Monthly Archives: January 2014

January 29, 2014 · 1:09 am

Fred Hogan reaches 1000 and leads Lynn English past Danvers 71-66

Fred Hogan afterwards with family and friends

Fred Hogan splits Mark McCarthy and Devon Allen to reach 1000 points

(Danvers MA) A huge second half by Fred Hogan enabled Lynn English to defeat Danvers, 71-66, on Tuesday night in Northeast Conference action.

The 5-11 Bulldogs senior had a 21-point second half and reached the 1000-point plateau in the process.

Fred gained his 1000th point on a drive to the basket in the fourth quarter with 3 1/2 minutes left. The basket was not only cause for stoppage in play but it also gave the Bulldogs their first lead (62-60) of the night.

The score was tied (64-64) going into the last minute of regulation. This was where Fred Hogan really took over. He assisted on Danny Lukanda’s layup and followed that with a fast-break layup of his own to get LE up by four (68-64). After Mark McCarthy’s drive brought Danvers to within two (68-66) with twenty-four seconds left, Fred took the inbounds pass, was fouled, and made both ends of a one-and-one to get the Lynn English lead back to four. Solid Bulldogs defense forced a wild Falcons’ shot and then Danny Lukanda made a free throw with ten seconds remaining to close out the scoring.

Mark McCarthy (17 points) finds an open look

Those of us on hand watching the first half would never have dreamed that Fred Hogan would have a chance to get the sixteen points he needed to reach 1000. In a two-point first half, Fred saw few opening and plenty of freshman defender Devon Allen.

The entire LE team was unimpressive in the first half. They came in having lost three of their last four. They were quickly down 7-2 and then 14-6 one minute into the second period. The Falcons put a 12-2 run on LE later in the second period and had a nice 30-14 led with 1 1/2 minutes left in the half.

The Bulldogs trailed 33-22 at halftime.

But what a difference the second half was. The Bulldogs took control of the tempo and the steals and breakin’s began to add up.

LE got within three (40-37) midway into the third period but credit Danvers they had a rebound putback by impressive Devan Harris (22 points), and a three of the bench by Mike Nestor to keep the lead. The Bulldogs had free throws by Erick Rosario (15 points) and a layup by Fred Hogan to end the quarter trailing by just two (49-47).

Fred Hogan floats in for two

The last quarter featured six ties before Fred Hogan took over the final minutes and led the visitors to an important win.

No question Danvers (10-2) missed inside presence 6-8 Peter Merry. Peter has a hip injury but should return soon. The Bulldogs’ guards took the ball to the basket with a lot less concern with Peter Merry sitting on the Danvers bench and not in uniform.

No question the backcourt pressure created by LE took a toll on the Falcons in the second half. The Bulldogs also had the luxury of having shot-blocker Johnny Hilaire (6-6) as the final defender when Danvers broke through the pressure.

The next game for Danvers will be hosting Billerica (2PM) on Super Bowl Sunday.

Lynn English matches up with Salem away on Friday night (7PM).

Danvers box

Lynn English box

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Devan Harris (#25) had 22 points for Danvers

Johnny Hilaire defends Devan Harris

Erick Rosario (15 points) gets a breakaway

Fred Hogan uses his left hand to get a layup against defender Devon Allen

loose ball

Fred Hogan hits in the lane

Johnny Hilaire (15 points) finishes a dunk

Erick Rosario and Stevie Collins double-team Mark McCarthy

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Filed under Danvers, Lynn English

Tagged as Danvers, Devan Harris, Erick Rosario, Fred Hogan, Johnny Hilaire, Lynn English, Mark McCarthy

January 28, 2014 · 12:25 am

Triton wins tight one 53-52 over Amesbury

Cam Armand (16 points) had four long ones

(Byfield MA) No one person loses a team game but you’d probably have trouble convincing Amesbury’s Pat Scanlon.

Pat had a great chance at a game winner in the last second of the Indians’ 53-52 loss to Triton on Monday night in Cape Ann League action. His shot rimmed out and the Vikings survived to put to rest a six-game losing streak.

For Amesbury (2-9) the string of losses reaches eight.

This figured to be a tight game with both teams looking for their first victory in 2014 and seeing this matchup as one they could win. It turned out to be a tense contest to say the least especially in the last minute.

