February 21, 2011 · 12:46 pm

Town Common Photo

This picture appeared on the front page of The Town Common (February 16th -22nd, 2011) with the following caption: “Johnny Spears (#4) of Georgetown defends Darren Lewis (#10) of Triton during the Vikings, 65-49, win on February 9th at Triton.”

The photo was taken at night in the very well-lighted Triton gymnasium.

Hard to resist a picture of (arguably) the two best players in the game when they are together.  They also were not moving at any speed which lessened blurring possibilities.

I used my Canon EOS Rebel T1i camera.  I was shooting in the TV mode.  Shutter speed was 1/160, F-stop 5.0, Exposure compensation + 1/3, and ISO at 1600.

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February 18, 2011 · 11:15 pm

North Andover Controls Adam Bramanti and Defeats Masco 55-48

Colby Smith (#12) tries to prevent a pass to Adam Bramanti (#3).

Colby Smith hits two free throws near the end.

(Boxford) Plenty of denial defense was on display as North Andover defeated Masconomet, 55-48, at Masco on Friday night in Cape Ann League play.

A full house was on hand, partly to honor Masco’s three seniors, and partly to see if their Chieftains could grab a share (with Wilmington) of the CAL Division 1 title.  Well, one out of two, ain’t bad!

With the victory, North Andover (15-4) will have a chance to be co-champs with Wilmington if they can get by Hamilton-Wenham in a rescheduled game at home on Monday. HW coach Doug Hoak was in the house for the Masco/North Andover contest.

Derek Collins (16 points) hit a couple of three’s early in the 4th quarter to give the Knights a 47-41 lead with 4:45 to go and Masco (11-7) was kept at least one possession away thereafter.

An Adam Bramanti (13 points) layup with seventeen seconds left narrowed things to 51-48 but two free throws by Colby Smith gave the Knights the cushion they needed for the win.

Normal Knight high scorers (Zach Karalis and Derek Collins) were on the “two” end of Masco’s triangle-and-two defense.

Derek Collins hits a three over his “shadow” Ben Panunzio.

It worked against Zach as he was limited to seven points.  Derek, however, reached his average and hit from long range three times.  One of those 3’s in the 4th quarter was a real backbreaker (for Masco).  Derek ended up forcing a shot from closer to midcourt than the top of the key that went in as the shot-clock buzzer went off.

Adam Bramanti averages twenty but was held to thirteen.  He was shadowed by an assortment of Knights. NA did not allow him to use screens to get open by switching every time one was set for him.

Adam Bramanti saw tight defense everywhere. This time from Collin Hubbell.

Adam got off twenty shots (made five) but the looks he had against Hamilton-Wenham (scoring 28 points) were not available versus North Andover.

There were nine lead changes in the first half with NA getting the last one with a run of six straight points (Zach, Derek, and James Warden two points each) as the Knights closed out the first half in front, 30-25.

The Knights never trailed in the second half.  The Chieftains did tie the score (38-38) on a layup by Alex Brown (11 points) to start the final period.

James Warden (16 points) and Michael Moroney (8 points) found opening for baskets against Masco’s 3-man zone defense especially in the first half.

Masco’s student section was out in force.  They did make the mistake of chanting, “We can’t hear you,” in the direction of NA players from the JV game.  Sporting a lead late, the players responded with the obvious, “Scoreboard, scoreboard,” which silenced the Masco kids.  Memo: Chanting, “We can’t hear you,” works best when your team is AHEAD.

Masco is on a 4-game losing streak and has two non-league games (Revere and Malden Catholic) at home next week left on their regular season schedule.

NA had lost two in a row before defeating Masco.  The Knights also won over Masco in December. They have Hamilton-Wenham left.

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February 17, 2011 · 11:12 pm

Andover Defeated by Central Catholic Buzzer Beater 59-56

Joe Bramanti (22 points) applies some defense to Jaycob Morales.

Jaycob Morales (10 points) hit the last-second, 3-pointer to give Central Catholic the win.

