SWAMPSCOTT — In the first meeting between the two programs, the Marblehead boys basketball team edged the Big Blue by one point. On Thursday night, Marblehead made sure to put the game away early, winning 83-64 in enemy territory.
Marblehead outscored Swampscott 34-9 in the second quarter, giving the Magicians a comfortable 58-24 halftime lead. Junior forward Ryan Commoss (19 points) led the charge in the quarter with 11 points.
The Magicians used their speed to push the ball every opportunity they could, making life hard for Swampscotts’s transition defense – something that was part of Giardi’s gameplan.
“We did a good job of outletting. We weren’t throwing the ball crazy up ahead, but we were taking the ball and driving it to the paint,” Giardi said. “[We were] trying to force tough situations for their defense. It really worked out well for us tonight.”
The Magicians set the tempo straight from the tip-off. Marblehead got out to an early 9-0 lead, highlighted by a fastbreak dunk from Isaiah Makor (17 points) to get the Magicians faithful out of their seats.
Swampscott head coach Jason Knowles wasn’t happy with his team’s first-half performance.
“First half was abysmal,” Knowles said. “That was the most disappointing I have been with my group.”
Knowles described his team’s lack of energy as the reason the hole was so big.
“We knew exactly what they were going to do. We knew they were going to try and run us. The fact we could not get back on defense – that’s a matter of want,” Knowles said.
In the second half, Swampscott came out fighting, not giving up until the final buzzer. The Big Blue got out to a 16-8 run to cut the lead to 26 in the third quarter.
Swampscott got the game to within 17, but the deficit would have taken a miracle.
There were some positives Knowles took away – one being his team continuing to “battle.” The Big Blue outscored the Magicians 40-25 in the second half.
“Second half, beyond proud of them. If we had that same effort and same sense of urgency in the first half, then who knows, maybe it’s a different outcome,” Knowles said.
Marblehead’s next game is Sunday when it hosts Bedford with tip-off scheduled for 6 p.m. The Big Blue will look to get back to their winning ways at the Spartan Classic Tournament on Saturday at St. Mary’s when they play Lowell Catholic at 5:45 p.m.
Marblehead’s leading scorers:
Commoss (19)
Makor (17)
Nicholas Lemmond (15)
Tyrone Countrymon (13)
Scott Campbell (6)
Matthew Sherf (5)
Cameron Comstock (4)
Magnus McCarthy (4)
Swampscott’s leading scorers:
Liam Wales (19)
Connor Chiarello (18)
Benagour (12)
Liam Keaney (5)
Gabe Tripp (4)
Andrew Templeman (4)
Henry Beuttler (2)
