McClelland Miscellanea

March 13, 2015 · 11:09 pm

Londonderry wins 2nd straight D1 title 48-33 over Winnacunnet

Londonderry begins to celebrate a second straight title

2015 Division One champions

(Manchester NH) No need for any last-minute heroics by Londonderry in this one.

The #2 seed Lancers started fast and never trailed as they defeated Winnacunnet, 48-33, to take a second straight Division 1 title.

The Friday night encounter at the SNHU Fieldhouse lacked the end-game tension of a year ago when Londonderry rode a late three by Brittany Roche (assisted by Jackie Luckhardt) to an exciting 57-56 victory over Bedford.

#9 Winnacunnet reached the finals by getting the ball inside to Meg Knollmeyer (nearly 20 points per game) and getting to the foul line (83 free throws to opponents‘ 44 free throws).

Tara Burke crowds Meg Knollmeyer (11 points)

In the title game the Lancers (20-2) collapsed around Meg and wouldn’t let the talented junior or her teammates get to the rim very often. The Warriors (14-8) had only eight free throws while Meg Knollmeyer was held to eleven points. Tara Burke and Noelle Lambert were big in denying passes to the interior.

There were turnovers a-plenty in this game. The number of passes to no one in particular astounded me. It is important to note that some turnovers are more costly than others. The first quarter is a prime example. Londonderry got off to a great 8-0 start. All eight points came off of Winnacunnet miscues. That’s costly!

The Warriors played their best minutes of the game after getting down by eight. They got inside (3 layups) and closed to within two (10-8) after a quarter. Meg Knollmeyer had two of the layups.

The team from Hampton was still within two (15-13) three minutes into the second quarter after a 3-pointer by Molly Britton. But then the wheels came off for Winnacunnet as the Lancers ran nine unanswered points over the next three minutes to break away, 24-13. Jackie Luckhardt had a 3-pointer, a rebound, and an assist in the separating segment.

Winnacunnet moved to within two possessions (30-24) on Emily Britton’s 3-pointer with 2 ½ minutes to go in the third quarter. But the rest of the quarter was all Londonderry with a jumper by Brittany Roche and a long one by Kelsey Coffey. That ending restored the Lancers’ eleven point lead (35-24).

Molly Britton (#24) had two 3-pointers

The Warriors go inside a double-digit deficit briefly in the final quarter on Molly Britton’s second three-pointer and later a layup by Meg Knollmeyer. However, two straight layups by Tara Burke restored the Lancers’ double-digit spread and they played keep-away on offense the rest of the way.

Junior Jackie Luckhardt had nine turnovers for Londonderry but the rest of her stat line had plenty to do with Londonderry winning the championship. Jackie had eleven rebounds, seven points, nine assists, and six steals.

I saw at least two inbounds layups by Noelle Lambert assisted by Jackie.

This game was long on contact. Meg Knollmeyer was staggered by a Kelsey Coffey screen in the second half. Brittany Roche needed help from the trainer after she went down hard.

Winnacunnet scored just one layup in the second half.

Jackie Luckhardt (nine assists) flies over Meg Knollmeyer

Londonderry defeated Winnacunnet, 58-47, during the regular season. Molly Britton had six 3-pointers for the Warriors while Meg Knollmeyer tallied seventeen points to go with eleven rebounds. Key to the title win was significantly lessening the production of Molly and Meg in the second meeting.

Greatly appreciated getting a full set of stats from the SNHU stat crew.

Box from the game

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

Kelsey Coffey takes time off the clock in the 4th quarter

Winnacunnet gets the runnerup trophy

Brittany Roche hit the game winner in the 2014 title game

Noelle Lambert and Tara Burke (11 points)

Kelly Arsenault hemmed in by a trio of Lancers

Londonderry student section

Tara Burke and Brittany Roche lock down Katie Valcich

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Tagged as Jackie Luckhardt, Meg Knollmeyer, Molly Britton, Tara Burke

March 10, 2015 · 10:35 pm

Slow start dooms Pentucket in 63-49 loss to Old Rochester in D3 state semifinals

Jordan Menard (13 points) was part of an aggressive assault on the Pentucket defense

Ryan Beatty (13 points) gets two

(Boston MA) The Pentucket boys did get better as the game went along but when a team starts with a two-point first quarter getting better may not be enough.