(Andover) Jaycob Morales hit a three in the 3rd quarter to put an end to an 18-point Andover run and topped that shot with a game-winner in the 4th at the buzzer to give Central Catholic (17-1) a 59-56 victory on Thursday night at Andover High School.

Jaycob’s three climaxed a game that both teams seemed to have taken control of a couple of times.

Andover’s Craig Luschenat (13 points) tied the game (56-56) with a three from the right corner with 56 seconds left.  The teams then swapped missed shots setting the stage for the Raiders with 12.5 seconds to go.

You suspected that CC coach Rick Nault might set Jimmy Zenevitch (26 points) up in close for at least some foul shots or maybe have a drive to the basket from Luis Puello (13 points) or Jaycob Morales (10 points).  You knew that whatever CC did, it would be done late so that Andover couldn’t respond if there was a miss.

The “late part” went as expected.  The Raiders, however, stayed outside and when Jaycob’s final shot, from just to the left of the top of the circle, went through the net there wasn’t even time for Andover to get the ball inbounds.

Despite the fact that Central Catholic had already clinched the Merrimack Valley title the tone in this one was at the post-season, tournament-final level.  There was plenty of vocal support from the two team’s student sections and plenty of crowd-pleasing action to watch. The teams had split the two previous meetings.

Jimmy Zenevitch (26 points) puts up a free throw in the 4th quarter that tied the score.

CC was by far the better team in the first half.  Despite an unseemly twelve turnovers, they frequently got the ball into 6-7 Jimmy Zenevitch’s hands for high percentage shots.  They shot nearly 50% in the first half.

Andover had Joe Bramanti (“The Brama Bull”) bring the ball into the frontcourt on almost every possession.  He delivered twelve points but there never was an easy attempt.  Having Luis Puello chasing him everywhere he went factored into his struggles early on.  Andover trailed 27-20 at halftime.

It was obvious that Andover had zero chance of winning if the second half was a repeat of the first.  I don’t know what was said at halftime but the Golden Warrior team played a third quarter that was remarkable under any conditions.  Played against the #2 Division 1 team in the state and it was indeed something special.

Luis Puello (13 points) defends Joe Bramanti.

Andover went from trailing 27-20 to leading 38-27 in about 6 ½ minutes.  That’s a nifty eighteen unanswered points! You never saw such a turnaround.  The Raiders missed two free throws, eight shots from the floor, and committed seven turnovers during this ugly (for them) segment.  Joe Bramanti (8), Brian Salvesen (4), Craig Luschenat (4), and Jack Kieckhafer(2) all contributed points for the Golden Warriors.

You watched the onslaught and had to start thinking that Andover, with a 42-31 lead after three quarters, was on their way to a W.  It didn’t turn out that way.

The 4th quarter started and instantly it’s CC that can’t miss and Andover begins to struggle to score.  In three minutes and fifteen seconds the Golden Warriors squandered their entire eleven-point lead thanks to a 17-3 run by the Raiders.  Jimmy Zenevitch came alive with two layups and two old-fashioned 3-point plays.  Jaycob Morales hit his second of three 3’s in this comeback segment for Central Catholic.

With 4:44 to go and a 48-44 lead it looked as if CC was ready to roll to victory but credit Andover for fighting back.  Despite missing three free throws, the team rode slashes to the basket by James Costello and Jack Kieckhafer, and the last-minute three by Craig Luschenat, to a tie score before Jaycob Morales’ last-second heroics.

Luis Puello scored thirteen points but it was his defense that was noticeable.  He made Joe Bramanti work hard for his 22 points.  Luis picked up his 4th foul with five minutes left but managed not to foul out and also to continue to play great defense.

Joel Berroa scored only four points for CC but he set up Jimmy Zenevitch for a number of layups with his passes.

Joe Bramanti struggled with his outside shooting and had to face shot-blockers when he drove.  Still he managed 22 points.  His defense was impressive to watch against Luis Puello and also Jaycob Morales.

Coaches from St.John’s Prep and Lynn English were in the house.  Central Catholic plays at St. John’s on February 23rd.  Lynn English is in a tournament at Central Catholic starting Sunday and could face CC in the finals.

