WINTHROP — The Winthrop boys basketball team got itself back to .500 on the season Thursday night, running away late to pick up a 67-47 win over Danvers in a Northeastern Conference battle at a packed Chris Tsiotos Court.
Chris Cappuccio led the offensive attack for the Vikings with 21 points and five rebounds, while Zach Bogusz put up 16 points and five rebounds. Luca Zanelli was close behind with 15 points and nine rebounds, while George Galuris (nine points) and Mikey Chaves (six points) also played well in the victory.
The Vikings jumped all over Danvers early behind a great defensive effort, running out to an 11-3 lead in the opening minutes. But the Falcons battled back, and after a late-quarter flurry, Winthrop only held a 17-13 lead.
Cappuccio upped his game in the second quarter, making a number of steals and getting the Vikings running in transition. He also scored six of his 10 first-half points in the frame. His play helped Winthrop build up another eight-point lead, but once again Danvers hit some threes and went on a late run to make it a 31-25 game at the halftime break.
Danvers took some of that momentum from the second quarter into the second half, rallying to tie the score at 35-35 midway through the third. But that’s where the rally ended, as Winthrop suddenly added some red-hot shooting to go along with its strong defensive play. The Vikings retook the lead and then stretched it to nine points, taking a 48-39 lead into the fourth quarter.
Cappuccio continued to lead the offensive charge in the fourth quarter, but Bogusz helped the effort with nine points and Zanelli also chipped in with eight more. Behind all of that and some solid defense down the stretch, Winthrop stretched its lead to as many as 21 points before the reserves came in and the Vikings were able to coast home to the victory.
Winthrop (6-6) will turn right around for another home game Friday night (7) against Gloucester.
