Tag Archives: Brett Fontaine

June 6, 2011 · 9:55 pm

Six-Run Fifth Gets Newburyport into the D3 North Semis over Austin Prep 8-3

Brett Fontaine collects his batting helmet after a collision with catcher Joe Barry at home in the fifth inning. Brett pitched a four-hitter and drove in two runs for Newburyport.

Ryan O’Connor congratulates Coach Bill Pettingell for a win in his last home game.

(Newburyport) Newburyport broke open a 2-2 game in the bottom of the fifth with six runs and went on to defeat Austin Prep, 8-3, on Lower Field at NHS on Monday afternoon.

The victory in the quarter finals puts the Clippers (19-5) into the D3 North semi-finals against Bishop Fenwick on Thursday at a neutral site.

Junior Brett Fontaine had a lot to do with the win as he pitched a complete-game four hitter and drove in two runs in the game-deciding fifth inning.

That fifth inning will be remembered as very good or very bad depending on where your loyalties were located.  The Clippers will remember the six runs, five hits, and the successful execution of a suicide squeeze.  For the Cougars (13-9), it’ll be the wild pitch, four walks, and mishandling the suicide squeeze.

In that decisive fifth inning, Austin Prep coach Steve Busby opted to have starter Ryley MacEachern intentionally walk Matt Mottola to load the bases and pitch to Brett Fontaine.  That didn’t work out so well for the Cougars as Brett singled to right and the Clippers fourth (Colton Fontaine) and fifth (Ryan O’Connor) runs came in.

Later in the fifth, Connor Wile put down a suicide squeeze bunt with Brett Fontaine heading full-speed from third.  Cougar catcher Joe Barry blocked Brett away from the plate before he had the ball and the umpire awarded Brett home.  Sam Barlow followed with a walk driving in the sixth run (Jim Conway) of the inning and boosting Newburyport’s advantage to, 8-2.

Ryley MacEachern breaks into a home run trot after his shot over the left field fence in the sixth inning.

Ryley MacEachern led off the sixth with a homer over the left field fence to make it 8-3 but the Cougars went quietly (one hit) the rest of the way.

This was the last home game for Newburyport’s 600+ win coach Bill Pettingell.  You could see/hear that he was fired up during this game.

The weather was excellent with plenty of sunshine although I’m not sure that the left fielders for each team were that thrilled with the sun being directly in their eyes.

Austin Prep put up a run in the first inning.  Bobby Batchelor walked and reached third after a wild pitch and a fielder’s choice.  He scored easily on Ryley MacEachern’s double to right center.

Sam Barlow tallies Newburyport’s first run in the third.

Newburyport received two gift runs in the third inning.  A two-base throwing error by left fielder Mark Mezzina followed Clipper singles by Sam Barlow and Colby Morris.  Sam scored on the error and Colby reached third.  He later crossed the plate on a MacEachern wild pitch.

The Cougars got a gift run in the fifth inning.  The visitors from Reading, loaded the bases on a single (Chris Bundock) and two walks.  Jon Saurman (pinch running for Chris Bundock) reached home on a Fontaine wild pitch.

Newburyport erupted for six runs in the bottom of the fifth and that was enough to carry them in with an 8-3 win.

Catcher Connor Wile made a nice play on a popup in the fourth inning.

Brett Fontaine – complete game 4-hitter

Winning pitcher Brett Fontaine had seven strikeouts to go with three walks.

Newburyport had eight hits including two each by leadoff batter Colby Morris and left fielder Jim Conway.  Colby also scored two runs.

Ryley MacEachern had two of the four Cougar hits, including the long home run to left in the sixth inning, and two RBI.

Austin Prep stranded five runners.

(I collect my own information and take my own pictures.  Inaccuracies happen unintentionally.)

Ryan O’Connor reaches home in the fifth

Newburyport viewers

Bobby Batchelor scores AP’s first run

Matt Mottola beats the throw home in the fifth inning

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May 9, 2011 · 8:32 pm

Brett Fontaine’s Complete Game Two-Hitter Leads Newburyport Past Rockport 3-0

Newburyport first baseman Ryan O’Connor touches first to record the last out in Newburyport’s 3-0 win over Rockport.

