The Saugus boys basketball team took on the Winthrop Vikings Friday night, emerging victorious 65-57. The Sachems were led by Ben Tapia-Gately who scored a game-high 23 points. Isaiah Rodriguez chipped in with 13 while Max Anajjar and Chris Flynn each scored 11.
Early in the first quarter, it was Rodriguez and Tapia-Gately who found early success driving to the hoop. Winthrop turned to a full court press, but to no avail as Saugus kept things rolling.
The Vikings and Sachems traded baskets for the majority of the quarter, leading to Saugus turning to a 2-3 zone defense. The zone defense worked to perfection on the first play as the Sachems got a steal – followed by a three-point shot from Tapia-Gately.
“Just trying to give [Winthrop] different looks. See if we could throw them off for a couple of possessions [to] try and steal a couple on defense,” Saugus head coach Joe Bertrand said regarding the 2-3 zone.
Winthrop held a two-point lead after the first quarter 17-15.
To start the second quarter, Anajjar brought the crowd to its feet with an acrobatic and-one. Even though Anajjar missed the free throw, Rodriguez got the offensive rebound, leading to a made three from Cam Soroko.
The Sachems went on a 7-0 run to grab the lead 22-17. Saugus’ defense made life difficult for Winthrop, holding the Vikings scoreless for the first three minutes of the quarter. Winthrop made its first field goal of the quarter with 4:30 left.
Shooting from Saugus picked up. Chris Flynn and Anajjar each made a pair of three pointers to put their team ahead 28-21 with less than four minutes to go in the half.
The Vikings went to a 3-2 zone with two minutes left, but Saugus couldn’t stop hitting threes. The Sachems caught fire in the quarter, outscoring Winthrop 18-9 to take a seven-point advantage at half 36-26.
“That [three-point shooting] is a big focus for us in practice. We just want to find the open guy and take open shots. Let the game come to us and keep it as simple as possible,” Bertrand said.
In the second half, the Sachems started where they left off from the three point line. This time it was Rodriguez who got in on the action, making an early three ball. Rodriguez scored eight of the first 10 points for Saugus in the quarter.
Winthrop responded with a 6-0 run leading to a Saugus timeout, but the Sachems responded with a 5-0 run to take a 14-point lead heading into the final quarter.
In the fourth, Saugus built up a 17-point lead with around four minutes left. However, the Vikings did not go away. Winthrop chipped away and got it down to a nine-point game with 2:28 left.
“They put a lot of pressure on us and we had a couple of silly turnovers,” Bertrand said when asked about what happened in the fourth quarter.
When they needed points the most, Anajjar and Tapia-Gately both made a pair of clutch free throws with under one minute left to make it 63-50 and put the game out of reach, giving the Sachems their second win of the season 65-57.
The Sachems’ next game is Monday on the road against Lynn Tech..
Mark Aboyoun can be reached at [email protected]