And it wasn’t as the Sachems fell to Old Rochester, 63-49, in the Division 3 state semifinals on Tuesday night at the TD Garden.

Old Rochester (#1 seed from the South) never trailed thanks to an aggressiveness on both ends of the floor that Pentucket couldn’t match up with.

Pentucket (#5 seed in the North) had a serious case of the Garden jitters and except for Pat Freiermuth (18 points) had a horrible shooting night. The accurate shooting that carried the Sachems past three higher seeds in the North sectionals vanished in the state semis.

Freshman Noah Fernandes was hard to contain

The Bulldogs (22-3) were relentless. Almost every Pentucket shot was a contested one while on offense Old Rochester just attacked the rim.

Four Bulldogs average double figures and three of them William Santos (16), Jordan Menard (13), and Ryan Beatty (13) reached that plateau in this game.

The Sachems got off to a dreadful start. Pat Freiermuth’s layup 1 ½ minutes into the game was their only basket in the first eight minutes. They missed fourteen shots, including a number of layups, and had seven turnovers. Meanwhile ORR collected twelve points including the final eight of the quarter. Five different Bulldogs contributed points in the 12-2 start.

That start would have doomed most teams but the Sachems were able to hang around even though they never found the long-range accuracy carried them through the North to the Garden. Old Rochester missed a lot of shots too.

Pentucket made two serious runs at the lead in the second half but both times the Bulldogs responded with consecutive points to deny the team from West Newbury.

Jordan Menard hit two straight 3-pointers in the third quarter

Brendan Sullivan had a three in a collection of five points that brought Pentucket to within seven (29-22) 2 ½ minutes into the second half. ORR answered with a free throw by William Santos and two straight 3’s from Jordan Menard restoring, in the process, Old Rochester’s advantage to fourteen.

Pentucket’s best chance came early in the final quarter. A Pat Beaton layup off an Old Rochester turnover and four points from Pat Freiermuth suddenly had the Sachems within two possessions (42-36) with 6 ½ minutes left. Play some defense. Make some three’s and see what happens at the end. None of that happened. Instead there were three more Pentucket turnovers up against a three by Ryan Beatty and a slashing layup and two free throws from William Santos. Back to twelve went the ORR lead (49-36) and Pentucket never recovered.

Pat Freiermuth (18 points) scores in traffic

Old Rochester advances to the D3 state finals and the DCU Center in Worcester on Saturday facing either Hoosac or Uxbridge.

Remarkable season for Pentucket of the Cape Ann League. Most of the playing time went to seniors and their poise against the higher seeds in the North carried the day for the team.

Sophomore Pat Freiermuth will be back and will surely draw plenty of defensive consideration next season as the lone returning starter. Pat ended up with 22 rebounds against Old Rochester.

Old Rochester is out of the South Coast Conference.

Where is the school? It is not in Rochester but in Mattapoisett. Okay, where’s Mattapoisett? It is about sixty miles from Providence and Boston down in the southeast corner of Massachusetts.

The Bulldogs brought nine busloads of fans to the Garden. There was plenty of red on one side of the Garden but some of it belonged to some early Watertown fans.

Old Rochester box

Pentucket box

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

Pat Beaton finds an opening down the lane

Pat Freiermuth blocks

Looking for a rebound

Pentucket Garden photo

James Cleary (40) and Patrick McDonough (20)

Ben Thornton (51)

Mitch Midwood

Brendan Sullivan looks to pass

Will Sullivan and Jeff Porter try to double-team Noah Fernandes

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Filed under Old Rochester, Pentucket

Tagged as Jordan Menard, Noah Fernandes, Pat Freiermuth, Ryan Beatty, William Santos

March 9, 2015 · 11:03 pm

Hamilton-Wenham recovers to rout Cathedral 64-35 in D4 state semfinals

Marcus Zegarowski (24 points) floats in for two

Nolan Wilson (13 points) scored all his points in the second half

(Boston MA) It was as dramatic a change as you’ll ever see come over two basketball teams in a game.

