PEABODY — Despite taking a nine-point lead in the opening minutes of the game, the Bishop Fenwick boys basketball team couldn’t hold on in a 61-56 loss to Cristo Rey in a non-conference bout at home Monday night.
“We came out strong and got a great lift from Cade Buckley early on, but after those first few minutes we were never quite able to find our rhythm again,” said Fenwick coach Kevin Moran. “Our defense was also lacking all night and I think we gave up 25 foul shots, so that was a big contributing factor as well.”
Prior to the game, Fenwick honored its eight seniors — captain Max Grenert, captain Alex Gonzalez, captain Christian Loescher, Cade Buckley, John Bennett, Franklin Quintin, Max Corson and Colby Browne — for their contributions to the program.
“We have a wonderful group of seniors and we’re a very experienced team,” said Moran. “Those guys are true leaders for us, and whenever you have a group of guys like that it makes things much easier as a coach. I’m certainly lucky to have them all here.”
Sophomore Che Hanks led the way for Fenwick with 12 points in the loss, while Buckley had a solid game with 10 points and eight rebounds. Grenert added nine points, while Browne had a great all-around game with five points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals.
The Crusaders got off to a great start in this one, jumping out to a 13-4 lead in the opening four minutes of play. But Fenwick went a bit cold after that, allowing Cristo Rey to crawl back in the game. By the end of the first quarter, Fenwick only held a 16-14 lead.
The second quarter was a back-and-forth battle, with two ties and three lead changes over the course of the frame. Fenwick was able to grab ahold of the lead with about two minutes to play, and the Crusaders took a slim 29-25 lead into the halftime break.
Fenwick’s highest-scoring quarter came in the third. Behind back-to-back 3-pointers from Hanks in the opening minute of the quarter, the Crusaders jumped out to a 10-point lead. But once again, Cristo Rey kept fighting back. By the end of the quarter, Fenwick only led 46-41.
Cristo Rey continued to chip away at the deficit in the fourth quarter, eventually tying the score at 56-56 with 1:30 to play. Fenwick went cold from that point on, getting outscored 6-0 in the final 1:30 of the game to walk away with the loss.
Fenwick (5-3) hosts Arlington Catholic Wednesday evening (6:30).
“We’ve got another tough test coming up Wednesday and we’re going to have to be ready,” said Moran. “That’s going to be a critical game for us in the league and we’re going to have to come out with a better effort if we want to take home the win.”