Brett Fontaine – complete game 2-hitter

(Newburyport) It didn’t take any late-game heroics for NHS coach Bill Pettingell to get Win #601.  What it took was a 2-hit shutout from Brett Fontaine and sound fundamentals.

Newburyport (8-3) defeated Rockport, 3-0, on a drizzly Monday afternoon in Cape Ann League action.

Brett Fontaine went the route for Newburyport and retired the final eight Vikings in order.

The sound fundamentals appeared in the 5th and 6th.  The 5th inning piece kicked in after Rockport (4-5) had it’s first two batters on.  A strikeout and a force out put runners on first and third.  Rockport then sent the runner from first hoping to get the runner home from third during the attempt.  The Clipper infield reacted properly and Mike Tupper ended up getting caught between third and home for the final out.

In the sixth, Colby Morris led off with a rope past third.  The Clippers, with Ryan O’Connor at bat, executed a perfect hit-and-run play.  Ryan’s grounder toward the right-side hole could have been a double play except that Colby had taken off for second and the second baseman headed toward 2B to cover as the ball went into right field.

Colby Morris scores Newburyport’s second run in the game in the sixth inning.

Defensive replacement Mike Petrino rushed in on the grounder seeing that the runner from first was going to try for third.  Unfortunately for Rockport, the ball got past Mike and this allowed Colby to came all the way around and score Newburyport’s second run.  Ryan reached 2B on the play and was driven home by Matt Mottola’s single off the fence in left.

So, in one inning the Clippers prevented a run and in the next they manufactured two runs in both cases with excellent execution of baseball fundamentals.

Viking starter Tucker Meredith gave up six hits and had no walks.  He also had one of the two Rockport hits.  In the 4th inning, he flied deep to David Cusack in center.

Newburyport scored a run in the first inning with a single (David Cusack), double (Colby Morris), and an RBI fielder’s choice by Ryan O’Connor.

Colby Morris – paced Newburyport with two hits

Colby Morris paced the Clippers with two hits.

Jim Conway reached the fence in center for a double.

Matt Mottola put a ball up the screen in left but was thrown out trying to get two bases out of it.  He did drive in a run with that hit, though.

Sam Scatterday was gunned down trying to steal second in the third inning.

Keady Segel made a nice catch on a popup in front of the Clipper dugout in third.  The last time I saw him he was in goal for the Viking soccer team versus Lynnfield in tourney soccer at Manchester-Essex.  The pink shirt was gone but the sun glasses weren’t……..even on an overcast day.

There is a lot of luck involved in seeing games.  The weather can’t be trusted.  Will it rain or won’t it?

Your luck also has to extend in finding out that there even is a game.  Today the Newburyport Daily News had last week’s schedule listed, the Gloucester Times didn’t list the game at all, the Rockport schedule on High School Net had the game at 3:45, and on the same site the Newburyport schedule had it at 4:45!   How lucky do you feel??

(I collect my own stats and take my own pictures.  Mistakes are made unintentionally.)

Tucker Meredith – sophomore pitched six innings and had one of Rockport’s two hits

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April 26, 2011 · 9:36 pm

Blaise Whitman Leads Triton Past Newburyport 8-2

Winning pitcher Blaise Whitman scores a run in the decisive sixth inning.

(Newburyport) The visiting Triton Vikings did their part to slow the Clipper march to Coach Bill Pettingell’s 600th win by defeating Newburyport, 8-2, at chilly NHS on Tuesday in Cape Ann League play.

The NHS coach holds at 598 wins thanks in a large part to the pitching and hitting of 2010 CAL All-Leaguer Blaise Whitman.

Blaise pitched a complete game five-hitter with seven strikeouts.  He also hustled to cover first in the last inning to record the last out.

At the bat, Blaise was part of a seven-hit attack, going two-for-four, scoring a couple of runs, and driving in a run in the 4-run sixth.

That 4-run sixth pushed this game into the comfort zone for Triton as their lead increased to 7-1.

The Vikings (3-2) put up three runs in the first on Newburyport (5-2) as a walk by starter Brett Fontaine  and a string of errors turned into three runs.  Mike Fish drove in two of the runs with a double to left center.

The Clippers got a run back in the second as Sam Barlow’s single drove in Colby Morris.  However, NHS ran themselves out of possibly a bigger inning when CF Mike Fish gunned down Sam, for the final out, at second trying to stretch that single.

