DANVERS — It wasn’t the prettiest start to the season for the Peabody boys basketball team, but coach Thad Broughton will certainly take an opening victory over one of the Tanners’ Northeastern Conference rivals.
Chioke Onwuogu totaled 14 points and fellow senior Kyle Morfis chipped in with 10, including a pair of 3-pointers, to lead the way for the Tanners in Friday night’s 52-29 win at Danvers.
“I think both teams were feeling each other out early, but we were fortunate to get a couple buckets to go down and get us going,” Broughton said. “The whole game didn’t really have a great flow to it, there were a lot of turnovers, but both teams will improve as the season goes along.”
Joangel Lugo handed out four assists on the night for Peabody, while Onwuogu and Steve Bua each grabbed eight rebounds.
“I thought Joangel and Chioke set a good tone for us on the defensive end and that helped carry us a little bit,” Broughton said.
Peabody benefitted from turnovers in the early going as it jumped out to a 10-0 lead. Onwuogu capped off the opening run with a steal and layup before the hosts scored their first point on a Chris Perez free throw with 2:43 left in the first quarter. Morfis immediately responded with a triple, helping Peabody finish the opening stanza with an 18-6 lead.
Danvers scored five straight points midway through the second quarter as Perez hit a free throw and then drove to the basket following a steal. However, the visitors responded with the next five and finished the half with a 33-18 advantage.
“We lost five starters from last year, we have a young team and they weren’t ready to play,” said Danvers coach Chris Timson. “We can’t hang our heads and just have to keep working hard every day. We got a little better in the second half, but we have a lot of work to do.”
After Morfis opened Peabody’s second half with a corner three, Jared Berry scored the next five points for the home team and Daury Margarin cut the Danvers deficit to 14 with a basket at the end of the third quarter. Perez led the Falcons with 11 points and Berry added 10.
Peabody closed the game on an impressive note, scoring 12 of the final 15 points. After Perez scored past two defenders to open the fourth quarter for Danvers, Lugo finished in transition and Onwuogu posted a 3-point play to begin a late 7-0 run for Peabody. The Tanners scored the final five points, including a pair from Krisli Miraka along the baseline.
“We’re trying to find our rotations and what works best, but I thought every kid that came in gave us good energy,” Broughton said. “I was proud of the effort, but there are definitely a lot of things we need to work on. We’re just happy to start the season off on a good note.”
Peabody (1-0) travels to Gloucester Monday (7).
