MARBLEHEAD — A pair of state tournament-bound boys basketball teams squared off Wednesday evening as Swampscott (16-4) defeated host Marblehead (13-7) in a 59-55 regular season finale.
Connor Chiarello paced the Big Blue with (game-high) 28 points. Helping Swampscott’s cause were Teddy O’Neill (11 points), Cole Manning (10), and Chase Groothuis (8). The Magicians were led by Cam Weaver’s 16 points, while Finn Baron followed with 12.
Talk about a fast start. The Big Blue came out the gates on a 13-0 run and led 20-7 after the first quarter.
In the second, it was Marblehead’s turn as the Magicians scored seven unanswered points. A Yamil Gil-Duran corner three cut the deficit to 20-14, then a contested layup by Baron made it a five-point game with 2:41 remaining in the half.
But Chiarello went on a 4-0 run to give Swampscott a 32-22 halftime advantage.
Chiarello’s hot hand continued in the third quarter. In front of Marblehead’s student section, he drilled a step-back three at the buzzer to give Swampscott a 50-37 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Marblehead didn’t give up. Baron banked in a right-handed layup over two defenders to make it 56-50 with 2:15 to go. Then, sharpshooter Blake Hammond buried one from downtown to make it a two-point game with 30 ticks left.
The Magicians had one more chance, down three points with 13.8 seconds remaining, but a 3-pointer fell short and Swampscott walked out of rival territory with a narrow win.
Marblehead made just 15 of 28 free throws.
Both teams await state tournament seedings. Brackets will be released Saturday at 1 p.m.