Triton left the bases loaded in the third as Brett caught Tim Cashman looking to end it.

Newburyport stranded two in the fourth as Blaise got a fly-out to left by Colby Morris for the final out.

The Vikings took a tenuous 3-1 lead into the sixth inning and came out of that inning with breathing room.

In that sixth with two outs, Triton put together two singles (Rich Fecteau & Blaise Whitman) and two doubles (Cam D’Agostino & Mike Fish) to collect four cushion-providing runs.

Coach Pettingell and the home plate umpire did not always see eye-to-eye on balls and strikes.

Now down 7-1, the Clippers got a couple of base runners before Blaise retired the very dangerous Ryan O’Connor on a ground out to end the threat in the bottom of the sixth.

Triton capitalized on reliever Drew Carter’s wildness (two walks and two wild pitches) in the seventh to get their 8th run scored by Ace Knowles.

A couple of walks by tiring Blaise Whitman led to an RBI single by Colton Fontaine in the last of the seventh.Weather conditions continue to be tough to take.

No rain but the faithful experienced a persistent breeze with temps in the low 50s.  Winter clothing would have made perfect sense.

The Clippers were probably convinced that it wasn’t their day in the bottom of the 6th.  David Cusack hit a very high popup in front of the Newburyport dugout.  Tim Cashman raced in from third and had the ball bounce off his glove into the hands of the Viking’s hustling catcher Cote Wolcik.

Blaise Whitman and Mike Fish had two hits apiece.

Drew Carter led the Clippers with two hits.

The wind may have kept a deep fly to center in the first in the park hit by leadoff batter David Cusack.  Also in the first, Ace Knowles’ popup, that fell between fielders for an error, appeared to be wind influenced.

(I collect my own stats and take my own pictures and try very hard to be accurate.)

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April 14, 2011 · 9:15 pm

Ryan O’Connor K’s Thirteen and Drives in the Winning Run for Clippers 4-3 over North Reading

David Cusack heads for home with the winning run as Keith Linnane awaits the throw.

Ryan O’Connor – 13 strikeouts plus game-winning hit

(Newburyport) He didn’t do everything….but he came awfully close.  Who?  Ryan O’Connor.

Newburyport (3-1) defeated North Reading, 4-3, as Ryan struck out thirteen Hornets and drove in the game-winner in the bottom of the seventh.

A walk by Dave Cusack and a sacrifice bunt by Jim Conway put Ryan into position to end it for the Clippers.  His grounder against reliever Ryley Warnock, in the hole between first and second, did the trick.  With first base open you had to wonder why the Hornets opted to pitch to the other team’s cleanup hitter who already had two hits.  But they did……and paid the price.

North Reading (1-1) took a 3-1 lead in the top of the 5th on a 2-run blast over the fence in left center by Nick Moscaritolo.

The Clippers tallied single runs in the 5th and 6th on misplays by the Hornets to draw even.

In the 5th,  a two-base throwing error by NR shortstop Chris Cincotta put David Cusack in scoring position and from there he was driven across by Brett Fontaine’s single to left.

In the 6th, Colby Morris doubled down the third base line with one out and got to third on a fielder’s choice.  NR sophomore starter Ryan McAuliffe then tossed a 2-strike wild pitch that allowed Colby to tie the score at 3-3.

The defensive play of the game was a diving catch by Hornet right fielder Chris Kavanaugh to rob Brett Fontaine in the 7th inning.

Eric Popp was 3-for-3 for North Reading, including a double off the right centerfield fence. He also scored a run.

The Hornet’s top returning hitter (Ben Harrow) had a rough afternoon striking out three times to end innings and stranding five runners.

The Clippers squandered a glorious chance with two outs in the 4th after they loaded the bases with a collection of hits and walks.  Connor Wile then hit a laser toward short that might have driven in two runs but instead caught base runner Drew Carter in the leg to end the threat.

Ryan O’Connor struck out the side in the first inning and had at least one strikeout in every other inning.  The lefty also struck out four of the last six batters he faced.

Frank Carey and Bill Pettingell

Experience was in abundance with NR coach Frank Carey (44th season) and Newburyport coach Bill Pettingell (40th season) directing the two teams.