Ryan Foley set up Pat Scanlon for a basket in the lane with a remarkable behind-the-back pass to pull Amesbury to within one (53-52) with thirty-nine seconds left.

Brad Whitman hit two free throws with a minute left

Triton (4-8) then turned the ball over (Ryan Foley steal) with twenty-five seconds to go. Plenty of time for Amesbury. The Indians, in fact had the ball the rest of the way. Shots in heavy traffic by Jack Fortin and Ryan Foley failed to connect. Then the inbounds play from Fred Halloran to Pat Scanlon failed to get the points needed as the game ended. Close, so very close!

The Vikings relied heavily on the 3-pointer and connected eleven times. Cam Armand and Corey Parsons both cashed in four times from long range. Nick Venora had two and Brad Whitman one.

Amesbury chose to get to the basket as often as possible. Pat Halloran (14 points) and Ryan Foley (10 points) made several successful drives with defenders all over them.

Pat Halloran (14 points) floats in the lane

The Indians ran eleven unanswered points in the first quarter to take an 11-3 lead with 3+ minutes left. The Vikings, playing in front of a vocal support group, recovered in the second quarter putting eight straight together to pull in front, 24-22, four minutes before halftime.

There were six lead changes in the exciting second half and neither team led by more than four points.

Amesbury missed three field goal attempts in the last twenty-five seconds but probably even bigger misses were the three front end’s of one-and-one’s by Fred Halloran, Pat Halloran, and Pat Scanlon earlier in that final quarter. Meanwhile, Brad Whitman made both of his free throws with a minute left. Brad’s second made free throw turned out to be the game winner.

Triton would have cringed at their final forty seconds if this game had been lost. Up by a point, they just did not take good care of the ball. If they had they probably would have been fouled and could have added to their lead. Their turnover gave Amesbury a golden chance.

Corey Parson (14 points including four long ones)

Another Vikings lapse was in Amesbury’s last possession as their defensive breakdown on the inbounds play almost gave away the game-winner to the Indians.

But it was all these near-misses and up-and-down action that made this a terrific game to watch.

And while I think of it, when a team loses by a point you have to go back to what happened to the Indians at the start of the second half. Amesbury was very late getting back after halftime. They never warmed up and came onto the floor not even knowing which end they were defending. As the Indians settled into the wrong end defensively, Triton’s Kevin Clark was left alone to dribble in for an uncontested layup to start the half. Those two points turned out to be huge.

Cam Armand (16 points) and Corey Parsons (14 points) led the Triton scorers.

Jack Fortin had two three’s for Amesbury.

Triton’s next game is Wednesday (6:30PM) hosting Rockport.

Amesbury will travel to North Reading for a 7PM game.

Amesbury box

Triton box

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

rebound battle

Triton cheerleaders exceed legal limit in fun

Ryan Foley (10 points) drives on Kevin Clark

Coaches Dave Clay and Tom Comeau

Pat Halloran and Jake Gilbert

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Filed under Amesbury, Triton

Tagged as Brad Whitman, Cam Armand, Corey Parsons, Pat Halloran, Ryan Foley

January 24, 2014 · 10:45 pm

Dorsey and Swenson lead Middlesex past Pingree 69-59

Austin Dorsey (23 points) shoots over Connor Reardon and Alonzo Jackson

Aaron Swenson found enough room to score twenty-one points

(Hamilton MA) I heard him say it in the huddle before the game even started. “Get up on them. They can shoot.”

Those were the words of Pingree coach Steve Gibbs referring to visiting Middlesex, and were they ever true!

Middlesex (10-2) defeated Pingree, 69-59, finding and hitting open shots with regularity on Friday night at Pingree in a non-league game.

Austin Dorsey, making only his second start for the Zebras, killed the Highlanders from the outside (six 3’s) on his way to a game high twenty-three points.

By the time the 6-6 Middlesex sophomore had canned his 4th trey in the first half, Coach Gibbs had burned three timeouts trying to find defensive answers. The Highlanders trailed, 27-10, at the time with nearly four minutes left in the first half.

Pingree (10-5) was very keen on defending Middlesex point guard Aaron Swenson. And for good reason, the 5-7 senior netted forty-one points on Wednesday against Roxbury Latin. The problem for Pingree was that speedy defender Johnny Spears was unavailable to guard Aaron. Without Johnny, Coach Gibbs gave just about everyone a chance to limit the damage Aaron might do.

