Tag Archives: Billy Arseneault

January 5, 2018 · 11:48 pm

Newburyport explodes in the 4th quarter and defeats Lynnfield 68-55

George Coryell (16 pts) guarded by freshman Jack Ford

Ryan Archer (17 pts) in the lane with Billy Arseneault

(Newburyport MA) This game was close into the final quarter, and I thought it would go down to the wire.

Newburyport didn’t let that last-shot thing happen, however, as they exploded in the fourth quarter with thirty-one points and defeated Lynnfield, 68-55 on Friday night in Cape Ann League action.

This game was tied seven times with the final tie (45-45) with 5 ½ minutes left. After that the combination of Ryan Archer long range and George Coryell drives did in the Pioneers.

Ryan’s two 3-pointers and George’s four layups were the major pieces in a 16-6 run for the home team that sealed this one for the Clippers.

“They figured out our weakness (defending on ball) and they took advantage of it,” said Lynnfield coach Scott MacKenzie afterwards.

George Coryell got to the basket four straight times to key the Clippers separation run. I mentioned George to Newburyport coach Dave Clay and all he said was, “Wow!”

Casey McLaren (22 pts) had seventeen in the first half

George took the ball to the basket throughout the game but in the final quarter there was no help from other Pioneers’ defenders. Why? “They paired George Coryell with Casey McLaren on the wing, so we couldn’t offer help,” said Coach MacKenzie, “It was a smart play.”

Anyone playing Newburyport (6-1) knows the trouble 6-5 Casey McLaren can cause. And the junior caused plenty of that in the first half with seventeen points. “Casey kept us in the game in the first half,” said Coach Clay.

Casey has the size to shoot over players and the driving skills to thwart perimeter overplays. What I didn’t see was him posting the undersized Pioneers in close to the basket.

Casey finished with twenty-two points. Teammates Ryan Archer (17) and George Coryell (16) reached double figures.

Billy Arseneault (16 pts) defended by George Coryell

I saw Lynnfield twice last year and was quickly dazzled by #11 (Billy Arseneault). “Billy is a phenomenal plaer,” said Coach Clay. “We did our best to contain him but he’s going to have points.”

Billy ended up with sixteen points. The senior was the Player-of-the-Year in the CAL Kinney Division last season.

Billy not only shoots well but he is also a terrific dribbler and passer. He isn’t Kyrie Irving, but he sure looked like the Celtic guard on some of the plays he made against Newburyport.

Zach Shone led the Pioneers with twenty points. He led Lynnfield in chasing down offensive rebounds.

“They had extra chances,” said Coach Clay, “but it wasn’t due to a lack of effort on our part. We need to work on rebounding in practice.”

Zach Shone (20 pts) and Billy Arseneault

The Pioneers graduated nine seniors off last season’s 18-5 team. “We’re trying to find our bench,” said Coach MacKenzie. “We are really only playing five kids and we got tired at the end of this game.”

Coach Clay has great respect for Scott MacKenzie: “I think Lynnfield has the best coach in the league.”

This is Coach Clay’s first year coaching at the school he teaches at. “I am still trying to get to know the team.”

Newburyport went from a 5-point third quarter to a 31-point fourth quarter.

Lynnfield (4-2) certainly didn’t help themselves at the foul line missing twelve of twenty-eight attempts. It is always a challenge shooting free throws with the Nbpt student section under the basket. Matt Mortellite missed four straight facing the hostile crowd in the second quarter.

It was the first time I have seen Newburyport cheerleaders at a basketball game.

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

Casey McLaren shoots a jump shot

Noah Van Schalkwyk

Ryan Archer shows a left hand while Billy Arseneault tries to avoid a foul

Casey McLaren launches from the wing

Casey McLaren gets to the rim

Zach Shone (20 pts) gets past Ryan MacDonald

Twelve Lynnfield misses from the foul line

Billy Arseneault passing

Shooting in Newburyport traffic

Billy Arseneault uses a screen

Jason Ndansi shoots against Parker McLaren

Newburyport stuns Lynnfield 67-55

Billy Arseneault (16 points) tries to get past Cam MacRae (14 points)

Casey McLaren (18 points) eyes the hoop

(Newburyport MA) Newburyport turned in an impressive win on Senior Night as they took down Lynnfield, 67-55.

The Pioneers (15-2) had a twelve-game winning streak snapped.

The Clippers (14-3) took the lead in the first two minutes and never gave it back.

The Pioneers went down by thirteen (34-21) three minutes into the second half but battled back to within three points (39-36) in the final two minutes of the third quarter.

Nick Rogers (18 points) ends the third quarter with a three. (Ball is above the scoreboard)

Nick Rogers (18 points) pushed the NHS lead back to nine (47-38) with a pair of three’s.

Cam MacRae and Zack Shone (14 points)

Later, Cam MacRae (14 points) strung five points in a row to boost the advantage to double digits (57-44) with 3:35 to go and sealed Lynnfield’s fate.

Lynnfield hadn’t lost since December (non-league Melrose) but were in trouble early versus Newburyport because top scorer Louis Ellis was a foul magnet. Two minutes into this game he had two fouls. LHS coach Scott McKenzie had to bench him for the rest of the quarter. Two minutes into the second quarter Louis picked up his third foul. Again, he was benched for the rest of the quarter.