For twelve minutes one team (Cathedral) was quick and made shots while the other team (Hamilton-Wenham) looked a step slow and couldn’t hit anything. That disparity sent the South champion Panthers (17-8) off to a 12-5 first quarter lead and the team from Boston was still up 18-12 halfway through the second quarter.

After that the dramatic change took place and the undefeated North champion Generals (24-0) put everything together to overwhelm Cathedral, 64-35, and win the Division 4 state semifinals on Monday afternoon at the TD Garden.

The reasons for the change? One was the HW zone defense. The Generals had size and Cathedral had limited good looks at the 3’s they generally take. The Panthers still tried to live long range and had almost no offensive rebounds or layups. The other reason for the HW turnaround was sophomore point guard Marcus Zegarowski (24 points). His ability to run an offense became more and more evident as the game went on. Marcus created for himself and he also set up teammates (6 assists). The Panthers ran a number of man-to-man defenders at him but his quickness opened up shots from near and far. Marcus was able to get to the rim for five scores.

Moses Flowers dribbles and Nikos Lara defends

But in the early going Cathedral looked to be the better team. Though smaller than HW, they connected twice from long range (Trevor Lynch and Moses Flowers) and forced three Generals’ turnovers in the first quarter.

Two layups by Julian Howell and a converted rebound by Trevor Lynch in the first four minutes of the second quarter started to make believers of some of the upset-hopers in the crowd.

But before that second quarter was over the Generals had rattled off ten unanswered points to hold a 22-18 halftime advantage.

The last minute of that first half (eight HW points) was a foretaste of Hamilton-Wenham’s domination to come. Marcus Zegarowski started it with a steal and layup. (Cathedral had three turnovers in the final minute.) Then after a turnover, reserve Nick DiMarino drained a three. After yet another turnover Max Zegarowski finished the pull-away final minute with three of his own to finish the quarter.

Marcus Zegarowski gets to the rim

You thought maybe Cathedral would regroup at halftime. They were only down four. You thought wrong. HW was just getting started. The Generals added eleven more in a row to start the third quarter before Christopher Alzate hit a three for Cathedral. That basket cut the Cathedral deficit to 33-21.

Plenty of time for the Panthers to regroup with 1 ½ quarters remaining. But as I said before, the Generals weren’t finished. The rest of the quarter was all Hamilton-Wenham. The Panthers tried to tighten up on the perimeter but HW then had husky 6-4 Nolan Wilson (13 points) getting single coverage in close. The Generals milked that mismatch for eight points. Meanwhile Marcus Zegarowski added his ten points to the 26-point HW quarter. The team from the Central Catholic League had only the 3-pointer to show for the quarter.

When that quarter ended the Generals were in complete command, 48-21. That quarter was either beautiful or horrific depending on the team you were with but there was definitely no middle ground!

If there had been a Mercy Rule, as in softball, this one would have ended after three quarters but it didn’t. I was glad for that because both teams had the opportunity to give their entire rosters a chance to play at the Garden.

Jimmy Campbell

Senior Jimmy Campbell collected thirteen rebounds for the Generals.

Hamilton-Wenham will play for the Division 4 state title on Friday night at WPI at 7:45PM.

Cathedral won the state D4 title in 2006, 2007, and 2009.

HW coach Doug Hoak won a state title coaching the Generals baseball team back in the day.

Hamilton-Wenham is from the Cape Ann League.

Cathedral had twenty-five turnovers while the Generals had only eight.

Hamilton-Wenham box

Cathedral box

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

Marcus Zegarowski

Max Zegarowski

Nick DiMarino clicked twice from long range

HW whiteout

tie up

Trevor Lynch

prom question

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Tagged as Cathedral High School, Jimmy Campbell, Marcus Zegarowski, Nolan Wilson

March 7, 2015 · 9:37 pm

Watertown takes out Pentucket 44-40 in Division 2 North finals

Kelsi McNamara found few openings but still tallied twenty-three points for Pentucket

Gianna Coppola made three of four free throws in crunch time for Watertown

Michaela Antonellis (15 points) had a strong game for Watertown

(Lowell MA) Watertown had twenty-three turnovers, missed nine free throws, and had a seven-minute scoring drought in the final eight-minute quarter.