( I collect my own statistics, take my own pictures, and draw my own conclusions.  Mistakes happen….but are unintentional.)

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March 12, 2011 · 11:23 pm

Watertown Easily Defeats Newburyport Boys 55-31 to Take D3 North Title

Danny Kelly (14 points)

Marco Coppola (21 points)

 

(Lowell) I suspect it’s rare to see a mismatch of this proportion so far along in the tournament but that’s what it looked like as the Watertown boys decisively defeated Newburyport, 55-31, to take the Division 3 North title on Saturday night at the Tsongas Center.

The state‘s leading scorer (Marco Coppola) paced the Raiders with twenty-one points and teammate Danny Kelly added fourteen.

Chris Jayne finished his Clipper career with a team-high eleven points, all in the second half.

When I checked my stats after this game I was stunned by three of the results from this game:
(1) Watertown had only five turnovers,
(2) Newburyport had twenty-six turnovers,
(3) Watertown shot 3-for-20 from long range and the state’s leading scorer missed all seven of his attempts from beyond the arc.

Chris Jayne rushes to cover Marco Coppola in front of the Newburyport bench.

Obviously, Watertown (18-5) took great care of the basketball.  All five starters handled the ball like guards.  They were very good at penetrating as far as they could go and then dishing to an open teammate.  The Raiders had great looks all game long.

On the other hand, Newburyport made uncharacteristically bad ball-management decisions over and over.  Some of the turnovers led to breakaway layups while others robbed them of shot attempts.  Watertown had twenty-eight more shot attempts than the Clippers!

Newburyport (15-8) lost by twenty-four points in a game in which their opponent missed seventeen 3’s.  The final score could have been significantly more lopsided.

The teams were tied, 6-6, three minutes into this game before the Raiders ran eleven straight stretching into the second period.  Watertown hit two of their three’s (Tyler Romanelli and Danny Kelly), got an old-fashioned three (Marco Coppola), and a layup by Connor Stockdale on an assist by Marco.  This run gave the Raiders a 17-6 lead.

Marco Coppola shoots a free throw.

Later in the second period and into the second half, Watertown put a 17-2 stretch together over 7 ½ minutes to put this one away, 36-14, with four minutes left in the 3rd period.  Marco Coppola contributed ten points and other seven were scored by Danny Kelly.

The rest of the game needed to be played and was.  Both teams cleared their benches.

Watertown moves on to the D3 state semi-finals on Tuesday night at the TD Garden against Cardinal Spellman.  I can assure you that if the Raiders get turnover numbers like they had against Newburyport and start to connect on 3-point shots, they could win two more games and be state champs again.  The Raiders were state champs in 2007 and 2009.

Connor Stockdale and Marco Coppola hoist the D3 North trophy.

Watertown has a 98-23 record over the last five seasons and have made the state tournament fifteen straight years.  Let’s just say that they’ve been good and they still are.

Newburyport loses eight seniors off of their 12-man roster and will have to rebuild around the team’s lone returning starter and leading scorer (Brett Fontaine – 13.1 points per game).

(I gather my own stats and take my own pictures.  I also make my own assumptions.  Mistakes in doing this are unintentional.)

Coach Tom L’Italien waits with his team for the runner-up trophy.

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March 8, 2011 · 11:08 pm

Newburyport Boys Defeat Pentucket 53-39 to Reach Division 3 North Finals

Brett Fontaine (21 points) sinks a free throw in the midst of an eighteen point run by Newburyport.

Newburyport players celebrate after defeating Pentucket at Triton to reach the D3 North finals.

(Byfield) Who knows what goes on in a timeout?  In a quiet gym you might catch a word or two but certainly not in an MIAA Division 3 North semi-final game held at Triton with an overflow crowd and two student cheering sections trying to outdo each other.

Newburyport called the timeout I’m referencing here after Pentucket had scored six straight points and taken a 17-13 lead with 5:04 left in the second quarter.

I don’t know what Clipper coach Tom L’Italien said, and maybe it wasn’t profound, but his team came out and totally dominated Pentucket for the rest of the half.  The domination (eighteen unanswered points) was so significant that it put the Sachems in a hole they could never get out of thereafter.

Newburyport (15-7) went on to win, 53-39, but this game was decided in the last five minutes of the second quarter as the Clippers went from down four (17-13) to up by fourteen (31-17) at the half.

