The Marblehead boys? basketball team came out firing on Friday evening against rival Swampscott, building a comfortable lead which would not be relinquished in its eventual 66-34 victory.
A 25-9 margin after one quarter turned into a 35-15 lead at halftime for the host Magicians, who forced 12 steals in a tremendous defensive effort. Spencer Craig led the way with three takeaways.
?We were able to jump out to such a large lead so early that (Swampscott) could never really recover,” said Marblehead coach Mike Giardi, whose team improved to 6-7.
?Our effort on the defensive end of the floor was outstanding, holding them to just one two-point shot in the first half. We never looked back from there.”
Offensively, Marblehead was paced by Teddy Bostley (12 points) who was one of two Magicians in double digits, along with Patrick Bugler who finished with 11.
For Swampscott, Joey Ragusa finished with 14 points despite being held to just five in the opening half. Marblehead also managed to shut down the Big Blue?s leading scorer, Dajour Dunkley (7 points), who was held scoreless over the final two periods.
?Our defense wasn?t able to make a stop until (Marblehead) had already hung up 23 or so points on us,” said Swampscott coach Dave Born. “I give them a lot of credit for coming out with that kind of energy on both ends of the floor.”
Beverly 74, Lynn Classical 69
Sam Traicoff scored a game-high 24 points for the Panthers who were able to hang on in a wild fourth quarter that featured 10 lead changes. Beverly (6-8) got 14 point each from Gavin Sparkman and Kyle Coughlin, who each recorded double-doubles with 12 rebounds and 10 assists, respectively. C.J. Lights finished with 22 points to pace the Rams (8-8) who also got strong offensive showings from Calvin Johnson (16 points), Peter Mafo (14) and Eli McConney (11).
Chelsea 56, Lynn Tech 50
A four-point play from Arlin Reynoso, who had eight points in the game, cut the visiting Tigers? deficit to three with 20 seconds remaining in regulation before the Red Devils salted away the win at the free-throw line.
Michael Anaya scored a team-high 17 points for Tech (1-13), which got strong games from Jose Morel-Rodriguez (10 points) and Justin Lewis who pulled down 16 rebounds, in addition to nine points.
Peabody 85, Revere 58
A balanced scoring attack for the Tanners (8-6) featured a team-high 20 points with 10 rebounds from Moisse Irizarry as well as 13 points and six assists from Matt Correale. Peabody got eight points apiece from David Hoar and Brendan Morrison, who added eight rebounds, to go along with seven points and eight rebounds from Mike Raymond.
Revere?s Tommy Chea had a game-high 22 points.
Danvers 86, Saugus 41
The Falcons controlled the tempo from start to finish, with four different scorers reaching double digits, including Vinny Clifford who led the way with 15 points.
Devonn Allen (14), Devan Harris (11) and Peter Merry (10) also had strong offensive games for Danvers, while Dan Bertrand led the way for Saugus (5-9) with nine points.
Arlington Catholic 57, Bishop Fenwick 44
Ryan Veguilla scored 17 points to keep the host Crusaders within striking distance against the Catholic Central League-leading Cougars, who led by just five with four minutes remaining in the game.Fenwick (1-11) got 10 points from Matt Haley as well as seven points from freshman Chris DeMarco
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