Monthly Archives: February 2015

February 28, 2015 · 11:26 pm

Andover takes out Lawrence 86-79 in double OT in D1 North quarterfinals

Julio Vicente (20 points) drives on EJ Perry (22 points)

David Giribaldi launches the potential game winner at the end of the first OT

(Lawrence MA) What a game!

#4 Andover ends up the winner, 86-79, in double overtime over #5 Lawrence on Saturday afternoon in the Division 1 North quarterfinals.

Don’t let that final score fool you. Once Lawrence rallied all the way back from a fourteen point deficit (48-34) late in the third quarter this one entered the anyone’s game realm.

There were big shots all over the place and some of them potential game winners. Julio Vicente (20 points) of Lawrence had the last shot in regulation and missed. David Garibaldi (12 points) had the same opportunity for Andover at the end of the first overtime but also missed.

Andover made 31-of-37 free throws

The big shot from the floor turned up regularly but in the decisive second OT it was the shooting from the line by Andover that made the difference. After Franziel Reyes (10 points) tied the score at 74-74 with 2:18 left, the Warriors shot nothing but free throws (fourteen) the rest of the way and clutched twelve of them. Lawrence during the same stretch was 2-for-7 from the foul line missing the front end of two one-and-one’s (Julio Vicente & Dantae Neal) as well as several 3-point attempts to seal their fate.

Senior Connor Merinder (29 points) had a huge game for Andover. Connor at 6-5 held his own on the inside against 6-9 Franziel Reyes and stayed out of foul trouble. Connor also hit the last successful shot in regulation with thirteen seconds left that enabled Andover to reach overtime.

Fouls were an issue for Lawrence. 5-8 point guard Julio Vicente missed playing time after getting his 3rd foul with two minutes left in the first half and then adding his 4th with two minutes left in the third quarter. Eventually, LHS coach Raymond Nunez was forced to play Julio 4 fouls or not late in the game and it paid off.

Chen Chen in the lane

The Lancers lost speedy guard Chen Chen on fouls with 1 ½ minutes left in regulation.

Lawrence led early (9-4) but the visitors put a 12-2 run together (three hoops by Connor Merinder) to lead 16-11 late in the first quarter.

In the second quarter the Warriors put an 11-3 segment together highlighted by sophomore EJ Perry’s (22 points) 3-pointer to gain an 35-26 advantage with 1 ½ minutes until halftime.

The Warriors’ lead would extend to 48-34 before the Lancers put a serious rally together in the final quarter.

Connor Merinder (29 points) defends 6-9 Franziel Reyes

The crowds for both schools fit nicely into the Sixth Man category. The Lancers seemed to ride the crowd wave down the stretch as they got closer and closer. When Lawrence took the lead late in regulation you sensed that the Lancers might get the job done but two free throws and Connor Merinder’s basket offset a jumper by Dantae Neal (19 points) and overtime happened.

The end of the first overtime was about as exciting as it gets. Andover was up by two with the ball and close to a minute left but EJ Perry got caught going behind his back and Lawrence had a steal for two to tie the game with thirty seconds left. Andover chewed up a lot of clock before Jonathan Rodriguez drained a three with twelve seconds left. Game-winner? Not yet. Julio Vicente found daylight down the other end and sent the game into a second OT with a three of his own.

Jonathan Rodriguez (13 points) would also notch a 3-pointer and four free throws in the second overtime.

Andover moves on to face top-seed Cambridge Ringe and Latin (19-2) on Wednesday night at North Andover at 7PM.

Andover and Lawrence are from the Merrimack Valley Conference. They split their two regular-season games.