Did it affect Lynnfield? For sure! The Pioneers tallied just eighteen points TOTAL in the first half. Louis played only four of the sixteen minutes.

Over a year ago, in the MIAA tournament, Louis collected a career-high thirty-four points against Newburyport to help oust the Clippers from the post-season.

What I’m trying to tell you is that when Louis Ellis is on the bench for twelve minutes of the sixteen-minute first half, and then is held to two points in the second half, Lynnfield is in trouble.

Brendan Powers gets off a shot in the lane

Credit Newburyport for much of the Lynnfield trouble. They constantly took the ball to the basket.

After halftime, Louis Ellis was back on the court but another starter, Dan Jameson, wasn’t. He was sick.

And then there was the Lynnfield foul shooting. A very unfortunate six-for-eighteen. I swear that I saw the Pioneers’ terrific point guard (Billy Arseneault) put a free throw in off the backboard. Things didn’t make sense for Lynnfield on this night.

Again, credit Newburyport for taking advantage despite a dreadful first half shooting-wise of their own. Casey McLaren ended up with eighteen points but fourteen of them came in the second half after an apparent lid was removed that gave him trouble in the first half.

Casey McLaren (18 points) takes the last shot of the first half

Despite tough shooting the Clippers had a 23-15 halftime lead.

Consecutive three’s starting the second half, by Casey McLaren and Nick Rogers from in front of the NHS bench, put the visitors down by eleven (29-18).

The best moments for Lynnfield were in an 11-2 run later in the 3^rd quarter that included several spin moves down the lane by Billy Arseneault (16 points). That collection of good offense narrowed the NHS advantage to three (39-36) with plenty of game left.

Nick Rogers ended that third quarter with a three and added another one (he had four in the game) early in the final quarter. LHS fell back away from one-possession territory and never got that close again.

Lynnfield had defeated Newburyport 67-48 on December 23^rd. The Pioneers raced off to a 20-5 first quarter lead. Billy Arseneault had twenty points in that game.

Newburyport made seven of its eight triples in the second half.

Good crowd with many there to honor the Clippers seven seniors.

Luis Ellis - Long night for a talented player

Louis Ellis – Long night for a talented player

Both teams used zones and man-to-man’s.

There were plenty of drives to the basket and attempted three’s.

Newburyport has now won fourteen of the last fifteen games.

In contrast to the Pioneers’ weak free throw shooting, Newburyport cashed thirteen of sixteen FT attempts.

Both teams are in Division 3. No doubt both teams will have home games in the MIAA tournament. There is also the possibility that they will meet for the 3^rd time this season in the tourney.

Lynnfield box

Newburyport box

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

Robbie Shay

Louis Ellis

Dan Jameson tries to shoot over Casey McLaren

Nick Roger’s step-back three gives Newburyport a 37-25 lead

Newburyport was thirteen for sixteen from the foul line

Zack Shone (14 points)

Bryant Dana in the lane

Tussle on the floor

Lynnfield runs streak to eight with 52-46 win over Triton

Billy Arseneault (22 points) guarded by Dylan Shute

Liam Spillane’s collects a rebound

(Byfield MA) Lynnfield defeated Triton, 52-46, on Friday night in Cape Ann League action.

The Pioneers (11-1) have now won eight straight. Their lone loss was in December to non-league Melrose.

The Vikings (8-4) started slow and ended even slower. In between? Wow! They dropped five 3’s (three by Colin Brennan and two by Will Parsons) on the visitors in third period and turned a 32-24 halftime deficit into a 42-41 lead at the end of the 3^rd.

Triton was still close enough to taste it after Jack McCarthy put in a runner in the lane with 3 ½ minutes left in the game. The Vikings, at that juncture, were then only down by one, 45-44.

The rest of the way belonged to Lynnfield. Led by Billy Arseneault (22 points) the Pioneers tallied the next seven points to gain outcome-deciding separation.

Junior Billy Arseneault had a hand in all seven crucial points. He started with a triple, followed with a drive down the left side of the lane, and then missed a free throw. On this night, even the missed free throw turned out good for LHS as Lou Ellis snared the rebound and put in the rebound.

Triton ended up with a 4-point final quarter and I’m guessing you don’t win very often doing that.

Lou Ellis defends Colin Brennan

A factor in the Triton drought was the move by Pioneers’ coach Scott McKenzie to put Lou Ellis on Colin Brennan (16 points) in the final quarter. Lou is taller than Colin and he made the clean looks vanish for the Triton junior.

Both teams had players willing to take the ball to the basket.

One concern for Triton going into this game was if they could rebound against Lynnfield. It turns out that they could. What they couldn’t do was make shots in the last quarter.

Key player in the game? Easily Billy Arseneault: Clever off the dribble and able to make 3’s, jump shots, and layups. In the last minute, he had a steal and there were assists earlier. Other than that…………..

Jack McCarthy (12 points) and Will Parsons (10 points) struggled to finish around the basket. Along with Liam Spillane, the Vikings had chances in close but they weren’t falling on this night.

Lou Ellis ended up with seventeen points getting thirteen of them in the first half. His late-game defense was significant.

Mike Carangelo (11 points) also reached double figures for the Pioneers.

Both teams played man-to-man for the most part with an occasional zone defense tossed in.

Lynnfield box

Triton box

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