Aaron Swenson chased by Chad DiCenzo and Alonzo Jackson

After Aaron’s three on the first shot of the game, Pingree did keep him from hurting them long-range. However, close guarding outside led to cuts to the basket. Aaron finished with twenty-one points including thirteen in the second half.

Middlesex was missing starters Jon Siu and Ben Cherington but on this day Austin Dorsey filled in remarkably well.

The visitors from Concord (MA) had an 8-0 lead before Kyle Lentini (13 points) broke the ice with a 3-pointer.

The Highlanders were within six (16-10) until Middlesex ran eleven unanswered points over the next five minutes to build up a 27-10 spread. Pingree had six turnovers during that five minute dry spell. (Another place where having Johnny Spears available might have made a difference.)

Middlesex led by twelve (33-21) at the half.

Kyle Lentini (13 points)

Pingree showed some life early in the second half cutting their deficit to nine (40-31). They were still close enough (44-33) to make things interesting with 11:20 left.

But in the next 3+ minutes, Middlesex put ten straight points together (3’s by Austin Dorsey and Hamza Usman, plus layups by Aaron Swenson and Hamza Usman) and grew their lead to 54-33 with 8 1/2 minutes left.

Pingree was able to make the final score a little more respectable by swishing three 3-pointers (Reese Fullmer, Tom Lennon, and Kyle Lentini) in the last minute.

Pingree’s Alonzo Jackson (12 points) was very effective in close. The Highlanders did not give the tall sophomore enough touches.

Senior Peter Beatty picked up twelve points for Middlesex.

The Zebras had a number of assisted layups on passes from Aaron Swenson or Austin Perry.

Johnny Spears (right) watches

Would it be fair to say that Pingree without Johnny Spears is like the Celtics without Rajon Rondo?

Aaron Swenson will be attending Connecticut College.

Next game for Middlesex will be home against Brooks School on Wednesday (4PM).

Pingree visits Landmark tomorrow.

Middlesex box

Pingree box

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Justin Assad blocks Peter Beatty

Griffin Beal

Tom Lennon looks for help

Austin Perry passes

Jon Siu

Aaron Swenson

Jack Lyne eyes the hoop

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Filed under Middlesex, Pingree

Tagged as Aaron Swenson, Austin Dorsey, Coach Steve Gibbs, Johnny Spears, Jon Siu, Kyle Lentini

January 23, 2014 · 9:41 pm

Fast start propels Governor’s Academy past St. George’s 53-36

Katie Barrand hits one of three early 3-point shots by the Govs

Courtney Cashman (14 points) led all scorers

(Byfield MA) Governor’s Academy overwhelmed St. George’s in the first six minutes and the visitors from Middletown (RI) never recovered losing, 53-36, on Thursday night in an Independent School League game.

The Gov’s (6-5) totaled five 3’s in the entire game but three of them, by Carli Citrano, Courtney Cashman, and Katie Barrand, were made in the first 3+ minutes.

So by the time the Dragons (6-6) put a point on the board (Meggie O’Connor free throw) the home team already had nine points.

GA’s Jackie Ham followed with an old-fashioned three-point play and Courtney Cashman added a layup. Those scores put the Gov’s ahead, 14-1, in the first six minutes.

The Dragons had five turnovers in the early going.

Carli Citrano (13 points) looks for an opening

Sophomore Courtney Cashman (14 points) drilled a halftime, buzzer-beating trey that started GA on another nine-point run. Courtney later started the second half with a layup and junior Carli Citrano (13 points) connected twice from in close. Out of that surge the Gov’s led, 39-18, two minutes into the second half.

I anticipated that things would get worse but instead, led by sophomore Logan Amaral (10 points), St. George’s chopped eleven points off the GA lead in the next eight minutes. A layup by junior captain Lane Davis had the Dragons within ten (43-33) with 5:46 to play.

However, the visitor’s hopes of getting closer were quickly squelched as Carli Citrano drained a very long three and Kendall Ham followed with two free throws. Back went the lead to fifteen points and St. George’s couldn’t recover the rest of the way.

Sophomore Logan Amaral (10 points) shoots a jump shot

Plenty of time for the reserves of both teams in the last 2+ minutes.

Neither team was particularly good at the free throw line. GA was 6-for-14 while SG was 10-for-23. Some of the misses were on the front end of one-and-one’s.

