PEABODY— The first quarter of Friday afternoon’s game between the Peabody boys basketball team and Essex Tech didn’t set the stage for an easy Tanners win. Peabody shook off a slow start, after struggling to score buckets in the first quarter, to roll through the Hawks for a 69-37 win at Peabody Veterans Memorial Field House. The victory is the Tanners’ (2-2) second win of the young season.
Senior guard Jake Gustin led Peabody with 18 points, junior forward Mike Tansey tallied 13 points, and senior guard Marcus Barker and senior guard/forward Jake Irvine each added nine points to the winning effort.
“We’re hoping this win can give us a little bit of momentum going forward,” Peabody coach Thad Broughton said. “At 2-2, it’s still early in our season. We’re hoping that moving forward we can put together some wins and start playing some strong basketball.”
The first quarter turned into a tight defensive battle as Peabody couldn’t get much going on the offensive end. Gustin swiped a steal and drove to the basket for an easy lay-in as time expired to give the Tanners a 9-5 lead at the end of the quarter.
Peabody found its rhythm on offense in the second quarter to open up a double-digit advantage. The Tanners pieced together a 6-0 run out of the gate before Essex Tech’s Anderson Villa ended his team’s drought with a 3-point play. Barker scored seven points in the quarter, five of which came from the charity stripe. Gustin knocked in a three towards the end of the period and Peabody led 32-21 at halftime.
“Marcus Barker was fantastic,” Broughton said. “His defensive intensity is awesome. He was all over the court for us tonight. He did some really nice things, had some nice steals and hit some big buckets.”
After a slow start to the game, Broughton liked what he saw from his team throughout the remainder of the afternoon. As the Tanners began to hit their shots, the momentum began to swing in their favor.
“The biggest difference for us is we started hitting a couple shots,” Broughton said. “We struggled hitting shots in the first half and we were sloppy. I thought Jake Gustin was huge for us in the second half and we were able to pull away.”
Essex Tech stumbled out of the gate in the second half, thanks in part to Peabody’s pressure on defense. Turnovers mounted, hurting the Hawks and helping the Tanners run out to a hefty 31-point edge. After three, Peabody led 55-24 and the rout was on.
“Our offense comes and goes but our defense has to be our mainstay,” Broughton said. “I thought that in the third quarter, Gustin and Barker did an unbelievable job defensively for us.”
Irvine joined in on the fun in the fourth quarter with a lay-in and a 3-pointer to begin the period. Comfortably ahead at 60-24, the Tanners cruised the rest of the way. Peabody rolled to the 69-37 victory.
The Tanners are back in action on Jan. 3 against Northeastern Conference rival Revere.
“Revere’s always a tough opponent,” Broughton said. “They’re a good team and we’re looking forward to playing them.”
