After strong regular seasons and trips to their respective MIAA state tournaments, the Marblehead and Peabody boys basketball teams suffered similar fates Monday night.
Marblehead, ranked No. 36 in Division 2, hit the road to face No. 29 Archbishop Williams and fell, 52-42, despite leading by two points at halftime (29-27) and after three quarters (36-34).
Back-to-back 3-pointers from Bobby Louis and John Olinto highlighted a 12-3 fourth-quarter run from Archbishop Williams (11-10), which advanced to Friday’s round of 32 against No. 4 Oliver Ames (7:15 p.m.).
Marblehead led, 10-0, to start the game and Archbishop Williams didn’t take its first lead (41-39) until the 4:20 mark of the fourth quarter. The Magicians totaled just 26 points through the final three quarters.
Coach Mike Giardi’s Magicians – led by Finn Baron, Sam Thompson, and Matt Sherf this winter – bowed out of the tournament with an 11-10 record.
As for No. 39 Peabody, the final team to squeak into the Division 1 bracket, the visiting Tanners suffered a 61-56 loss to No. 26 Barnstable.
Peabody was knocking on the door late – trailing by just one point (57-56) with 38 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter – but Barnstable’s Adrian Pichardo connected at the free throw line as the hosts held on to victory. They’ll battle No. 7 Springfield Central in the next round with tip-off set for 7 p.m. Friday.
Jariel Tolentino reached the 20-point mark after three quarters to lead Coach Thad Broughton’s Tanners, while Jimmy Festa scored multiple baskets in the opening quarter.
