FILE PHOTO
Louis Ellis scored 34 points in Lynnfield’s win against North Reading.
By GORDON VINCENT
LYNNFIELD — The Lynnfield High boys basketball team is tough enough to beat when Louis Ellis or Billy Arsenault are on their game. When they’re both scoring, forget it.
Ellis (34 points) and Arsenault (25) combined to blow away North Reading, 83-63, in a Cape Ann League matchup Friday at Lynnfield High that was more one-sided than even the 20-point margin suggests. Lynnfield (14-1; 14-0 CAL) has won 11 in a row.
“(Ellis) has always been one of our better players, but in the last eight games or so he’s been really lighting it up for us,” Lynnfield coach Scott MacKenzie said. “It’s really been something to watch.”
While Lynnfield teams in the past have been known for their deliberate style, these Pioneers play an up-tempo game, with point guard Arsenault setting the pace. In their last eight games, the Pioneers have averaged 75 points, and have broken the 80-point mark three times. Friday’s 83-point output matched a season high.
“What this team does well is get out on transition and score,” MacKenzie said.
Lynnfield took command of Friday’s game late in the second period, when Arsenault scored eight straight points for his team to help advance a 3-point lead to a 9-point advantage at halftime, 39-30. The Pioneers opened the second half with a 13-5 run capped off by a 3-pointer by Ellis, who nailed six shots from beyond the arc during the game.
Lynnfield’s lead ballooned to 17 (56-39) with 2:30 left in the third period, but the Hornets (10-6; 9-5) went on a quick 6-0 run behind Robert O’Donnell (15 points) and Cameron Davis. Arsenault made a layup just before the buzzer to give Lynnfield a 61-47 lead after three quarters.
Ellis put the game away when he scored eight of his team’s next 10 points over a 3-minute span. First, he made an old school 3-point play on a drive to the basket, then hit a 25-footer from the right elbow, and then glassed in an off-balance runner from the right side to give the Pioneers a 71-48 advantage.
Lynnifleld’s lead advanced to 24 when Ellis finished his scoring for the night by canning a 3-pointer from the right wing with 3:18 to play.
Ellis scored eight of the Pioneers’ first 10 points to give Lynnfield an early 10-4 lead, but North Reading rallied behind eight straight points from Michael McCauley (team-high 23 points). A running bucket by McCauley gave the Hornets what turned out to be their largest lead of the game at 15-12 with 4:13 left in a first quarter that was played at a rapid pace.
Lynnfield clawed back and regained the lead when Matthew Seelig made a 3-pointer from the right wing with 1:09 left in the opening period. The Hornets got as close as one point in the second quarter when O’Donnell scored on a drive with 4:13 left before halftime.
The Pioneers host Cardinal Spellman in a non-league game on Sunday (2).