Seniors were honored before the game.

The Raiders have now won thirteen straight.

Andover (13-4) defeated North Andover earlier this week.

Luis Puello shoots over Jack Kieckhafer in front of the Golden Warrior student section.

The student sections created so much noise that you never heard individual voices.  The cheerleaders from both teams performed stunts that looked dangerous to this reporter.

(I collect my own stats and take my own pictures.  I also draw my own conclusions.  Mistakes are unintentional.)

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February 15, 2011 · 11:09 pm

Lynn English Scores Nineteen Points in Last Three Minutes to Defeat Salem 78-70

Lynn English celebrates after a big rally defeats Salem.

Antonio Reyes (34 points) makes a late free throw.

(Salem) Lynn English (17-1) trailed by ten points with three minutes left but rallied on both ends of the court and defeated Salem, 78-70, on Tuesday night before a sizable group of passionate  fans.

Salem (15-3) looked to be rolling to victory with a, 69-59, lead but seemed to collectively run out of gas and the Bulldogs capitalized in a big way in the final hectic three minutes.

The only positive Salem had in the last three minutes was one free throw (Antonio Reyes).  The rest was ugly: seven turnovers, two missed threes, and two missed free throws.

While all that bad stuff was happening to the Witches, Lynn English scored at least two points in nine of their last ten possessions.  After the score was tied at 70-70 with 1:04 left, the Bulldogs ran off eight unanswered points including six free throws without a miss in front of a loud Salem student section.

Travonne Berry-Rogers (26 points) shadowed Antonio move of the game. Here the two share a laugh.

Salem had won an earlier meeting (66-63) in late December.

This was the last regular season home game for Salem and their seniors were honored before the game.  This team will surely get a home game in the MIAA Division 2 tournament starting in a couple of weeks.

Antonio Reyes (34 points) put on one of those shows that people will be talking about years from now.  Against a team with shot blockers (Keandre Stanton and Corey McMillen) Antonio took the ball to the basket.  Against steady denial defense from Trevonne Berry-Rogers, Antonio found openings for 3’s.  He also took in fifteen rebounds and handed out eight assists.

However, in crunch time LE doubled Antonio to get the ball out of his hands and that led to a slew of turnovers that proved decisive.

Antonio would foul out with thirty-nine seconds left.  Keandre Stanton converted both free throws to put the Bulldog ahead 74-70 and Salem had no offense left the rest of the way.

Keandre Stanton (#15) rejects a Antonio layup attempt.

While Antonio had the fans oohing and aahing, Trevonne Berry-Rogers quietly picked up twenty-six points for LE.  He was good from all the scoring stations and also had a big steal and layin during the last thirty seconds of the game.

The Bulldogs have several serious shot blockers and when they weren’t actually blocking shots they were discouraging Salem’s undersized players from getting to the basket.

Salem started fast winning all the scrambling battles.  5 ½ minutes in they were up, 17-8.  During the last part of the second quarter all that hustling around, plus having played a game on Sunday, seemed to catch up to the Witches.  A 30-21 advantage was trimmed to just 33-31 by the fresher Bulldogs.

Salem started the second half rested and scored the first nine points (Antonio – five points, Christian Dunston and Raphy Medrano two points each).

Later in the 3rd quarter, the Bulldogs chopped eight points (six from Travonne and two from Corey) off a 48-38 lead and only trailed 54-51 at the end of that quarter.

Christian Dunston (#1) shoots from in front of the Salem student section.

On this night Salem rallied around Antonio and pushed the lead back to ten (64-54 and 69-59) in the final period.  One particular play during this good offense may have factored into Salem’s late-game demise, however.  Antonio went in for a layup on the left and Keandre came over and blocked the shot sending Antonio hard to the floor.  Antonio came out of that action was a sore hip with about five minutes left.

LE put together a 19-1 run during the final three minutes and avenged their only loss of the season in the process. LE has now won fourteen straight and clinched the conference title for the fifth straight season.