Not the ingredients you’d expect to be part of a Watertown girls’ win but they were. The Raiders had enough defense to offset the negatives and ousted Pentucket, 44-40, to gain the Division 2 North title on Saturday afternoon at the Tsongas Center.

Watertown will face South #1 seed Duxbury (24-1) on Tuesday night (5:45PM) at the TD North Garden in the Division 2 state semifinals.

Kelsi McNamara (23 points) was option one, two, three, and four for the Sachems (23-2) all afternoon. Kelsi, who recently became Pentucket’s all-time scoring leader, saw plenty of defenders Rachel Morris and Felicia Korte during the afternoon. The taller twosome alternated on Kelsi and did a solid job of limiting open 3-point attempts.

Felicia Korte defends Kelsi McNamara

When Kelsi was able to find space past her outside defenders there was always 6-2 Shannon Murphy to also be dealt with. Almost all of Kelsi’s open shots were taken in warmups!

Kelsi, however, had two of four 3’s during the first half of the final quarter. Her second one put the Sachems within one possession (41-38) of the lead with half a quarter left.

The undefeated Raiders (21-0) made things more “interesting” than they should have as they nursed a three-point lead with a run thereafter of turnovers (three) and missed free throws (four). But the team from West Newbury didn’t answer the Watertown miscues with points. In fact, it wasn’t until twenty-four seconds were left when senior Audrey Tipson sank two free throws to put Pentucket on the doorstep trailing only 41-40.

Looking for a clutch performance? Step up, Gianna Coppola. The Sachems fouled Gianna to stop the clock after Audrey‘s free throws. The WHS senior made the first shot but not the second. The rebound on the missed shot, however, was mishandled by Pentucket and Watertown had the ball out-of-bounds. A pass in and Gianna was fouled again. This time she hit both free throws giving Watertown a four-point lead with nine seconds left. A prayer by Kelsi McNamara a few seconds later was not answered and the Raiders had the title.

Michaela Antonellis gets double teamed by McKenna Kilian and Taylor Moore

Watertown started fast (11-3) with Michaela Antonellis (15 points) cashing several inside shots. The Sachems, however, shut out Watertown for the final five minutes of the quarter and went on a 12-1 run to lead 15-12 after a quarter. Kelsi had two three’s in that segment.

The Raiders regained the lead but Pentucket was still close (27-25) in the first two minutes of the third quarter. A layup by Audrey Tipson assisted by Boo Torrisi narrowed the gap to two.

Then junior Michaela Antonellis took over with eight consecutive points on a three, a jump shot, and a driving layup. Gianna Coppola followed with a layup assisted by Michaela to end a nine-point run that put Watertown ahead 36-25 with 3:10 remaining in the third quarter.

Kelsi McNamara tries to get past 6-2 Shannon Murphy

After Shannon Murphy notched a layup to start the final quarter Watertown looked comfortable at 41-32. But two Kelsi McNamara three’s later that lead was down to three with plenty of time left. On this afternoon that “plenty of time” wasn’t enough for the Sachems. No question they had plenty of glittering chances but couldn’t find a big shot in the end game.

I was impressed with ball-handling skills of Watertown’s Michaela Antonellis.
I was also impressed with the way Pentucket turned up the defense in the final quarter. The way they double-teamed every Raider receiving a pass was effective.

This was the third straight year to the North finals for Watertown. Two years ago Pentucket won, 38-24, as they put fifteen straight points together to get an early 18-2 lead and never looked back.
(All of the pictures above and below will enlarge considerably if you click on them.)