The Gov’s defeated St. George’s twice last season. The second time was in the quarterfinals of the New England Championships.

It seemed strange not to see Kat Fogarty on the floor for GA. Kat is now at Division 1 Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York. Kat’s new team is now 13-5. Kat is averaging sixteen minutes per game for the Red Foxes. She averaged twenty points and twelve rebounds at Governor’s.

No doubt St. George’s wasn’t missing Kat Fogarty. Kat had thirty rebounds in the Gov’s 51-48 win exactly a year ago in Rhode Island.

The Gov’s were 19-6 last year while St. George’s was 10-9.

Both teams are in Class B of NEPSAC.

This game was originally scheduled for Wednesday but the snow in southern New England forced the postponement.

Governor’s Academy box

St. George’s box

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Logan Amaral eyes the hoop

Lane Davis gets two

Meggie OConnor looks to pass while Kendall Ham defends

Sterling Etheridge and Aya Nagai

Kendall Ham tries to save

looking for a rebound

Jackie Ham (#2) gets to the basket

loose ball

coaches Erin OConnell and Katie Titus

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Filed under Governor's Academy, St. George's School

Tagged as Carli Citrano, Courtney Cashman, Jackie Ham, Kendall Ham, Logan Amaral, Meggie O'Connor

January 20, 2014 · 10:58 pm

Last-minute rally gets Whittier past Newburyport 57-51

Lilly Donovan guards Andrea Terranova (16 points)

Emily Pettigrew (21 points) shoots over 6-3 Samnell Vonleh

(Newburyport MA) The Whittier Tech girls had ten-point runs in both halves and defeated Newburyport, 57-51, on Monday afternoon in non-league action.

The second ten-point streak happened in the final minute and enabled WT to overcome a four-point deficit and pull out a victory.

The Wildcats (7-2) had only two three’s in the first three quarters but connected on two straight (Andrea Terranova & Michaela Martin) in the last minute to jump ahead, 53-51, with thirty-two seconds left.

Andrea (16 points) and Michaela (16 points) closed things out with four consecutive free throws.

At the same time everything was going right for the visitors from Haverhill, the home-team Clippers (9-3) will do best to forget what happened when they had the ball in the last minute.

After Whittier’s first three, the Clippers still had a one-point lead (51-50). However, Aly Leahy missed the front end of a one-and-one in the possession before WT’s second three gave them the lead with 32 seconds left.

Down by only two (53-51), again with plenty of time to score, the Clippers turned the ball over in the backcourt and fouled the stealer (Andrea Terranova). Andrea made both free throws.

Samnell Vonleh ready to block Abbie Bresnahan in the last minute

Now down four (55-51), Abbie Bresnahan had a shot blocked out-of-bounds by 6-3 Samnell Vonleh. Still time left, Emily Pettigrew traveled. The Clippers were forced to foul and Michaela Martin finished things with two free throws.

The loss diminished the glow of a terrific performance by Newburyport’s Emily Pettigrew. The 6-foot sophomore tallied twenty-one points and seemed unfazed by WT’s size and physical play.

The Clippers built up a ten-point lead (21-11) 1 1/2 minutes into the second quarter. Some of that success for Newburyport was the way Mary Pettigrew kept the Wildcats Michaela Martin in check.

Trailing by ten, Whittier put their first ten-point run together. Two free throws by Andrea Terranova helped but the real damage was done by junior Kayla Riley notching two layups, a free throw, and a three to tie the score at 21-21 three minutes before the half.

Newburyport had five turnovers and missed the front end of a one-and-one during this segment.

Aly Leahy (13 points) tries to steal from Dominque Ortiz as NHS coach Gregg Dollas watches

It was the Clippers’ turn to put points together in the third quarter after trailing, 31-27. A nine-point streak featured an old-fashioned three by Abbie Bresnahan (9 points) and a normal three by Aly Leahy (13 points). This collection of points put Newburyport ahead, 36-31, with a minute left in the third quarter.

The Clippers were able to hold onto the lead until the final minute of the game.

Both teams pressed and pressured wherever the ball was. Neither team was very successful, as a result, in getting clean looks. The usual result was a shot in traffic or a turnover.

rebound action

The two teams combined for an unspectacular FIFTY turnovers. Newburyport had 27 and Whittier 23, by my unofficial count.

