PEABODY — For three quarters, the cross-city clash between host Peabody and Bishop Fenwick was anyone’s basketball game. Neither team had led by more than five and it was a two-point game with the Tanners on top, 48-46, with eight minutes to go.
Enter Peabody’s Jariel Tolentino (21 points) and sixth man Thad Broughton (16 points), who strapped the Tanners on their backs, scoring 15 combined points in the final quarter to carry the Tanners to victory (66-59) in front of a packed gymnasium at Peabody High.
“We got some really big contributions today. When we really needed some crucial buckets, Jariel came through,” Peabody head coach Thad Broughton said. “He’s been big all year and he’s our leader. And Thad gave us some really big minutes off the bench and hit a couple of big shots. It was anyone’s game there for a while. Fenwick is a good team.”
Bishop Fenwick head coach Chris Timson said the Crusaders weren’t “closing out our shooters and getting to the spots we needed to get.
“It all came down to, offensively, we weren’t getting to our spots. It’s the same stuff we talk about at practice every day,” Timson said. “We can practice it, but if we don’t execute it, we’re not getting any better. The thing we’re struggling with is our execution.”
Peabody led by three after one, 15-12, and three at the half, 33-30, thanks to a buzzer-beating beast of a basket off an offensive rebound from big man Jimmy Festa (8 points). The Tanners opened the third quarter with another Festa hoop.
“Those were big momentum buckets by Jimmy,” coach Broughton said. “For him to get that bucket at the end of the first half was huge. He’s just constant energy, constant hustle, and is just a huge part of our team.”
Timson gave a shout out to Nate Allder (15 points), Dominic Panniello-Torres (13 points), and Vincent Finocchio (13 points).
“Nate plays really well. He works hard on defense and goes to the rim really well,” Timson said. “Dom does the same thing. He penetrates and we also had a good spark from Vincent. Those three guys are playing really well but the problem we’re having is we have two guys executing and three guys watching the ball.”
Peabody went on a 12-0 run in a two-plus minute span to start the fourth quarter, opening up a 60-46 lead. Fenwick’s Jesse Timson temporarily stopped the bleeding with a bucket, but a Broughton spinner, a Tolentino hoop off a Broughton feed, and another Tolentino bucket after an offensive board from Broughton stretched the lead to 66-48 with about three minutes left. Fenwick’s Jake Bellacini put on an early New Year’s fireworks preview the rest of the way, scoring all 11 of his points, including three straight threes, to close out the game.
“He shoots well when he shoots with confidence and he was shooting with confidence there at the end,” Timson said.
Broughton gave a shout-out to Aneudy Medrano (4 points), Mark Mendonca (13 points) and Justin Pais (2 points).
“Aneudy and Mark Mendonca played great defensively and Aneudy also had some nice drives,” coach Broughton said. “And Justin Pais really played a solid game tonight.”
Broughton said he is hoping to “accelerate the learning curve” for varsity rookies and the team has stepped it up over the winter break and “that helped us tonight.”
“We struggled in our first three games against some really talented teams before picking up that first win,” he said. “We are hoping to play some good basketball as the new year approaches and we start to get more game experience. I am looking forward to watching this team grow. Hopefully, we will continue getting better.”
Peabody’s (2-3, 1-3 MIAA) next game is Friday at Salem Academy Charter School at 5 p.m. Bishop Fenwick (1-4) is back in action Friday at Archbishop Williams at 6:30 p.m.
“They’re a pretty good team,” Timson said. “They’re been a powerhouse in the league the last couple of years so we’ll be challenged for sure.”