Kelsi McNamara puts up a runner in the lane

McKenna Kilian goes baseline

Kelsi McNamara was heavily defended on the perimeter

Audrey Tipson brought Pentucket within a point making two free throws in the last minute

Kelsi McNamara gets a block on Gianna Coppola

Kelsi McNamara in the midst of four Raiders

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Filed under Pentucket, Watertown

Tagged as Audrey Tipson, Felicia Korte, Gianna Coppola, Kelsi McNamara, Michaela Antonellis, Rachel Morris

March 4, 2015 · 11:53 pm

Isaiah McLeod (35 points) leads Cambridge Rindge and Latin past Andover 78-62 in the D1 North semifinals

Isaiah McLeod (35 points) stroked early and often in the first half

Isaiah McLeod soars above the Andover defense getting sixteen points in the first quarter

(North Andover MA) Isaiah McLeod (35 points) had a dazzling first half and set Cambridge Rindge & Latin up for a 78-62 D1 North semifinal win over Andover on Wednesday night at North Andover High School.

The Falcons (20-2) now meet St. John’s Prep at the Tsongas Center on Saturday (7:45PM) for the D1 North title.

Senior Isaiah McLeod had a first half (25 points) in which shots from everywhere were dropping. Layups, jump shots, 3-pointers, and foul shots, you name it, he hurt the Warriors from them all.

The Falcons never trailed. The Warriors (17-6) were only down 8-6 after an EJ Perry old-fashioned 3-point play after less than two minutes.

EJ Perry shoots from long range

Isaiah, however, took over the next 2 ½ minutes as Cambridge ran thirteen unanswered points. Isaiah had ten of them including two 3’s. Now down fifteen (21-6) the Warriors unsuccessfully played catch-up the rest of the way.

Andover was down but the out part took a little more doing for the Falcons.

Cambridge was up by twenty (40-20) with less than two minutes left in the second half but three’s by David Giribaldi and Jonathan Rodriguez plus a Connor Merinder layup narrowed the Andover deficit to twelve (40-28) at halftime.

Seniors David Garibaldi (19 points) and Connor Merinder (22 points) caught fire together in the third quarter and suddenly Andover was within six (44-38) with 2+ minutes left in the quarter.

But that Andover momentum came to a stop as Demitrius Woodson (just off the bench) drained a three from the right corner on an inbounds play.

Tevin Charles (15 points) hits a big 3rd quarter 3-pointer in front of the Andover student section

On Cambridge’s next possession Tevin Charles duplicated the three-spot from the other corner. Tevin had all fifteen of his points in the second half. Back down by twelve went Andover.

The Warriors would get within eight a couple of times early in the final quarter but the combo of fatigue and persistent Cambridge offense never let them get closer. The nail in the coffin was at 2 ½ minute mark when Andover senior inside presence Connor Merinder fouled out.

The Falcons ended up with eight 3-pointers including five in the breakaway first quarter.

I don’t know how many three’s Andover took but there were plenty of them. Their long-range insistence turned costly in the first half as their inaccuracy allowed Cambridge to build up a big lead.

Connor Merinder (22 points)

Connor Merinder showed a nice baby hook inside that Cambridge struggled to defend.

Isaiah McLeod is committed to Southern Connecticut State in New Haven. When a good player like Isaiah has it going from anywhere he chooses there isn’t a defense that can stop him. Andover ran a bunch of players at him but nothing worked in the first half. St. John’s better have something prepared for #1 or they’ll be in serious trouble at the Tsongas Center on Saturday.

Cambridge coach Lance Dottin won his 300th game in December.

The Falcons two losses have been to out-of-state teams – Albany Academy and Archbishop Molloy.

Cambridge is in the Dual County (Large) League. Andover hails from the Merrimack Valley Conference.

Where does the “Rindge” part of Cambridge Rindge and Latin come from? Generous Frederich Hastings Rindge was connected to the school in the late 1800’s.

No sign of Cambridge alum Mayor Bill DeBlasio of NYC at the game.