Both teams missed seven free throws. WT, however, connected twenty-three times including seven-of-eight in the final minute. The Clippers hit nine free throws.

I was impressed by the speed and spark of sophomore Abbie Bresnahan.

Whittier has now won four straight. They were 22-2 last season, losing in the Division 4 North final. It is not hard to imagine the Wildcats doing well in the state tournament again this year.

The Clippers will have to wait another day to qualify for the state tournament. They need one more win to get there. They are scheduled to face Amesbury on Friday night (7PM) in their next game.

Whittier is scheduled to host non-league Gloucester on Wednesday (5:30PM).

Michaela Martin (16 points)

Michaela Martin was a Lawrence Eagle Tribune All-Star last season.

Juniors Kayla Riley, Andrea Terranova, and Samnell Vonleh were Commonwealth Athletic Conference All-Stars in 2012-13.

WT has no seniors on their roster.

Whittier box

Newburyport box

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Kayla Riley (13 points) sees an opening

Abbie Bresnahan drives on Andrea Terranova

Plenty of defenders around Emily Pettigrew

Aly Leahy lines up a free throw

Aly Leahy double teamed

Morgan Johnston eyes the hoop

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Filed under Newburyport, Whittier

Tagged as Abbie Bresnahan, Aly Leahy, Andrea Terranova, Emily Pettigrew, Kayla Riley, Michaela Martin, Samnell Vonleh, Whittier Tech

January 17, 2014 · 11:58 pm

Late points by Petey Morton send Manchester-Essex past Triton 57-53

Khalil Brito blocks a layup attempt by Petey Morton

Petey Morton (17 points) had a basket and two free throws in the last three seconds.

(Byfield MA) Petey Morton (17 points) tallied four points in the last three seconds to lead Manchester-Essex past Triton, 57-53, on Friday night in Cape Ann League play.

The Hornets (8-2) had, what looked like, a comfortable ten-point lead (53-43) with three minutes left in the game. But uncomfortable it became as the Vikings started with 3’s (Corey Parsons and Kevin Clark), added two free throws (Kevin Clark) and then had Corey Parsons convert an ME turnover into a layup. When all that excitement ended the game was tied, 53-53, with ten seconds left.

No timeout by the Hornets. Instead senior Petey Morton took the inbounds pass and raced down the floor and connected on an open floater in the lane with three seconds left to put ME up by two.

Triton had time to recover but after a timeout a pass from Khalil Brito, intended for Nick Venor, went out of bounds. ME inbounded the ball to Petey Morton. He was fouled and ended the game with two successful free throws.

This was a tough, fourth-straight loss for Triton (3-6) in a game in which they had a 10-point lead in the first half and also rallied back from a 10-point deficit in the final quarter.

Ellsworth Rogers in a double team

The Vikings Ellsworth Rogers went down with an ankle injury two minutes into the third quarter after a layup and never returned. Some on the Triton side thought that Ellsworth had been tripped but there was no foul called on the play.

Triton built up a 10-point lead (25-15) three minutes into the second quarter. Craig Carter, Sean Gutierrez, and Petey Morton, however, helped ME get back to within four (30-26) by halftime.

Will Burgess (11 points) had a nine-point third quarter to push ME in front, 43-40, by the time that quarter ended.

Khalil Brito of Triton started the scoring in the final quarter with a three to tie the score. After that was a ten-point run by Manchester-Essex (five points from Jeff Durkin, three free throws Sean Gutierrez, jump shot Petey Morton).

But that 10-point spread vanished as the Triton crowd exploded after defensive stops and made shots. And when Sean Gutierrez lost the ball to Corey Parsons for a tying layup, there was no question which side had the momentum.

Petey Morton saw plenty of defense most of the night

But somehow Petey Morton was able to dribble into open space over halfcourt and get an open look at the foul line to hit the game winner.

Petey was obviously not unknown to Triton. The senior is ME’s primary ball-handler. He was pressed hard by Kevin Clark and Khalil Brito most of the time. That’s why the open space Petey found at the end was so surprising.

ME switched from a man-to-man into a 1-3-1 trapping zone to start the second half. Triton turned the ball over four straight times trying to operate against it.

Triton played a tight man-to-man throughout the game. That defense created eleven ME miscues in the first half.

