Merry’s 36 leads unbeaten Danvers past Classical

DANVERS ? There was just way too much Peter Merry to contend with for the Lynn Classical boys basketball team.
Merry poured in 36 points to lead Danvers past the pesky Rams, 67-56, at Danvers High on Friday night. He was also a factor at the defensive end, blocking several shots and altering countless others.
?He’s just a tough matchup for us,” Classical coach Tom Grassa said. “He’s 6-10, and our tallest player is 6-3. He played well. He was definitely a presence at both ends of the floor.”
The Rams (3-6) trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half, but clawed their way back into the game in the second half with their press. Classical got as close as five points twice, and the tension in the gym for Danvers (7-0) was palpable. But the Rams couldn’t quite make it back the whole way.
?They’re a good team. We expected them to play hard and they did,” Danvers coach John Walsh said. “Classical is always a difficult team to play.”
After going scoreless for nearly three full quarters, Devan Harris scored 14 points in the last nine minutes of the game and was the only other player in double figures for Danvers. Philip Rogers led Classical with 15 points, while Peter Mafo had 14 and C.J. Lights added 12.
A fast-break layup by Mafo after the Rams’ press caused a turnover cut the Rams’ deficit to 58-52, with 3:19 left in the game. Merry made a free throw and then Devonn Allen hit a driving basket (the only one in the second half for Danvers not from Merry or Harris) to open the lead back up to nine.
Mafo answered with another layup, but Harris scored on a rebound with 1:25 remaining. Jakeel Brown cut the Falcons’ lead back to seven with 1:14 remaining, but it was the last points the Rams scored. Harris made a couple of free throws and then Merry finished off the game with a vicious alley-oop dunk.
?We had to try something,” said Grassa, of his rationale for going with a press in the second half. “We could have stayed in our 2-3 zone and they probably would have scored 80 points.”
Merry scored 10 points as Danvers took an early 16-8 lead, but five points from Rogers sparked an 8-0 run for Classical that tied the game with 7:15 left in the second quarter. Vin Clifford and Merry then combined for all the points in a 13-0 run that put the Falcons on top, 29-16, with 4:16 remaining in the first half.
Danvers’ lead peaked at 36-21 before Lights sank a pair of free throws with 23.8 seconds left in the second quarter.
The Rams pecked away at their deficit in the third quarter and a couple free throws by Eli McConney cut Danvers’ advantage to five (40-35) with 2:44 left in the period. The last time Classical got within five was when Rogers made a couple of buckets to make the score 48-43 with 6:54 remaining in the game.Gordon Vincent can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @darthpujols.