Andover box

Lawrence box

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

jump ball

Dontae Neal (19 points) shoots in traffic

Jonathan Rodriguez (#35), EJ Perry (#4), and Andy Henriquez (#15) battle for a rebound

Julio Vicente gets off a three in OT

David Giribaldi throws a fancy pass

EJ Perry gets a facial

Franziel Reyes shoots inside

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Filed under Andover, Lawrence

Tagged as Chen Chen, Connor Merinder, David Giribaldi, Dontae Neal, EJ Perry, Franziel Reyes, Jonathan Rodriguez, Julio Vicente

February 25, 2015 · 11:07 pm

Beverly Girls take down Salem 56-46 in D1 North first round

Melissa Lubas (15 points) had a solid all-around game for the victorious Panthers

Beverly starts to celebrate

(Salem MA) This was anyone’s game until Beverly put fourteen unanswered points together in the second half and defeated Salem, 56-46, in Division 1 North first round action on Wednesday night.

The Panthers (15-6) will play the winner of the Woburn/Arlington game.

Ashley Augulewicz (16), Melissa Lubas (15), and Natalie Mellinger (15) all had double figures for the Panthers. Brianna Rodriguez (15) and Jackie Panneton (12) paced Salem.

Beverly was intent on keeping the ball away from overpowering Jackie Panneton on the inside while Salem (14-7) wanted to heavily defend Beverly’s long-range shooters. Both succeeded. The difference was that Salem didn’t have the outside accuracy to compensate for the shutdown inside game. Beverly, on the other hand, shot fewer 3’s but took the ball to the basket for scores or fouls.

Ashley Augulewicz (16 points) gets two

By attacking the basket the Panthers earned twenty-nine free throws. Fouls eliminated key Salem performers Rachel Zipper with over 5+ minutes left and Brianna Rodriguez with 1 ½ left.

The two teams had split their two meetings during the regular season and tonight’s game ended up at Salem because they won a coin toss. It figured to be a close game and with three minutes left in the third quarter that is exactly what it was, 32-32.

The next seven minutes of playing time, stretching into the 4th quarter, were all Beverly. The visitors registered fourteen straight points and the Witches never recovered after trailing 46-32.

In the breakaway segment senior Ashley Augulewicz converted two rebounds and had a layup off a nice assist from teammate Jess Cross. Sophomore Natalie Mellinger drained two three’s from in front of the Panthers’ cheering section. Junior Melissa Lubas added a drive-and-one that fouled Salem senior Rachel Zipper out of the game.

Beverly tries to keep the ball away from 1000-point scorer Jackie Panneton

The eventual final outcome seemed unlikely to those of us on hand for the first quarter. Beverly was determined to launch long ones and Salem’s defense wouldn’t allow it. Meanwhile it was Salem making 3’s (two by Rachel Zipper in the first quarter) and getting the ball inside on occasion to Jackie Panneton (4 points). Salem led 14-6 after a quarter.

Beverly started the second quarter with ten straight (six points by Natalie Mellinger) and got the lead but Salem answered with seven straight including a three by junior Nicole Sadoway to retake the lead. Salem was in front 23-21 at the half.

In the third quarter the teams worked themselves into a 32-32 tie before Salem suffered a disastrous drought and never recovered.

Brianna Rodriguez tallied ten points for the Witches in the final quarter but Beverly made eight-of-eleven free throws to carry off the win.

I was impressed with the play of junior Melissa Lubas of Beverly. She had a few more turnovers in the front court than I would have liked in a point guard but everything else was very good. Head-up dribbling, long-range passing, rebounding, and 9-for-10 free throw shooting are a nice collection of positives.

Rachel Zipper drives on Oliva George

Beverly had lost three of their last four. They do have wins over the division leaders (Revere and Winthrop) in the Northeast Conference.

Beverly coach Allison Flynn played her high school basketball for Salem.

Jackie Panneton scored her 1000th point in Salem’s last game of the season.