Neither Petey Morton or Sean Gutierrez (15 points) were in the game for the first four minutes of the first quarter.

Kevin Clark (10 points) sets to shoot

Kevin Clark had a buzzer-beater at the end of the first quarter. Petey Morton had one of those to end the third quarter.

The Hornets have won five of their last six. Their next game is home on Monday versus Pentucket.

The Vikings will look to end their losing streak at Georgetown on Monday.

Triton was 9-11 last year while Manchester-Essex was 13-8.

Two of the CAL’s most vocal/intense coaches involved in this one. No signs of laryngitis from either Triton’s David Clay or ME’s Bryan Shields, however.

My scorebox from the game.

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge if you click on them.)

Brad Whitman (13 points) shoots in traffic

Sean Gutierrez runs over Brad Whitman getting a rebound

Cam Armand gets a hand up on Craig Carter

Kevin Carter surrounded

Sean Gutierrez (15 points) puts up a shot in the lane

Jack Freed goes for a block against Cam Armand

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Filed under Manchester-Essex, Triton

Tagged as Brad Whitman, Ellsworth Rogers, Kevin Clark, Petey Morton, Sean Gutierrez, Will Burgess

January 15, 2014 · 12:33 am

Salem holds off previously undefeated Danvers 41-38

Jamie Dominguez (11 points) hit clutch free throws vs Danvers

Devan Harris lines up the last shot of the game

(Salem MA) It wasn’t pretty but it was plenty exciting!

Salem held off formerly undefeated Danvers, 41-38, before an excellent weekday crowd on Tuesday night.

Danver’s Devan Harris took the last shot…….a three from the right corner that rimmed out with a second left. If that goes the game would have gone into overtime, but instead Rashad Keys of Salem secured the rebound and the Witches had the win.

This game was low in scoring but abundant in miscues. Bad passing decisions caused many of the forty-one turnovers (21 Danvers, 20 Salem) that I unofficially totaled.

Danvers (8-1) started fast getting the game’s first seven points and later building a 19-10 advantage with 4 1/2 minutes left in the second quarter.

Bryan Martinez-Rodriguez (10 points) and David Kazadi (10 points)

The Falcons had five turnovers and one point to show for the rest of the second quarter. Salem (5-1) took flawless care of the ball and put ten points together (three layups Bryan Martinez-Rodriguez, jump shot David Kazadi, 3-pointer Jamie Dominguez) and had a 21-20 halftime lead.

That one-point lead held up through the third quarter. Jamie Dominguez (11 points) and Mark McCarthy (12 points) both had two 3’s in the period. Jamie’s first one was three straight free throws.

Danvers regained the lead (34-33) early in the final quarter as Peter Merry (14 points) converted his own rebound.

Salem scored all the points in the next 3 1/2 minutes on outside shots by Rashad Keys, Kelven Perpetuo, and David Kazadi (10 points) and Danvers never recovered from the 39-34 deficit. They certainly came close!

Peter Merry (14 points) gets a rebound

Inside scores by Peter Merry at 1:27 and :26 had the visitors within one.

The Falcons gave two fouls and then got Jamie Dominguez to the free throw line shooting 1-and-1 with ten seconds left. Jamie calmly sank both tries boosting the lead to three.

The Falcons executed their tying attempt perfectly. The ball was on one side and Devan Harris, who had been in close to the basket all night long, drifted to the weakside corner. A long diagonal pass (from Kashad Francois) found the Hingham transfer with a great look. But his shot rimmed out to deny overtime.

A scary moment for Salem was when Rashad Keys went out with a leg injury early in the second quarter. The newcomer from Mississippi, however, did return in the second half.

Good crowd on hand from both schools. There was plenty to cheer and groan about in this one.

halftime cancer awareness speakers

At halftime there was an excellent presentation on cancer awareness. Both teams were wearing shirts for the event.

Next for Salem is home versus Revere on Friday night.

Danvers will travel to Swampscott on the same night.

