PEABODY– Bishop Fenwick hosted Lynnfield Monday night in an entertaining game on the hardwood. It was a packed house for Fenwick’s home opener. However, it was Lynnfield who would spoil the party and pick up the win 68-56.
Lynnfield got out of the gates quickly, getting out to a 9-5 lead early in the first quarter. The Pioneers were able to get great shots in the first half due to their excellent spacing. Between their half-court sets and playmaking guards, led by senior Alex Gentile and sophomore Gavin Deluties, Lynnfield was able to get out to a comfortable eight-point lead as the first quarter came to a close.
“I think our guards did a good job attacking the seams and kicking [it out]. We made the extra pass a lot and I thought [the open looks] were a result from the extra pass,” Lynnfield head coach John Bakopolus said.
In the second quarter, the Crusaders would try to match the intensity of Lynnfield and scored two quick baskets, one off a half-court set and the following off of a defensive turnover. However, the Pioneers were quick to respond, quieting the home supporters with a wide-open three. Fenwick did find success in their offensive rebounding ability leading to second-chance points, but when they committed too many players for the offensive rebound and couldn’t grab the ball, it allowed Lynnfield to push up the floor and either finish with a layup or a three. Lynnfield outscored the Crusaders 15-7 in the second to extend their lead into halftime 43-27.
The first half saw Lynnfield getting open three-point shots. Four players on Lynnfield contributed with at least one made three-pointer.
“Our goal this year is to hit double-digit threes a game. We are going to take a lot [of threes]. I thought today we got good looks.”
Even when down 16 at the half, the Crusaders did not quit and started the third quarter with a lot of energy. The spark came from junior captain James Meklis. Meklis took the game into his own hands and started to make plays not only for himself but for his team. Meklis finished with 31 points. At one point in the third quarter, Fenwick went on an 18-5 run and ended up outscoring Lynnfield 23-19 in the third quarter to cut the lead to 10, 55-45.
Bakopolus spoke about how his team is young and these types of situations [letting a team back into the game] will only help the team in future games.
“I think we are still so young, me included, that we just need to learn how to finish games,” Bakopolus said.
The fourth quarter saw the Crusaders cut the lead to single digits after switching to a 2-3 zone. With five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Fenwick was able to cut the lead to a five-point game, 57-52. The zone seemed to limit the Pioneers offense, however, the one thing it was not able to limit was the number of fouls the Crusaders were committing. Lynnfield was in the bonus with just under five minutes left in the game. Though they did leave some points at the line, Bakopolus sees that as an area the team will try and improve on in practices. The missed free throws did not end up hurting Lynnfield mainly because of their ability to grab offensive rebounds. Between sophomore Alex Fleming and junior Chris Daniels, Lynnfield was able to control the offensive boards in the second half.
“We want to send five guys to the glass. We are a team that needs more shots because we want to score a lot,” Bakopolus said.
Lynnfield was able to hold off the late surge from Fenwick to get their season started with a win. Gentile led Lynnfield with 25 points.
Fenwick’s next game will be away at Archbishop Williams on Friday, December 16 at 6:30 p.m.
Lynnfield’s next game will be home Friday, December 16 at 6:30 p.m. against Hamilton-Wenham.