Beverly box

Salem box

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

Jess Cross breaks in

loose ball

Melissa Lubas looks for someone to pass to

Brianna Rodriguez (15 points) cuts through

Freshman Emily Fabre shoots from the corner

Melissa Lubas made nine-of-ten free throws

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Filed under Beverly, Salem

Tagged as Ashley Augulewicz, Brianna Rodriguez, Jackie Panneton, Melissa Lubas, Natalie Mellinger, Rachel Zipper

February 13, 2015 · 11:42 pm

Late steal (Luke Reiniger) leads to game-winner in Triton’s 50-49 win over Newburyport

Mike Shay defended by late-game hero Luke Reiniger

Triton starts to celebrate

(Newburyport MA) It was the biggest play of Triton’s season.

Trailing by a point, Triton’s Luke Reiniger intercepted a pass and turned the turnover into a go-ahead, two-points for the Vikings with twelve seconds left.

Luke’s basket turned out to be the game-winner in Triton’s 50-49 win over Newburyport on a frigid Friday night of Cape Ann League action.

Before the Vikings’ celebrating could begin, however, they had to survive the final twelve seconds. Anyone familiar with Newburyport’s team was reasonably certain that junior Dan Baribeault (16 points) would be taking the final shot. And it looked like he would as he dribbled across mid-court. But Triton had at least three defenders thinking the same thing so Dan passed the ball to teammate Jake Barlow and set a screen. Jake’s defender (Kevin Clark) was screened by Danny and Jake took a dribble to his left and had a good look at a possible game-winner for the Clippers. The shot missed and the Vikings’ Nick Venora secured the rebound with 1.1 seconds left and was fouled. Nick missed the first shot unintentionally and the second one intentionally and Newburyport was denied a final shot.

Jake Berger (12 points), Dan Baribeault (16 points) and Corey Parsons (19 points)

The Triton team then began celebrating and the Vikings fans came out and joined them. Why all the celebrating? Triton (8-10) had lost four straight and another loss would have kept them from getting to the post-season tournament. They will need to win their last two games.

The Vikings remain alive while Newburyport (7-10), with only two games left, can no longer get the ten wins they need to qualify for the post-season.

This game had four lead changes in the first quarter and three more in the final quarter.

Triton led 10-9 thanks to two Nick Venora 3-pointers but the Clippers found their offense in the second quarter making five free throws and getting contributions from five different players.

Dan Baribeault sees plenty of Triton defenders on the last possession

Newburyport’s halftime lead was 29-17 and I sensed that Triton was in serious trouble. Scoring was the issue. Ellsworth Rogers (concussion) wasn’t playing. Cam Armand (ankle) was trying to play but was limping. Corey Parsons, defended by Dan Baribeault, had only two points.

The difference in the second half? Corey Parsons (19 points) caught fire. The Triton senior drained four 3’s in the second half including two in the last 1 ½ minutes of the game.

The first of the two late 3’s went in off the backboard and put the Vikings ahead, 45-44, with ninety seconds left.

That lead was far from safe with all that time left. Triton had given up three 3’s on Tuesday night to Pentucket in the last minute of that stunning loss.

Jake Barlow gets a good look at the last shot

It wasn’t the 3’s this time, it was the turnovers. Two straight Triton backcourt turnovers (steals Mike Shay) led directly to layups by Jake Berger (12 points) and a 49-45 NHS lead. Jake was fouled on the first turnover/two and made the free throw.

After a Triton miss, Dan Baribeault was fouled with forty-three seconds left. Dan didn’t make the front end of the one-and-one but Triton still needed five points to win.

If folks thought Dan Baribeault would get to take the big shot for Newburyport, you certainly figured that Corey Parsons would soon be trying a 3-point shot for Triton. Sure enough, Corey came off a screen, cashed a 3-pointer pulling Triton within one point, 49-48, with twenty-six seconds remaining.

Corey Parsons shuts off Will Cataldo

Shortly thereafter came Luke Reiniger’s steal and score and Triton was able to keep their post-season hopes alive for one more game.

It was Senior Day for Newburyport. They have seven seniors on their roster.

Terrific crowd on hand. The way this one went back and forth early and late made for plenty of excitement.