Salem box

Danvers box

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Salem shot blockers

Jamie Dominguez drives on Devonn Allen

sportsmanship

fancy pass

Rashad Keys goes for the block on Kieran Beck

Devan Harris in heavy traffic

Mark McCarthy (12 points)

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Filed under Danvers, Salem

Tagged as Bryan Martinez-Rodriguez, David Kazati, Devan Harris, Jamie Dominguez, Mark McCarthy, Peter Merry, Rashad Keys

January 13, 2014 · 11:01 pm

Terrific shooting sends Georgetown past Amesbury 73-56

Pat Bjork (19 points) avoids leaping Ryan Foley

Ben Denoncour (15 points) hit five long ones in the first half from the same area

(Amesbury MA) Georgetown made shots from just about everywhere and overwhelmed Amesbury, 73-56, on Monday night in Cape Ann League action.

Before the game, it was announced that former Georgetown coach Mike Rowinski had passed away today from an undisclosed illness. Mike had a 90-72 record in eight years coaching the Royals and had taken a leave of absence this season to deal with health issues. His family is in my prayers.

The Royals (4-2 CAL/6-2 overall) destroyed the Amesbury zone defense with seven 3’s and seven baskets on rebounds. If you’re playing a zone you know that the opponent will get outside chances…….you hope they’ll miss. Giving up shots on the inside is supposed to be lessened by a zone defense. However, on this night G’Town was trouble from any distance!

Pat Halloren tries to shoot over Ryan Slack

Pat Halloran tries to shoot over Ryan Slack

The scrappy Indians (2-4 CAL/2-5 overall) made a game of it early. After Georgetown ran nine straight (three offensive rebound conversions and a Ben Denoncour three) to grab a 23-15 lead after one quarter, the Indians rallied back. Pat Halloran, Pat Scanlon, and Fred Halloran put an eight-spot together to tie the score.

But the rest of that second quarter senior Ben Denoncour drained three 3’s and led the visitors to a 43-35 halftime advantage.

Ben made five long ones in the first half. All of them were from the left corner in front of a very active Amesbury student section. Didn’t seem to faze him!

The Indians were still within nine (46-37) early in the second half before a six-point Royals run (two inside scores by Pat Bjork and one by Matt Gott) boosted their lead to 52-37. The margin reached twenty (70-50) halfway through the fourth quarter and reserves for both teams saw action the rest of the way.

6-5 Pat Bjork (19 points) caused problems for Amesbury every time he handled the ball in close. Pat was a CAL All-League player in 2012-13.

Matt Gott defends

The surprise, to me, was Matt Gott. Matt (18 points) is listed at 6-2 but was able to find room in close to notch five baskets. Matt was a CAL All-Star last season.

Senior Ben Noelk added twelve points for Georgetown.

Amesbury gave Georgetown too many good looks. They also struggled against the G’Town zone to get good shots for themselves, especially second shots. Missing nine of fifteen free throw attempts just made a tough night even more trying for the Indians.

Jack Fortin (13 points) and Pat Scanlon (10 points) paced Amesbury.

The Indians have now lost four straight.

Amesbury cheerleaders

Two first-year coaches (Tom Comeau – Amesbury and Barry Spears – Georgetown) were involved in this one.

The Royals were 4-16 last season while Amesbury was 10-11.

The Amesbury student section stayed active to the end led by their cheerleaders.

Amesbury will host Masconomet tomorrow night at 6:30PM while Georgetown will host North Reading at the same time.

Georgetown box

Amesbury box

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Jack Fortin (13 points) gets a shot in the lane

Ben Noelk on the run

Ben Noelk (12 points) tries to shoot over Pat Scanlon

Pat Halloran

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Filed under Amesbury, Georgetown

Tagged as Ben Denoncour, Ben Noelk, Coach Barry Spears, Coach Mike Rowinski, Coach Tom Comeau, Jack Fortin, Matt Gott, Pat Bjork

January 12, 2014 · 12:23 am

Brewster Academy knocks off undefeated Northfield Mount Hermon 76-69

Devonte Graham led all scorers with twenty-one points

Kevin Zabo floats in for two

(Wolfeboro NH) Brewster Academy dropped Northfield Mount Hermon from the undefeated ranks, 76-69, in NEPSAC action on a very foggy Saturday afternoon in New Hampshire.

This game got away from NMH (10-1) during a 6-minute segment in which the Bobcats (12-2) ran sixteen unanswered points. During this surge the 27-26 Hoggers’ lead (with 4:12 left in the first half) turned into a 41-27 deficit two minutes into the second half.

The home team had the lead up to nineteen (70-51) with 4+ minutes left before some lights-out shooting by Jackson Donahue (15 points) resulted in a more respectable final score.

