PEABODY — The Bishop Fenwick boys basketball team was cruising on all cylinders Sunday afternoon, picking up the season sweep over Danvers with a 66-45 win on its home court. The Crusaders previously beat Danvers 78-53 on the road back on Dec. 23.
“It was nice to come out and play well after a tough loss (64-57 to Cathedral) Friday night,” said Fenwick coach Kevin Moran. “Danvers played a great game and gave us a run, but we were able to move the ball well and get a lot of guys contributing.”
Che Hanks paced the offensive output with 21 points and five assists, while Mike Yentin was close behind with 18 points. Jason Romans, the third head of Fenwick’s three-headed offensive monster, filled the stat sheet with nine points, seven assists and 10 steals. Gianni Mercurio also had a solid game, contributing 10 points and eight rebounds.
“A guy like Gianni has been a real star for us lately,” said Moran. “He’s a young player who hasn’t gotten much of an opportunity until this year, and now he’s averaging 10 rebounds a game. It’s the play of guys like him that will decide how far we go moving forward.”
The win was an important one for the Crusaders, who find themselves just above .500 on the season and ranked as the No. 6 team in all of Division 3 according to the first edition of the MIAA power rankings. With 10 games remaining on the schedule — including one more matchup with No. 1 St. Mary’s — Fenwick needs all the momentum it can muster.
“Our league is incredibly balanced and gives us a tough test every single night,” said Moran. “The bottom line is that if you come to play a CCL team and don’t play four full quarters, you won’t win. We need to be able to put together complete games, and playing in our league every night is the best way to work on that.”
Bishop Fenwick (6-4) returns to the court Tuesday (6:30) for a home game against Austin Prep.