The Vikings won despite missing thirteen free throws (11-for-24).

Triton made seven three’s.

Junior Eric Rybicki had seven points for the Vikings in the second half including a three.

Triton had seventeen turnovers while Newburyport had thirteen.

Triton Boxscore
(For Triton I had Eric Rybicki (7), Luke Reiniger (5), Khalil Brito (2), Nick Venora (9), Conor Henry (4), Corey Parsons (19), Will Parsons (2), Cam Armand (2))

Newburyport Boxscore
(For Newburyport I had Nick Rogers (2), Mike Shay (11), Jake Berger (12), Liam Hundertmark (8), Will Cataldo (2), Dan Baribeault 16))

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

Liam Hundertmark reaches for a high pass

Conor Henry looks for a pass

Khalil Brito gets two

Mine!

Dan Baribeault gets into the lane

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Filed under Newburyport, Triton

Tagged as Corey Parsons, Dan Baribeault, Eric Rybicki, Jake Berger, Luke Reiniger

February 10, 2015 · 11:41 pm

Fast start and Kelsi McNamara (23 points) too much for Triton in 52-39 loss to Pentucket

Kelsi McNamara (23 points) gets a screen from McKenna Kilian

Morgan Snow caught in Pentucket trap

(Byfield MA) Triton had a nightmare first quarter and spent the rest of the game trying to recover.

They never did and Pentucket downed the Vikings, 52-39, on Tuesday night in Cape Ann League action.

The Sachems have now won fifteen straight and sport an impressive 18-1 record with three games remaining.

Pentucket gave the home team a full dose of full-court, trapping pressure and rolled to a 19-2 first quarter. Triton committed ten turnovers and the Sachems turned several of the miscues into instant baskets.

Triton head coach Dan Boyle burned two timeouts early in that quarter to try and stop the Sachems but the inexperienced Vikings persisted in dribbling into traps and passing into traffic with bad results.

Kelsi McNamara paced Pentucket with twenty-three points, none of them in the runaway first quarter. However, Kelsi was part of the effective Pentucket traps that led to turnovers and also assisted on four baskets in the quarter.

Camille Mihalchik (#22) hit several shots from the corner

The Vikings finally broke a run of thirteen Sachems points when Camille Mihalchik hit a jump shot early in the second quarter assisted by Erin Savage.

Jessica Greaney (Triton) and Boo Torrisi (Pentucket) traded free throws before Kelsi put six straight points together. The Pentucket senior took a steal in for a layup, hit a floater in the lane, and two free throws to increase the Sachems edge to, 26-5, with 1+ minutes left until halftime.

The rest of the way Triton played a lot better. Why? They lessened the turnovers. They had only four (by my count) in the second half. Less turnovers, more scoring opportunities.

Key to the Vikings’ turnaround was sophomore Mel Primpas. The point guard handled the Pentucket pressure and gave Triton a chance to display their outside shooting and inside height advantage.

Carolyn Modlish shadows Tess Lafrance (13 points)

Tessa Lafrance caught fire with a ten-point third quarter including two 3’s as the home team collected nineteen points.

Triton put a 10-1 segment together that stretched into the final quarter to close to within ten points (42-32) with five minutes left in the game. Five different Vikings (Morgan Snow, Tessa Lafrance, Abby Ostrander, Camille Mihalchik, and Erin Savage) scored in the rally.

After a Pentucket timeout, the Sachems responded with six straight points (Kelsi free throw, Audrey Tipson layup, and Kelsi three) and erased any thought that an upset was possible.

The Vikings did get two three’s in the last minute (Tessa Lafrance & Jessica Greaney) to tighten the final score to 52-39.

McKenna Kilian (13 points) had eight points in the decisive first quarter for Pentucket.