The speed of BA was the difference in this game. Devonte Graham (21 points) led numerous Brewster man-advantage breaks that ended up with a host of high-percentage shots. Even when NMH scored Devonte broke out a number of times with teammates Jared Terrell (13 points) and Donovan Mitchell (9 points).

NMH was able to stay in the game early (despite ten turnovers) thanks to junior Aaron Falzon. 6-8 Aaron ended up with nineteen points but had fifteen of them in the first half including three 3’s.

Daquon Ervin (15 points) on the break

NMH guard Daquon Ervin finished with fifteen points with eleven of those coming in the second half.

Good crowd of students on hand.

Both teams had their share of entertaining dunks in this one. Less entertaining was the free throw shooting. Brewster was 23-for-36 while Northfield Mount Hermon was 14-for-25. What shot (24 misses!) is apparently practiced the least??

A number of Brewster Academy players have made college commitments: Isaac Copeland (Georgetown), Jared Terrell (Oklahoma State), Max Twyman (Albany), and Kevin Zabo (San Diego State).

Brewster Academy box

Northfield Mount Hermon box

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Josh Sharma dunks

Jase Harrison

Sem Kroon

Aaron Falzon (19 points) and Jared Terrell (13 points)

Isaac Copeland double-teamed

Jerone Desrosiers guards Jared Terrell

Jarred Reuter heavily defended

Jonah Bolden (5) looks for a pass

Brewster Academy crowd

Donovan Mitchell

Isaac Copeland

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Filed under Brewster, Northfield Mount Hermon

Tagged as Aaron Falzon, Daquon Ervin Donovan Mitchell, Devonte Graham, Isaac Copeland, Jared Terrel, Jarred Reuter, Jonah Bolden, Kevin Zabo

January 8, 2014 · 11:20 pm

Winnacunnet defeats Nashua North 55-45 with big first half

Richie Ruffin (12 points) goes baseline

Jordan Lates (15 points) gets into the lane

(Hampton NH) Winnacunnet (2-1) overwhelmed Nashua North in the first half and coasted to a, 55-45, win in Division 1 boys basketball on Wednesday night.

The visiting Titans (1-1) had two four-point periods and trailed by twenty-one (29-8) after a half. It was the Warriors’ active defense that messed up North, forcing them into low percentage attempts when it wasn’t causing turnovers.

This wasn’t a night in which the losers could point to one or two players who did them in. It was a team effort by Winnacunnet. The Warriors rarely forced offense and usually made the extra pass to get a better look.

Sam Knollmeyer (10 points) battles with Brendan Barrett for a layup

Richie Ruffin (12) and Sam Knollmeyer (10) paced Winnacunnet.

The Warriors still held their twenty-one point lead (45-24) after three quarters.

Nashua North was down, 55-35, with 3 1/2 minutes left when some serious substituting started. NN chose this time to play their best basketball of the evening. They made six straight free throws, and had layups from Daniel McCoy and spark Alejandro Jones to chop off ten points from their deficit in two minutes.

Winnacunnet coach Jay McKenna then called a timeout he wasn’t planning on calling and re-inserted his five starters. The inserts played keep away for the final 1+ minutes to seal the game for Winnacunnet.

Senior guard Jordan Lates led North with fifteen points. Jordan saw few openings in the first half whether he was facing Winnacunnet’s zone or man-to-man. Sam Knollmeyer was matched up on Jordan when the defense was man-to-man.

Winnacunnet coach Jay McKenna watches Ashea Bittle

Jordan found points in the second half by getting shots off in traffic.

Anthony Primavera of Winnacunnet was assessed a technical foul in the final period.

Chris Doyle was fouled on a made 3-point shot but wasn’t allowed to shoot a free throw. Must be a New Hampshire rule??

The website New Hampshire Sports Page listed the start of the game at 7PM. I arrived at 6:30PM in time for the player introductions.

Jordan Lates had twenty-three points in North’s first game.

Nashua North will host Bedford on Friday.

Nashua North coach Stephen Lane

Winnacunnet travels to Derry to face Pinkerton Academy.

The lighting at the Winnacunnet gym is as good as it gets.

I generally do Massachusetts games. The last New Hampshire game I did was Concord’s shocking 42-14 win over Pinkerton Academy in the football state title game on November 23rd.

Winnacunnet box

Nashua North box

(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)