PEABODY — The Bishop Fenwick boys basketball team gave it all it had Sunday night but in the end the Crusaders fell just short in a double-overtime thriller, 76-74, against visiting Manchester-Essex.
The Crusaders led by as many as 10 points in the second half but the Hornets came roaring back before completing the comeback in the second overtime.
“It’s a great high school basketball and unfortunately we came out on the wrong end of it,” Fenwick coach Kevin Moran said. “One thing we’ve been trying to do for the past couple weeks to really get our kids to compete. From that perspective I think the kids competed. The execution probably wasn’t as good as it could have been, but the execution is on the coaches.”
Jason Romans led the way for Fenwick’s offense with 29 points. Junior Forward Christian Loescher (10 points, eight rebounds, seven blocks) also had a big game before fouling out in the first overtime.
“We’ve been working with Christian,” Moran said. “I think he’s one of the better athletic big guys around. But he tends to get himself in foul trouble once in awhile. We’re working on it. It definitely hurt us losing his presence.”
Both teams went back-and-forth right from the start, with each side trading key 3-pointers. Kellen Furse hit three first-quarter shots from behind the arch to lead the Hornets, who went into the second with an 18-17 lead.
Max Grenert (13 points, eight rebounds) and Romans each hit a 3-pointer to start the second frame but Manchester-Essex responded. Mason Paccone tacked on a pair of 3’s to give the Hornets a 26-25 lead.
Fenwick started to find some rhythm from there. The Crusaders ended the half on an 8-point run thanks to a pair of baskets from Loescher and another from Romans to go ahead 33-26.
The Crusaders pushed their lead up to 38-28 after a 3-pointer from Grenert, but it was all Manchester-Essex from there.
The Hornets’ shooters got hot at the right time and Manchester-Essex went on a 13-2 spurt to grab a 41-40 lead midway through the third quarter. Things stayed tight the rest of the way and Grenert hit another 3-pointer on Fenwick’s final possession in regulation to tie things up at 59-59.
Alex Gonzalez led the Crusaders with four points in the first overtime, but the Hornets stuck around. Furse hit a clutch 3-pointer and both teams were tied at 65-65 going into the second overtime.
It looked like Romans gave the Crusaders the momentum swing they needed with a pair of nice assists in the second overtime. The two baskets put Fenwick ahead 74-70 in the final minutes before an and one from John Shaw cut the lead to one.
From there a crucial 5-second violation gave the Hornets the ball again and Ambrose Pallazola scored the eventual-game winner to give Manchester-Essex a 75-74 lead. Furse bumped the lead up to 76-74 with a free throw and Romans’ final 3-point attempt fell short.
“Those are the games where it’s one team or the other,” Moran said. “You get a couple bounces here or there it could’ve gone our way. You hate to lose but our team competed.
“I saw (Manchester-Essex) is ranked as a top team in Division 4, so we knew coming in they were going to competitive. They have a bunch of seniors and a lot of experience. You could see it out there. They’re tough kids.”
The Crusaders host Catholic Central League rival Archbishop Williams Friday (6:30)