Cambridge box

Andover box

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

Connor Merinder draws a charge on Kakigh Dottin

Eric Smith-Sokol and Ryan OConnell

David Giribaldi (19 points)

Isaiah McLeod passes to teammate Tevin Charles as Connor Merinder defends

EJ Perry looks to block

Isaiah McLeod had three 3-pointers in the breakway first quarter

Isaiah McLeod afterwards

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Tagged as Connor Merinder, David Giribaldi, Isaiah McLeod, Tevin Charles

March 2, 2015 · 11:17 pm

Colleen Jameson and Kelsi McNamara come up big in Pentucket’s 34-25 win over Arlington Catholic in D2 North semifinals

Colleen Jameson killed Arlington Catholic with five 3-pointers

Kelsi McNamara (15 points) became the top all-time scorer at Pentucket

Pentucket celebrates

(Danvers MA) Colleen Jameson provided separation and Kelsi McNamara added the finishing touch as #2 Pentucket defeated #3 Arlington Catholic, 34-25, in the North D2 semifinals on Monday night at St. John’s Prep.

Arlington Catholic had trouble taking care of the ball in the first half (sixteen turnovers) and made only three-of-ten free throws in the second half. But despite that unsavory combination, the Cougars trailed by only four (29-25) with 2:19 left. A three by Marie Gaffney (11 points) keyed AC’s late run.

This was where Kelsi McNamara (15 points) took over the scoring load for the Sachems. She put up five unanswered points (two jump shots and a free throw) to seal the deal for Pentucket (23-1) and became, in the process, the Sachems’ all-time top scorer with over 1200 points.

Kelsi McNamara puts up a three

Pentucket coach John McNamara was forced to play Kelsi sparingly after she picked up her 4th foul with plenty of time left in the final quarter. But when Kelsi came back for the final 2+ minutes you knew that she would try to find shots no matter what the defense did. In both baskets Kelsi went left in heavy traffic, including 6-2 Demi Fogarty, and still made the shots. A third try in the same area earned her free throws. The active Pentucket student section then saluted her with, “MVP, MVP.”

If anyone was giving out an MVP award I suspect that sophomore Colleen Jameson (15 points) would also deserve plenty of consideration. Colleen drained five three’s including four in the decisive third quarter.

Colleen’s second three gave Pentucket the lead (16-13) for good. The next three was assisted by Kelsi and then came the backbreaker (for AC) when Colleen had the ball with time running out on the shot clock and rushed a long three that swished as the shot clock went off. That prompted an AC timeout and some significant defense on Colleen the rest of the way. But before the quarter ended there was Colleen behind the arc in front of the Sachems’ student section and one more time she clicked from long range. Thanks to Colleen’s accuracy the Sachems were in front, 26-16, after three quarters.

Boo Torrisi shadows Melissa Rogers

There was plenty of time for the defending D2 champions to respond and they did getting within four before Kelsi McNamara took over.

I am confident that when the AC faithful try to figure out where this game was lost they will say that the second quarter did them in. And who can argue! The Cougars (18-6) did not score a single point in the second quarter. Zip. Nada. All they had to show for that quarter were nine turnovers all of which were in the frontcourt. Credit the Pentucket defense. They were relentless and their double-teams kept Arlington Catholic from running organized offense and capitalizing on 6-2 Demi Fogarty in close.

Colleen Jameson had three 3’s in Pentucket’s quarterfinal win over Wakefield. Earlier in February she had five long one’s versus North Reading.

The team from West Newbury moves on to the D2 North finals on Saturday at the Tsongas Center against either Belmont or Watertown.

Alex Ball makes a save

The Cougars had two 3’s (sophomore Alex Ball and senior Melissa Rogers) in the first quarter.

AC is from the Catholic Central League while Pentucket plays in the Cape Ann League.

Pentucket box

Arlington Catholic box

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

Pentucket double team

Demi Fogarty blocks Taylor Moore

Fast break

McKenna Killian goes for the block

Kelsi McNamara

Marie Gaffney (11 points) defends

Colleen Jameson

Pentucket student section (active and appropriate)

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Filed under Arlington, Pentucket

Tagged as Alex Ball, Arlington Catholic, Colleen Jameson, Demi Fogarty, Kelsi McNamara, Marie Gaffney

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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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.