In a rematch between Saugus and Winthrop from 12 days ago, Saugus earned another victory over the Vikings, 62-50, in the second annual David Green Memorial Basketball Tournament during Wednesday’s matinee at Winthrop High.
Saugus, which previously beat Winthrop 65-57, was led by seniors Josh Osawe (19 points) and Max Anajjar (16 points). Zachary Bogusz (21 points) and Raesean Bebri (seven points) led the Vikings.
Saugus head coach Joe Bertrand said playing the same team within two weeks is never easy.
“We know them [and] they know us. We both made adjustments,” Bertrand said. “Luckily, our guys played hard. On the road, it is never going to be easy and we did a good job coming away with the win.”
Neither team pulled away from the other in the first quarter. The Sachems went on an early run as Osawe showed his quick first step, getting to the rim for a contested layup. Isaiah Rodriguez (six points) followed the layup with back-to-back corner threes.
Saugus played to its strengths by continuously driving to the paint while still making the defense respect its outside shooting, something Bertrand wanted to keep under control.
“We love to shoot threes, but we always tell the kids the ball has to touch the paint first. They did a good job executing that today,” Bertrand said.
Though Saugus dictated the first half, Winthrop didn’t go away as Bogusz drilled a transition three pointer to cap off a 7-0 run for the Vikings, cutting the Saugus lead to 25-19 in the second.
However, the run ended there as the Sachems did what they did best. Anajjar finished an acrobatic layup, followed by senior Ben Tapia-Gately (11 points) drilling a three pointer from the top of the key. The Sachems went into halftime with a 30-20 lead.
“It was a game of runs. Every single time we made a push, they made a push back. We did a great job responding by playing team basketball,” Bertrand said.
Saugus turned to a zone defense for the second half, presenting trouble for Winthrop and taking time off the Vikings’ shot clock with “active hands” according to Bertrand.
“If we are going to play zone, our hands have to be up, and they did a good job committing to that which made the difference,” Bertrand said.
Osawe scored layups off deflections and loose balls in the zone defense. He was the difference-maker, constantly showing his ability to get to the rim while also cashing in on two threes.
“He really stepped up. He’s a senior [who] works really hard. We knew it was going to be tough coming on the road, and he stepped up to the challenge,” Bertrand said.
Saugus will be back in action in the championship game against Revere on Thursday.
