Tag Archives: Danny Connors

March 16, 2013 · 9:35 pm

Danvers downs Smith Academy 66-50 to get second straight Division 3 title

Danvers – 2012-13 Division 3 champs

Mat Sulda, Derek McMahon, Coach Matt Zerneri, Seaver Rickert

(Worcester) No last-minute heroics needed by Danvers this time.

After coming dangerously close to exiting from the tournament in the D3 North finals (Wayland) and the state semifinals (Martha’s Vineyard), Danvers pulled ahead of Smith Academy by double figures for good early in the final quarter and won the state title, 66-50, on Saturday afternoon at the DCU Center in Worcester.

This was Danvers (24-2) second straight Division 3 title.

(Both teams are the Falcons.)

DHS was hot during the first nine minutes against the SA zone burning the visitors from Hatfield with five three’s (Nick McKenna 3, Nick Bates and Eric Martin 1 each) and getting a 22-6 spread. Was this going to be a blowout? Hardly.

You live by the three, you can also die by it. Danvers cooled off in the second quarter and Smith rattled off thirteen unanswered points. While Danvers was pointless for nearly seven minutes SA closed to 22-19 before a Nick Bates layup in the last three seconds.

Mat Sulda (11 points) tries to get by Nick McKenna (20 points)

That five-point halftime lead (24-19) would shrink to two (24-22) and even one (26-25) on an old-fashioned three by Seaver Rickert (13 points) just a minute into the second half.

Nick Bates (12 points) responded with an old-fashioned three of his own and Seaver Rickert scored from in close on a pass from Derek McMahon.

At this point Danvers lead was a mere two points (29-27) with 6 ½ minutes to play in the third quarter. This was when the pull away began for the Eastern Mass champs.

Danvers crafted two minutes of unanswered offense (seven points) getting a jump shot from Nick Bates, a free throw by Danny Connors (12 points), and two jump shots by Nick McKenna (20 points). Suddenly, Smith Academy was down nine (36-27).

The Western Mass champs would cut the lead to six (38-32) before Vinny Clifford (11 points) struck from the corner on an inbounds play.

Vinny Clifford (11 points) guards David Longstreeth

This make was crucial for Danvers because cold Vinny had now become hot Vinny. The 6-2 sophomore had been through a disastrous first half missing every shot (including several air balls) and had a couple of turnovers.

But now Vinny was hot and he scored the next eleven Danvers points, including eight of them in the first two minutes of the final quarter.

While Vinny was making shots (a jump shot and two 3’s), SA was making only three-of-six free throws. The result of all this activity was a 50-37 Danvers lead with six minutes to go.

Smith rallied to within ten (58-48) as David Longstreeth connected from long range and Will Halloran put in a layup with 2:19 left.

But Danvers took the “scary” out of the rest of the game by making six straight free throws and getting a Nick McKenna layup off of a steal to notch their second straight championship.

All five of the Danvers starters ended up in double figures.

Eric Martin (11 points) was at his best in the second half when Smith moved to full-court pressure in the second half. There were very few Danvers turnovers.

Nick McKenna goes baseline

Nick McKenna’s defense was a key to the win as he guarded Mat Sulda (11 points). The speedy 5-10 lefty had been averaging 19.3 points per game.

Nick Bates had a double/double getting thirteen rebounds to go along with his twelve points.

This was the first state final for Smith Academy since 1992.

Mat Sulda ended up with 1579 career points. Both his uncle and his grandfather were 1000-point scorers at Smith.

Danvers returned four starters to this year’s team but graduated was 6-7 George Merry (WPI). The 2012-13 squad had to adjust significantly. Gone were George’s interior defense and inside scoring. But credit Coach John Walsh, the team adjusted well enough to win a second title.

Danvers boxscore

Smith Academy boxscore

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

Derek McMahon takes off with a turnover

loose ball

Danny Connors (12 points) and Seaver Rickert (13 points)

Mat Sulda skies

Eric Martin, Danny Connors, Coach John Walsh, Nick McKenna, Nick Bates

rebound

Keith Natale and Nick Bates (12 points)

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Tagged as Danny Connors, Derek McMahon, Eric Martin, Keith Natale, Mat Sulda, Nick Bates, Nick McKenna, Seaver Rickert, Vinny Clifford

March 12, 2013 · 10:48 pm

Danvers gets it done 50-47 defeating Martha’s Vineyard and reaching state D3 finals

Garden party begins

Izak Browne (17 points) heads for the last shot

(Boston) Until Izak Browne’s 3-point attempt from just inside half court went wide left, the outcome of the Danvers/Martha’s Vineyard game was in doubt.

