament running, coach Marvin Avery has begun a youth movement, and freshman Shaiheem Mazil rewarded his faith by scoring 15 points and eight assists, and registering four steals.Mazil is one of four freshmen Avery has promoted to the varsity.Kennedy Gomes also had 11 for the Tigers.”The kids are still
