Boys hoop: Saugus falters down the stretch, loses to Rockport

Saugus boy’s basketball falls short down the stretchBy Jerry DiStefanoFor The ItemThe Saugus boys basketball team started slowly against Cape Ann League foe Rockport, but they bounced back in the second half, but Saugus fell just short 62-60 at Rockport Friday night.Saugus (4-6) was down 30-22 at the end of the first half. The Sachems almost doubled their points from the first half in the second half (38 points). Saugus was down 60-58 in need of a stop late in the game. Saugus committed a foul with 6.1 seconds remaining in the game, and Rockport hit both free throws to ice the game away. Mark Bertrand was again acting head coach for the fourth straight game for Saugus, as head coach Paul Moran is out.”I am proud of the way the boys came back,” Bertrand said. “We fought hard and dug in, but if a few more plays were made then the game would have been ours.”Joe Bertrand recorded another double-double for the Sachems (18 points, 14 rebounds).Classical 73, Swampscott 48At Classical, the Rams (5-3) jumped out to a 25-8 lead at the end of the first quarter, and never looked back. The Rams were led by the duo of Phil Rogers (10 points, 10 rebounds) and Kyle Doucette (13 points, 5 rebounds, 5 blocks).Derek Chigas had a strong performance off the bench for the Rams (9 points, 3 rebounds, assist). Swampscott (2-7) had solid contributions off the bench fr5om Peter Wright (12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists) and Mark Variste (14 points).Marblehead 54, Peabody 45At Marblehead, the Magicians (4-4) started slowly, and were down 12-10 at the end of the first quarter. Marblehead made some quick adjustments in the second quarter, and outscored Peabody 15-3. Marblehead had a 25-15 lead at the half, and never looked back. Doing the dirty work for Marblehead was Cian Saunders (9 points, 13 rebounds) and Will Millett (5 points, 13 rebounds). For Peabody (2-5), Brian Onessimo (10 points), Jared McCarron (10 points) and Matt Correale (11 points), all scored double figures for the Tanners.Lynnfield 67, Triton 46At Lynnfield, the Pioneers (3-4) held a slim 23-19 lead at the half. Lynnfield dominated in the second half, as the Pioneers outscored Triton 44-27. Leading the way for Lynnfield was Travis Briana (18 points, 7 rebounds) and Adam Buchanan (13 points, 8 rebounds). Lynnfield plays Manchester Essex Sunday.Shawsheen 75, Tech 52At Tech, the Tigers (0-5) were in a big hole early and could never fully recover.”Our offense did a nice job executing today, but we need a better effort on the defensive end,” Tech coach Marvin Avery said.Leading the way for Tech was sophomore guard Michael Anaya (26 points). Senior captain Billy Ferreras controlled the boards for Tech (14 rebounds).Salem 64, Gloucester 61At Gloucester, Gloucester (5-3) was up 50-46 going into the fourth quarter. It was a tight game in the fourth, but Salem (3-1) outscored Gloucester 18-11 to pull away. Leading the way for Salem was Bryan Martinez-Rodriguez (10 points, 13 rebounds), Jamie Dominguez (15 points) and Shaky White (14 points). For Gloucester, Jeff Olivera (13 points) and Andrew Muniz (10 points) had strong performances for the Fisherman.KIPP 63, CSCC 29At KIPP, KIPP (2-0) was in a tight game early on (10-9 KIPP), but pulled away after going on a KIPP went on a 26-14 run. Leading the way for KIPP was: Defi D’Olio (7 points, 3 assists, 8 steals); Pedro Morales 13 points, 4 steals); Danya Smith (13 points, 5 rebounds) and Ricardi Mehu (10 points, 5 steals)St. John’s 78, Haverhill 39At Danvers, the Eagles remained perfect (6-0) as four players scored in double figures, led by Ben Judsonn’s 14 points. Others were Max Burt (13), Mike Bisson (12) and Max Butterbrodt (10).St. John’s was up by 17 at the half and kept the pressure on throughout.”It was probably our best game of the year,” coach John Dullea said.Danvers 65, Beverly 52At Danvers, the 7-0 Falcons fell behind by 11 after three quarters, but put on a surge to win going away.Beverly (4-3) got 25 points from John Berchoff and 18 fro