You couldn?t blame the Classical boys? basketball team if it was a little on the tired side Thursday against Saugus. The Rams were playing their third game in as many days and it showed early as they trailed, 24-21, at halftime.
Classical, however, dug deep and found some juice as the Rams broke open a tie game in the final minutes to take a 59-49 win over the Sachems, led by 21 points from C.J. Lights.
?C.J. really had a great game,” Classical coach Tom Grassa said.
The Sachems (4-8) did everything right for 3? quarters, according to coach Paul Moran but weren?t able to close it out down the stretch.
?We played tough, but you have to play for a full 32 minutes against teams like Classical,” Moran said. “Classical took over in the fourth quarter. They knew when they had to turn it on and they did.”
Classical (8-7) had a 15-5 lead after a quarter. But the Rams couldn?t get a stop for most of the second period, as the Sachems outscored them, 19-6, to take a three point lead into the break.
The second half would be a back-and-forth affair as Classical retook the lead (39-34) at the end of the third quarter. Saugus fought back valiantly thanks to strong play from Dan Cacciola (11 points) and Evan DeCristoforo (12 points) but some costly turnovers were the Sachems? Waterloo.
Phil Rogers had 16 points for the Rams, who also got nine points from Peter Mafo. Kyle Autilio had nine points for Saugus.
?We?ve got a tiny bit of breathing room now,” said Grassa about his team?s tournament chances. “With the exception of tonight, I?m happy with the way we are playing.”
Salem 69, Winthrop 49
The Witches (10-3) locked up a spot in the state tournament with a solid effort on the road. Bryan Martinez had 21 points to lead Salem, who also got 14 points from Joel Nunez and nine from Ricky Arias.
?I?m very happy with where we are at right now since we returned only one starter,” Salem coach Tom Doyle said. “Guys have really stepped up and fit into their roles well.”
GIRLS? BASKETBALL
Classical 56, Saugus 32
The Rams cruised to an easy win on the road in Saugus Thursday night. After jumping out to a 22-4 lead in the first quarter, Classical kept up the defensive pressure and gave up just five points in the second quarter.
Rams coach Tom Sawyer said of his team, “We came out and played really good defense early on. The kids came out with a lot of energy tonight.”
Junior guard Chenysse Hill led the Rams in scoring on the night with 13 points. Jaida Santos and Heidi Milhelm were right behind with 10 points each, and Paris Wilkey finished with seven. Soneta Srey and Tyarah Horton rounded out the scoring with five points each.
The win brings Classical one step closer to a .500 record. They now stand at 6-8 this season.
Saugus head coach Mark Schruender knew the Sachems lost to a better team tonight, saying, “They were much faster than us tonight. We got behind early and it was just tough to come back from that.”
The loss drops the Sachems to 1-11.Krissy Italiano led the Sachems in scoring with eight points, while Mikayla Niles finished with six. Jess Allen and Caity Sheehan each finished with five points for Saugus. Allie Kotkowski (4 points), Venere Salzillo (2 points) and Gabby Valente (2 points) rounded out the scoring.