The victory sends Newburyport to Division 3 North finals against Watertown on Saturday at the Tsongas Center in Lowell.

The secret to success for Newburyport against Pentucket was turning up layups all night long.  Whether it was on a fast break or on dribble penetration the Clippers traveled the inside, high-percentage road getting seventeen layups in the twenty-two baskets they accumulated.

In the game-winning, eighteen point run, Newburyport had six layups, and an in-the-lane floater and a three by Matt Leavitt.

What was Pentucket (13-10) doing while this was going on?  Missing nine shots, including five 3’s and committing two turnovers.

Brett Fontaine – 21 points and a willingness to drive to the basket

Junior Brett Fontaine was huge for Newburyport with 21 points and a willingness to take the ball to the basket in traffic.  He took a whack in the third quarter and missed three minutes but was back in the final quarter to score the Clippers first four points on drives to the hoop.

Chris Jayne chased Corey McNamara around for the entire game.  That meant fighting through the numerous screens the Sachems set for their long-range shooter.  Corey managed to get off seventeen shots but only made two of them.  He was a very surprising 1-for-14 from long range.

Without Corey’s normal 17+ points, the Sachems needed points from elsewhere and on this night no one filled that void.  Will Angelini and John Modlish led Pentucket’s scorers with just eight points apiece.

Drew Carter (10 points) and Chris Jayne (9 points) were the other leading scorers for Newburyport.

The Clippers led throughout the first quarter before two free throws by John Modlish, a jumper by Will Angelini, and a layup by Mike Doud in the second quarter gave Pentucket the lead (17-13) and necessitated the Clipper timeout which was followed by the eighteen point Newburyport run.

Cory McNamara comes off a Will Angelini screen on Chris Jayne looking for a pass.

Pentucket trailed 39-27 after three quarters.  In the 4th, a John Modlish layup and a Serge Smaila three put the Sachems within nine (41-32) with 6:40 to go but layups by Brett Fontaine and Eric Meyer restored the Clipper’s double-digit advantage and they held it the rest of the way.

Both schools had good student turnouts and Triton is set up nicely to accommodate student sections with space in between them.  I’m not sure why chanting obscenities is tolerated by schools.  I wonder if that sort of thing will be “fixed” by the time Saturday’s Tsongas Center game is held.

During halftime the adults gave the student sections lessons in how to cheer.

Pentucket team huddle and student section

Newburyport team huddle and student section

This will be Newburyport’s first divisional final game since 2000.  If Pentucket had won it would have been the first time they had ever been to the division finals.

The Clippers will have to deal with Marco Coppola and his 26.4 points per game average on Saturday when they face Watertown.  I saw Marco’s freshman sister Gabby play against Pentucket.

(I accumulate my own stats and take my own pictures.  I also draw my own conclusions.  The errors along the way are unintentional.)

(Note the error in adding up Brett Fontaine’s points. It should be 21 not 22.)

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March 3, 2011 · 11:15 pm

Rich Warren’s 37 Points Not Enough in Lynn Tech Loss 74-71 to Newburyport in D3 North Semis

Eric Meyer (19 points) hit 9-of-10 free throws in the final quarter.

Rich Warren (37 points) hit two 3’s in the last minute.

(Lynn) Newburyport took a seven point lead with 1:12 left and made enough pressure free throws after that to offset a couple of Rich Warren 3’s and defeated Lynn Tech, 74-71, in Lynn on Thursday night to advance to the Division 3 North semi-finals.

Until Michael Duarte’s last-second heave from the backcourt fell short and the buzzer went off, there was no certainty of the winning team.

Lynn Tech’s Rich Warren (37 points) was awesome the entire game and the Clippers can be thankful that he wasn’t taking that last shot or we might have seen overtime.

Because of the Clipper free throws, that last-second shot was the only chance in the last five minutes of the game where Lynn Tech had the ball and a chance to tie with a made three.

On the road in front of a very loud Lynn Tech crowd, Newburyport made 13-of-16 free throws in the tense final quarter.  Trailing by as many as seven, the Tigers were quick to foul after every missed shot and since Eric Meyer seemed to rebound every miss, he took most of the free throws.  I don’t know how good a free throw shooter Eric was during the season but in the final quarter of a do-or-die game he was an amazing 9-for-10!

