MARBLEHEAD — The Marblehead boys basketball team’s season came to a conclusion on Tuesday night after a hard-fought battle, falling by a score of 75-61 to the Newburyport Clippers in the preliminary round of the Division 2 tournament.
Tyrone Countrymon led the offensive attack for Marblehead with 11 points, followed by Kipp Schauder, who had 10 points, and Noah Mann, who had nine.
James Scali paved the way for the Clippers’ victory with a remarkable 27 points, followed by Ronan Brown’s 15 points and John Fehlner IV’s 14 points.
“They (the Clippers) were playing with confidence and came out with a lot of energy,” said Marblehead head coach Mike Giardi. “We just didn’t play our best game against them tonight, and they took advantage of that by playing really hard and really well.”
For a majority of the game, both teams were like heavyweight boxers going blow for blow. Neither team wanted to give the other an inch. What inevitably turned the tide in favor of the Clippers was the Magicians’ inability to hit free throws, missing 12-of-25. They also struggled as the Clippers dominated the boards.
“For us (Tuesday), a couple big things hurt us, obviously,” said Giardi. “One of the biggest things that hurt us was rebounding. They were very aggressive on the glass.”
The Magicians finished the season with a 13-8 record.