When you see Pentucket play the first thing you notice is their disruptive defense. Watch a little longer and you start to appreciate their ability to see and successfully pass to open teammates.

full-court pressure

Best play of the game? Last two minutes. Kelsi had the rebound and McKenna Kilian broke down the left side. A good pass would have been to McKenna on the left wing. A great pass happened when Kelsi took a couple of dribbles up the court and tossed a remarkable drop-in pass over the defender that McKenna caught in stride behind the defender for a layup.

The two teams played on January 5th and Pentucket won, 32-20, at Triton. Boo Torrisi paced Pentucket with eleven points. Kelsi had only 7 with no three’s.

This game was scheduled for Pentucket but their schools are closed this week because of the snow on the roofs.

loose ball

Pentucket finishes their regular season with two games in St. Mary’s tournament next week. They are scheduled to host North Reading this Friday. With the school’s closed you wonder if they’ll be able to have Seniors’ Day at Pentucket.

Triton has won seven of their last nine games. They host Malden tomorrow (Wednesday) night.

Boo Torrisi and Carolyn Modlish took turns denying Tessa Lafrance the ball.

How did Rebecca Torrisi become “Boo?” As an infant she was called “Bec-a-boo” by family and it stuck. For those of you familiar with Paul Harvey, “Now you know the rest of the story!”

Mel Primpas spent some time covering Kelsi. These two photos show what happened to Mel when she got too close to Kelsi.

Pentucket Boxscore

Triton Boxscore

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

Colleen Jameson defended by Hannah Clark

looking for a rebound

Carolyn Modlish breaks ahead

Kelsi McNamara in the lane

McKenna Killian (13 points)

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Filed under Pentucket, Triton

Tagged as Kelsi McNamara, McKenna Kilian, Mel Primpas, Tessa LaFrance

February 4, 2015 · 11:18 pm

North Reading finishes strong in 60-56 victory over Triton

Adam Goldstein (on the right) converted a rebound off a missed free throw to give North Reading a 58-54 lead in the last minute

Nick Venora (19 points) sees an opening

(Byfield MA) North Reading survived four lead changes in the final quarter and defeated Triton, 60-56, on Wednesday night Cape Ann League action.

The Hornets (7-8) had a very slim, 55-54 lead with 1:12 left but capitalized on a Viking rebounding foul (Luke Reineiger) and a converted offensive rebound (Adam Goldstein) and put five straight points together to win the game.

Triton (7-9) got down early (22-9) as Derek Hogan (18 points) carried North Reading.

Later the Vikings would erase a 30-20 deficit with a 17-1 run that gave the home team a 37-31 lead with three minutes left in the third quarter. Nick Venora (19 points) tallied nine points in a lengthy stretch of solid offense and defense.

Cam Armand spins in

Cam Armand started the final quarter with a three to get Triton up by four (44-40).

The key to the North Reading win? Twice in the last quarter the Hornets turned misses into point-producing offensive rebounds. The first time it happened senior Gerard Walsh punished Triton with a three after a teammate rebounded Gerard’s missed free throw to get NR ahead, 52-48. Later it was Adam Goldstein (12 points) converting a missed free throw into two points with a rebound to increase the Hornets’ lead to 58-54 with fifty-four seconds to go.

The Vikings opted for the quick fix 3-point attempts but came up empty on all three tries down the stretch.

Derek Hogan (18 points) drives

North Reading won despite twenty turnovers and thirteen (10-for-23) missed free throws. The Hornets miscued on eight freebies in the final quarter.

The Vikings had a very cold shooting night from the field. They did make four 3’s but needed several more in this one.

North Reading won the first match between the two teams in December, 62-40. Adam Goldstein had 21 points in that NR victory.

The Hornets ended a two-game losing streak. They play Notre Dame Cristo Rey (Lawrence) on Thursday and at undefeated Hamilton-Wenham on Friday.

Hamilton-Wenham routed Triton by thirty-nine points on Friday. Marcus Zegarowski had thirty-one points in that one. HW had only won the previous meeting between the two teams, 51-44, in December.

The Vikings will be at Masco on Friday night.

North Reading box

Triton box

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