The celebrating begins on the Newburyport sideline as the game ends.

Eric’s last free throw gave Newburyport a 72-66 lead with twenty-three seconds left.  Rich Warren cut that lead in half with his 6th 3-pointer.  Chris Jayne made one of two free throws to keep the Clippers ahead, 73-69, with 16.6 seconds left.  Michael Duarte took a long three that was well short but freshman Ronnie Williams alertly caught the air ball and laid it in with 4.5 seconds left and Lynn Tech trailed by only two, 73-71.  Chris Jayne was fouled again and made the second of two free throws to put the Clippers up by three (74-71) with 3.8 seconds to go.  Michael Duarte’s toss from the backcourt was well short causing normal breathing to return to a good collection of Newburyport fans.

There were thirteen lead changes in this game.

Trey Gallo (#1) takes the ball to the basket against Drew Carter.

Lynn Tech (13-6/#4 seed) made their “go-it-alone” approach work on offense.  There were numerous coast-to-coast drives ending in layups.  In some cases the Clippers were back on defense but quick-moving Tigers like Trey Gallo (13 points) and Michael Duarte (12 points) could still weave their way to the rim.

On the other hand, the Clippers (14-7) were willing to make passes to get open shots and did it ever pay off.  Newburyport shot a sizzling 56% for the game (25-for-44) including an unreal 67% (12-for-18) in the second half.  Add 14-for-18 from the foul line (also in the second half) and you can see how good the Clipper shooting was in this tourney win.

A last-second three by Matt Leavitt (13 points) gave Newburyport an 18-15 lead after one quarter.  Luis Tavares (4 points) converted an offensive rebound with two seconds left in the second quarter to give the Tigers a 34-33 halftime edge.  Rich Warren’s last-second three tied the score at 52-52 at the end of three quarters.  So when you add on the way the last quarter ended you can see that the exciting moments just kept coming.

Eric Meyer (19 points), Brett Fontaine (15 points), and Matt Leavitt and Chris Jayne with 13 points each, topped the Clipper scorers.

Brett Fontaine (#24) lines up a three after getting a pass from Matt Mottola (#22).

One of the big final-quarter plays for Newburyport was Matt Mottala finding Brett Fontaine for a three that gave the Clippers a 61-55 lead with five minutes left.

#5 seed Newburyport now awaits the winner of the Pentucket at Hamilton-Wenham game tomorrow night.  During the regular season the Clippers split with Pentucket and lost by five to Hamilton-Wenham.  There were players from HW in the audience tonight.

Tiger coach Marvin Avery has coached Lynn Tech for twelve seasons.  His teams have reached the post-season every year and have been to the Division 3 North finals six times.  It might not be so easy next season as the players he calls, “The Little Three,” (Trey Gallo, Michael Duarte, and Rich Warren) are all graduating.

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January 7, 2011 · 11:58 pm

Tim McCarthy (21 points) leads Wilmington past Newburyport 66-58

Tim McCarthy (#20) is defended by Chris Jayne (#5). Tim finished as the game’s top scorer with 21 points.

(Newburyport) Consistent Wilmington (6-1) outlasted scrappy Newburyport (4-4), 66-58, in Cape Ann League action at Newburyport on Friday night.

The Wildcats took the lead (18-16) for good late in the first quarter on a Nick Godzyk (13 points) layup.

This was a game of layups and 3’s with very little in between.

The Clippers ran into dry spells in the middle quarters and couldn’t muster the firepower to recover in the final quarter.

Newburyport did put together a 9-1 run late to get to within four (60-56) with forty-six seconds left.  Layups by Eric Meyer, Chris Jayne, and Brett Fontaine plus a Chris Jayne trey provided the points.  However, Vinny Scifo (7 points) and Tim McCarthy (21 points) answered with six straight free throws to clinch the win for the Wildcats.

Tim McCarthy was impressive.  The Wilmington junior guard did not force his offense and set up several teammates for layups.  He nailed four 3’s and was 5-for-5 from the foul line.   He was an important part of the consistent offense Newburyport faced.

I mentioned two runs doing Newburyport in.  The first one was 10-3 in the second period.  Nick Godzyk and James Wilkinson put up the points for the Wildcats.  Nick had a three off the backboard in the mix.  I guess that’s when you know, as an opponent, that you may be in trouble.