LE had twenty turnover through three quarters.  Salem played five guards and their quickness caused numerous Bulldog miscues.

Josh Costello collected sixteen points including four 3’s for LE.

Antonio had a huge night but made the Salem attack more predictable than usual in the second half.  When all five players are included in the offense, the double teams Antonio faced would have led to teammates getting open shots.

Raphy Medrano tallied thirteen points but was held scoreless in the final quarter.

Corey McMillen (23 points) and Keandre Stanton (13 points) led the Bulldog big men.

In a highly-charged atmosphere tempers can flare and things can get ugly off the court after the game.  Saw none of that at Salem High.  The reason?  The players were respectful of each other.  That set the tone for the fans.  When Antonio Reyes joked with Travonne Berry-Rogers during an interlude it lessened the animosity possibilities.  When they embraced afterwards you knew that the rivalry had reverted to respect and admiration.  Good stuff, I thought.

(I gather my own stats and take my own pictures.  I draw my own conclusions.  Mistakes are unintentional.)

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February 14, 2011 · 11:59 pm

Hamilton-Wenham Boys Defeat Masconomet In Overtime 69-61

Stephen Tam (25 points) sends Hamilton-Wenham ahead in overtime with a 3-pointer.

(Boxford) Hamilton-Wenham (13-2) defeated Masconomet (11-5) in overtime, 69-61, on Monday night but the luster of the victory may be dulled by the loss of Pat Hendrickson to a severe knee injury.

Pat Hendrickson on the floor with what looked to be a severe knee injury.

Pat went down in the last minute of regulation on a drive to the basket.  The game was delayed for some time as Masco’s trainers examined Pat and decided that outside medical help was required.  Help arrived and Pat was put on a stretcher and given a rousing sendoff by the spectators from both sides.

Pat’s drive resulted in two free throws.  Colin Kenny made both and the Generals were up by three (56-53) with 35 seconds left.  You didn’t have to watch this game for very long to know who would be taking the shot for Masco (Adam Bramanti).  You just didn’t know where he’d shoot from.  He got open on the right side and tied the game in front of the Masco student section.

Hamilton-Wenham had plenty of time (28 seconds) and after a timeout seemed intent on running the clock down to just a few seconds before shooting.  Unfortunately, Stephen Tam dribbled the Generals into a five-second violation.

Adam Bramanti (28 points) forced overtime with this late 3-pointer.

That left Adam now with a chance to win the game with eleven seconds to do it.  He got over on the right side again but this time missed and Colin Kenny got the rebound to send the game into overtime.

In overtime, a Ben Panunzio layup on a rebound tied the score at 58-58 early but the Chieftain offense went south over the last 2 ½ minutes getting just three points.  The Generals, on the other hand, were very productive.  Stephen Tam hit a three and on seven of the next eight possession HW was at the foul line.  They hit on just eight of fourteen attempts but that was more

Jake Lindland (13 points) hit five-of-six free throws in overtime.

than enough to stay ahead of the suddenly cold-shooting Chieftains.

One of Stephen Tam’s 3-point attempts.

The willingness of both teams to put up 3’s was an eye-opener for me.  I’d seen Salem connect on fifteen on Sunday night but in this game both teams were at it.  Masco and HW combined to launch sixty 3-point attempts which was more than half the shots attempted in the game.

Adam Bramanti (eight 3’s and 28 points) and Stephen Tam (six 3’s and 25 points) made long ones in every period as well as overtime.  They never seemed to be out of range.

The Chieftains used their size to get second-chance baskets in the first quarter and led 15-10.  HW rallied at the start of the second quarter with eight straight points (3’s by Pat Hendrickson and Stephen Tam plus two Chris Hamilton free throws) to jump ahead 18-15.  However, Masco closed on an 8-2 run (3’s by Ben Panunzio and Adam Bramanti plus two Zach Zaniewski free throws) to lead at the half 34-27.

It took Masco three minutes to score a point in the second half and by then HW had connected three times from long distance (Pat, Jake Lindland, and Stephen) to surge in front, 36-34.  The Chieftains would end up chasing HW the rest of the way before finally tying the visitors, 58-58, very late in regulation.

