PEABODY — The Peabody Tanners faced off at home against the Saugus Sachems Thursday night and won by a score of 79-45.
In the first quarter, the Sachems struck first with the first bucket of the game. However, the Tanners retaliated with a score of their own and never looked back. Leading the offensive charge for the Tanners was Anthony Forte with 19 points in the first.
At the end of the first quarter, the Tanners were winning, 35-6. One of the biggest factors that allowed the Tanners to maintain its commanding lead early in the game was its aggressive defense, alongside Forte’s inability to miss a shot, which allowed for them to force turnovers and control the ball, and this carried over into the second quarter.
The first half ended with the Tanners holding a 46-22 over the Sachems. The offense by the Tanners was too much for the Sachems defense to handle. The Sachems’ offense did start to come to life as they were able to begin closing the gap after being down 29 to end the first on the heels of Tyrone Manderson, who had nine of the team’s 22 points at the half.
Going into the third quarter, the Tanners did not switch up their game. They continued to press on and play aggressive defense to dominate the ball. However, the Sachems weren’t going down without a fight. While the Sachems did begin to find their groove, it was no match for the high-powered offense of the Tanners.
The offensive onslaught that was on display Thursday for the Tanners was led by Forte. Forte scored an astonishing 40 points, and the Sachems had no answer for him.
“After the first shot went in, I just kept asking for the ball.” said Forte about his stellar performance. “I just wanted to keep shooting. Once I got the ball, I was shooting.”
Despite just wanting to shoot the ball, Forte also played a lot of selfless ball and consistently helped his team, said head coach Thad Broughton.
The final quarter of the game began the same way that the previous three had ended, with the Tanners dominating on both ends of the ball and the Sachems struggling to get into a consistent rhythm. While the Sachems did show signs of life and fought with all their might, their efforts were in vain as the Tanners and Forte just could not be stopped.
