MARBLEHEAD — The Salem High School boys basketball team never let Marblehead out of its sight Tuesday and for that, the Witches were rewarded.
There were a couple of times in the first half, and at least one in the second, when it looked as if the Magicians were going to stretch its lead out enough to feel secure about it. But the Witches kept climbing back into it until finally, late in the third quarter, it put on a run of its own that ended up being enough for a 60-56 win.
The victory kept Salem undefeated, while dropping Marblehead to .500 on the year.
“We got away from our defensive game plan, which was to hold the high post,” said Marblehead coach Mike Giardi. “It was a good game plan, but we got lazy and started giving it to them.”:
For his part, Salem’s Tom Doyle said a halftime defensive switch proved effective in the end.
“We were struggling in our man-to-man defense, so we switched to a zone,” Doyle said. “That made a huge difference.”
The game turned out to be a tour-de-force for senior forward Treston Abreu, who finished with 32 points, many of them coming off plays set up for him on the high post.
“He did a great job for us,” Doyle said. “He’s been coming along. It was good to see him have a game like he had tonight.”
Also playing well was Jack Doyle, the coach’s son, who scored 10 points, but who also ran the offense and made sure it flowed through the red-hot Abreu.
“He did a good job as the floor general,” Doyle said. “He controlled the tempo, and he helped set up Treston for some baskets too.”
Salem started slowly, but Marblehead was on target, and late in the first quarter the Magicians had a 14-7 lead. But as it did throughout the game, Salem scurried back with a 6-3 run to close the quarter and go into the second period only down by four (17-13). The second quarter was pretty much a draw, with the Magicians taking a 31-29 lead at the half.
Between Tyrone Countrymon (nine points overall) and Kipp Schauder (team-high 18 points), the Magicians once again tried to take command, but it never could really break away. The highest the lead got was seven, on several occasions, before the Witches went on an 8-0 run to close the quarter, with a significant contribution from Brayson Green (4 points), whose second of two buckets gave Salem its first lead since the early going (45-43).
“He gave us a real life tonight,” Doyle said, “especially with his rebounding.”
Marblehead hung tough, but with less than four minutes to go, Darlin Santiago hit a big 3-pointer, after which he fell to the floor with a bang. That put the Witches up by nine (58-49) and it was too much for Marblehead to overcome, as Salem’s zone shut off the inside while the outside shots stopped falling.
Marblehead (3-3) hosts Gloucester Friday night (7).
Salem (6-0) plays on the road at Swampscott Friday (7).