Thereafter, both team had a chance to win in regulation, which they didn’t, and then HW took charge in overtime.

The loss had to be troubling for Masco coach Frank Shea.  His team had all sorts of size advantages but after the first half were far too content to try and get three points per possession.

Zach Zaniewski had a big first half (12 points).

Zach Zaniewski collected twelve points in the first half and then the 6’6” inside threat disappeared from the score sheet.

Pat Hendrickson had fifteen points while Jake Lindland added thirteen for the Generals.

If HW had lost this game the culprit would have been easy to spot – free throw shooting.  The team made just 23-of-38.  Do kids practice that shot anymore?

All five of Masco’s losses have been at home.

The crowd size surprised me considering the records of the two teams.

(I collect my own stats and take my own pictures.  My captions and commentary are original.  Mistakes are unintentional.)

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February 13, 2011 · 11:23 pm

Fifteen 3’s Carry Salem High Boys Past Everett 70-63

(Salem) Salem (15-2) shot its way past non-league Everett (8-7) on Sunday night, 70-63, before a small crowd at Salem High School.

The Witches dazzled from long-distance (15-for-32) and built up a, 65-50, lead early in the 4th quarter before cooling off and enabling the Crimson Tide to make a 13-5 closing rush and cause the final score to look a little closer than it actually was.

Everett edged to within six (65-59) in the last period, on nine-straight Matt Costello points, but Brad Skeffington answered with a three to seal it for Salem.

The next game for Salem is a must-see on Tuesday night (7PM) at home against Lynn English.  The Bulldogs are 16-1 with the only blemish a 66-63 December loss to Salem.  That was a game where LE had a six-point lead late and the Witches rallied around a Brad Skeffington trey to pull it out.

LE has won thirteen straight since then.  Salem has now won nine straight.  Should be a good one.

Christian Dunston (14 points) takes a 3-pointer.

I’m sure that Salem would love to have some of the team-wide, 3-point accuracy against LE that they had against Everett.  Each starter had at least two 3’s. All five starters would end up in double figures. How do you defend that??

Everett used a box-and-one against superstar Antonio Reyes and he was content in the first half to open things up for his teammates.

Credit Everett.  They shot well early and turned up high percentage looks and held the lead until the last minute of the first quarter.

However, three’s from Dario Medrano and Antonio Reyes plus a Raphy Medrano free throw gave Salem the lead (25-19) 1 ½ minutes into the second quarter.  The Witches held the lead thereafter.

The Crimson Tide was still just a basket away after an Alain Jeanty layup near the end of the 2nd quarter but an eight-point Salem run, stretching into the 3rd quarter, pushed their advantage to 44-33.  Three’s by Raphy Medrano and Christian Dunston plus a Brad Skeffington layup provided the points.

Everett rallied to 55-48 before Salem put together a game-deciding, eight straight as three consecutive Crimson Tide turnovers led to points.  Antonio and Brad added two free throws each while Dario and Antonio netted layups.

Matt Costello (17 points) elevates over Raphy Medrano.

Salem’s advantage was now 63-48 and despite Matt Costello’s nine points in the last quarter this one never got close enough late to create an outcome mystery.

Two things about Salem that I noticed were: (1) they play a very active zone and (2) they will pressure an opponent after a rebound.

Their zone better be good because they really are going with five guards.  Granted, these guards can jump, but they are guards!

Defending Salem is a problem.  Those matchups that look juicy when you have the ball backfire when Salem has the ball.  They spread the court and an opponent has to respect their long-range talent.  This opens up lanes to the basket where their quickness is an advantage.

Antonio Reyes was very patient with his offense in the first half.  The second half he had the ball more and got to the basket and the foul line regularly. He can dominate a game.

Matt Costello (17), Alain Jeanty (16) and Emo Deschommes (11) reached double figures for Everett.

Salem’s starting five all recorded double figures – Antonio Reyes (17), Christian Dunston (14), Dario Medrano (16), Raphy Medrano (13), and Brad Skeffington (10).