MARBLEHEAD — The Marblehead boys basketball team rallied back to take a lead late in the fourth quarter, but in the end the Beverly Panthers were able to make a couple of key plays down the stretch as the Magicians lost to their Northeastern Conference foe, 56-54, Friday night at home.
“I think we played with a lot more energy (than the last matchup against Beverly) and we put a lot of pressure on them,” said Marblehead coach Mike Giardi. “We got a great effort from our guys, we mixed a lot of different players in and everyone contributed. A couple little things are always going to hurt you, and that’s what happened to us (Friday).”
Junior forward Hunter Fleming led the way with 12 points, five rebounds and four blocks, while junior Lucas Mouthaan finished with 10 points and six rebounds. Senior Sami Loughlin added eight points and two rebounds, while junior Kipp Schauder (seven points, four rebounds) and junior Noah Mann (six points, six rebounds) also played well in the loss.
For Beverly, sophomore Gabriel Copeland paced the offense with 15 points and seven rebounds, including the final two game-clinching points. Sophomore Dylan Crowley added 13 points, while junior Treston Abreu (seven points, five rebounds), freshman Ryder Frost (seven points, three rebounds) and sophomore Rook Landman (seven points) also played well in the victory.
“I thought Marblehead played a great game, but I give my guys a lot of credit after playing their third game in three days,” said Beverly coach Matt Karakoudas, a former standout at St. Mary’s. “The guys had to hang in there and battle, and it was a great learning experience. We made some mental mistakes at the end of the game, but we also did a lot of things correctly. This will be a great game to watch on film that’s for sure.”
Marblehead got off to a strong start, potentially riding the momentum from Thursday night’s last-second win over Swampscott. The Magicians took a 17-11 lead into the end of the first quarter behind some strong play from the starting lineup.
But once the second unit came in for Marblehead, Beverly was able to take control. The Panthers went on an 11-0 run to take the lead, eventually pulling ahead 34-25 by the halftime break.
Beverly kept its eight-point lead going into the fourth quarter, but Marblehead made a run in the fourth to tie the score at 49-49 with four minutes to go. The Magicians eventually took a 53-51 lead with three minutes to go, but Beverly kept battling. After Tyrone Countrymon hit one free throw for Marblehead to tie the score at 54-54, Beverly took the ball up the court and got off a shot. After the shot missed, Copeland leapt up to pull down the rebound and was fouled with 1.8 seconds left. Copeland hit both free throws to take the lead and force Marblehead into a last-second try. Unfortunately for Marblehead it didn’t go well, as the Magicians threw the ball out of bounds and lost possession.
“It’s all on me, I broke my own rule of not running a play that you haven’t run much in practice,” said Giardi. “We tried to advance the ball to halfcourt so we could take a timeout, and there was a misunderstanding between me and the players. Sometimes that’s the case, and we’ve just got to learn from it.”
Marblehead (3-4) returns to the court Tuesday night (7) on the road at Saugus.
“Our guys did a really good job of battling and competing all game, and that’s all you can ask for,” said Giardi. “It’s an awkward year and we’re trying to get as many guys as many looks as we can, and I think we’ve come a long way since the beginning of the season.”
Beverly (8-0) will look to remain unbeaten when it hosts Peabody Tuesday evening (6).
“The first thing I’m going to do is give these guys a day off because they’ve been working hard, but we’re excited to keep this going,” said Karakoudas. “We’re a young team and we’re trying to get as many games in as we can, so hopefully we can run it back a third time with Marblehead before the season ends.”