Newburyport trailed 30-21 after that run.

The killer run started late in the 3rd quarter and went almost six minutes into the final period.  Newburyport was held to four points (Eric Meyer free throw & Matt Leavitt three) while the Wildcats collected thirteen points.

I mentioned Wilmington’s consistency.  During the 13-4 run, five different players contributed points.  The Clippers had only twelve turnovers during the game but five of them were during this 13-4 run including three in a row early in the 4th period.

Matt Leavitt (#3) shown here with Tim McCarthy hit four 3’s and led Clipper scorers with sixteen points.

The Clippers ended up with four players reaching double figures (Matt Leavitt-16, Eric Meyer-12, Chris Jayne-10, and Brett Fontaine-10).

Newburyport faced a solid man-to-man defense the whole game yet with their outside weave and slashes to the basket opened up some good shots.  Wilmington turned up enough open shots to generate the runs that won the game for them.

Eric Meyer (#44) tallied twelve points and drew plenty of defensive interest in the post.

With 6-5 Eric Meyer inside, the Clippers have the potential of a very effective inside-out game.  The Wildcats were very keen on keeping the ball out of the post and once it got there they sent help.

(I keep track of my own stats.  I offer my own opinions.  I take my own pictures.  I apologize in advance for any statistical errors and misguided conclusions.)

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December 14, 2010 · 10:35 pm

Newburyport Boys Survive Slow Start Defeating Amesbury 52-44 In Season Opener

Amesbury coach Thom Connors and Newburyport coach Tom L’Italien chat before the season opener.

Clipper Chris Jayne tallied 13 points and did a nice job defending dangerous Stephan Deas of Amesbury.

(Amesbury) The Newburyport Clippers (1-0) survived a terrible start and defeated the Amesbury Indians (0-1), 52-44, in the season opener for both teams on Tuesday night at Amesbury.

The Clippers missed all seventeen shots they took from the field in the first quarter while the Indians missed all fourteen shots they took in the second quarter.  First game jitters?  Did that breeze from the outside escape into the gym?

The difference in the game?  While Newburyport was shooting poorly in the first quarter, Amesbury could only put seven points on the board because the Indians had nine turnovers.  On the other hand, when Amesbury turned cold in the second quarter the Clippers put together a 9-1 run to get the lead (11-8) and later nine straight to start to pull away, 22-12.

In that crucial second quarter Newburyport showed long range accuracy (Matt Leavitt/Zach Fenton/Chris Jayne) and inside strength with rebound conversions by Ian Michaels and Eric Meyer.

Matt Leavitt was covered closely (here by Stephan Deas) but his consecutive 3’s early in the second half gave Newburyport a 15-point lead.

Matt Leavitt put two 3’s together in the first minute of the 3rd quarter and Newburyport was away 30-15.  In the 4th quarter it was Chris Jayne’s turn to put a couple of 3’s together and his twosome gave the Clippers a 49-30 spread with 4:40 left.

This was more than enough despite a late seven-point unanswered rush by Amesbury in the last 2:46 of the game.

The Clippers showed plenty of offensive weapons after the slow start.  They also took very good care of the ball with just 13 turnovers – 3 of them came in the last frantic two minutes of the game.

The Clippers also have some outside shooters.  Their top scorers (Matt Leavitt and Chris Jayne) each registered thirteen points.

I kept no rebound stats but you should know that Newburyport had 21 more shots than Amesbury.  There were thirteen times that the Clippers had an extra shot at the basket.  Amesbury had just five.

Matt Talbot led Amesbury’s scorers with 18 points.  He didn’t create his own offense but could make an open shot including four 3’s in this one.

Stephan Deas ended up with fourteen points but an excellent defensive job by Chris Jayne was evident.  Newburyport also employed a zone that gave Stephan few good looks.  The speedy junior deserves the special attention.

A good crowd turned out for the season opener.  It looked as if one Amesbury student got the gate while a Newburyport 26-0 sign didn’t last the entire game.  The enthusiasm in both sections was evident.

(I keep my own stats, take my own pictures, and interview no one.  Therefore, everything in this blog entry is unofficial statistically.  Inaccuracies are unintentional.)

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