Boys Hoop: Swampscott gets its first win

The Swampscott boys basketball team has had a rough start to the 2013-14 season. But the Big Blue changed their fortune on the road against Amesbury to the tune of 75-62 victory Friday night.”It was nice to get our first win out of the way,” Swampscott coach Dave Born said. “I wished it would have came earlier but I was very happy with my teams performance today.”Swampscott was down 39-34 at the half. The Big Blue was bale to close the gap in the third quarter, but still trailed 48-46. Swampscott erupted in the fourth quarter, and outscored Amesbury by more than double (29-14). Senior Chad Nelson led the way for Swampscott with a monster double-double (19 points, 13 rebounds, 5 steals). Freshmen Andre Reeves was a spark off the bench for the Big Blue (15 points, 3 steals). Swampscott is now 1-3.Saugus 73, North Shore 51At the Saugus Christmas Tournament, the Sachems (3-2) came out of the gate sluggish, but still held a 31-29 lead at the half. Saugus outscored North Shore 34-10 in the third quarter to pull away. Senior Joe Bertrand led the surge in the second half (31 points, 13 rebounds). Fellow senior Jack Furey (6 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists) chipped in for the Sachems. Saugus not only hosted its first ever Christmas Tournament in 2013, but also will make an appearance in the Championship tonight against Marblehead.Marblehead 82, Northeast 55At the Saugus Christmas Tournament, the Magicians (2-2) struggled early on, as they led 36-31 at the half. Marblehead turned it around in the second half, and outscored Northeast 46-24. Leading the way for Marblehead was Will Millett (14 points). Marblehead plays Saugus Saturday night in the Saugus Christmas Tournament championship.Somerville 48, Peabody 44At Peabody, the Tanners (1-3) trailed for most of the night, but tied the game 44-44 with 35 seconds left in the game. The Peabody defense forced a Somerville missed shot, but Somerville grabbed an offensive rebound and scored to go back up 46-44. Jared McCaron led the way for Peabody (14 points, 9 rebounds, 5 steals). Moisse Irizarry gave great production off the Peabody bench (8 points, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks).Danvers 74, Snowden 47At the Malden Christmas Tournament, the Falcons (3-0) were led by the junior duo of Devan Harris (20 points, 13 rebounds) and Peter Merry (14 points, 14 rebounds). Senior Kieran Beck (17 points) and sophomore Rashad Francois (11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists) chipped in for Danvers. Danvers plays Malden Saturday night in the Malden Christmas Tournament championship.