But the game-tying attempt missed and Danvers had a 50-47 D3 state semi-finals win at the TD Garden on Tuesday night.

The exciting victory earned the Falcons (23-2) another trip to Worcester for a chance for consecutive state Division 3 titles. Last year Danvers defeated St. Joe’s of Pittsfield in the championship match.

Game time on Saturday is 12:30PM at the DCU Center and the opponent will be Smith Academy of Hatfield (25 miles north of Springfield).

The state semi-finals put two very good teams together. Danvers had the big-game experience but MV (18-6) had terrific athletes and could make 3’s.

Brandon Watkins chases a loose ball

There were fourteen lead changes and two ties. That combination provided more than enough opportunities for fans from both schools to either cheer and groan.

Ultimately Danvers big-game experience made the difference…….but barely.

The Vineyard tied the score (41-41) on a three by Jack Roberts (12 points) with 3 ½ minutes left in the game. Less than a minute later Jack connected on a short baseline floater and MV had a two-point lead (43-41) with 2:42 to go.

Kieran Beck reaches in and forces a turnover

Down but not out, the Falcons were able to make good things happen on defense as they trapped dribblers and jumped passing lanes. Three straight MV frontcourt turnovers resulted and Danvers was able to run six straight points to get up, 47-43, with forty seconds left.

The Falcons points came on two free throws each by Nick Bates and Danny Connors. The other score was an Eric Martin basket assisted by Nick McKenna.

Danvers now in control? No.

After a Navardo Anderson miss, Nick McKenna made one of two free throws (48-43) with twenty-seven seconds left. Jack Roberts followed with two made free throws (48-45) while Eric Martin missed both of his with 11.8 seconds left.

Nick McKenna makes two free throws with 4.7 seconds left in the game

Brandon Watkins went the length of the court (in a hurry) to reduce the Danvers margin to one (48-47) with 5.8 seconds to go. Nick McKenna then received the inbounds pass, was immediately fouled, and sank two huge free throws with 4.7 seconds remaining.

Izak Browne (17 points) had a pretty good look at a last-second, game-tying shot but he didn’t come close to hitting it.

Both teams will surely look back at this game and think of how much better they could have played. Danvers missed eleven free throws in twenty-three tries including six in the final quarter. Martha’s Vineyard did not take good care of the ball. The team from the Eastern Athletic Conference had seventeen turnovers including six in the final quarter and three after they had a 2-point lead (43-41) in the late stages of the game. MV also missed seven of eleven free throw attempts.

In a game with lead changes, missed free throws, and plenty at stake, the pressure on both teams was incredible.

Nick Bates (12 points), Nick McKenna (11 points), and Danny Connors (10 points) led the Falcons in scoring.

Izak Browne soars into a shot

Izak Browne (17 points) and Jack Roberts (12 points) reached double figures for Martha’s Vineyard.

MV connected seven times from long range while Danvers had four 3-pointers.

Jake Cawlina (hero in the win over Wayland) hit a three in the second quarter.

Danvers had only six turnovers in the game. Three of them were in the tension-filled final quarter.

The state semi-finals was the furthest Martha’s Vineyard had ever been. They last played in the Garden in 1977.

Danvers boxscore

Martha’s Vineyard boxscore

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

Navardo Anderson drives on Nick McKenna

Nick McKenna (11 points) looks for an opening

Eric Martin drives

Danvers celebrates

Nick Bates (12 points)

Jack Roberts (12 points)

loose ball late in the game

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Tagged as Danny Connors, Eric Martin, Izak Browne, Jack Roberts, Nick Bates, Nick McKenna

March 6, 2013 · 12:04 am

Danvers reaches Division 4 North finals (again) after defeating Whittier 69-51

Nick Bates (19 points) goes for the block against Justin Reyes (22 points)

Justin Reyes soars for two over Nick McKenna

(Byfield) Another convincing win for Danvers as they defeat Whittier, 69-51, in the Division 3 North semifinals at Triton on Tuesday night.

The Falcons will face the winner of the Wayland/North Reading game at the Tsongas Center on Saturday for the D3 North championship.

Last year in the North semifinals, the Falcons rallied from a ten-point deficit in the final 1:28 to shock Wayland. That would surely be an interesting rematch in the North finals this time around.

Danvers (21-3) led from wire-to-wire against Whittier (20-3). Their attack was well-organized and productive.

The Falcons took on the outside what the Wildcat defense gave them and it was plenty.

When the Wildcats tried to protect the inside from the penetrating attempts of Eric Martin, choice outside goodies turned up for Nick Bates, Nick McKenna, and Vinny Clifford.

Danny Connors (13 points) inside for two

When the fifth starter (Dan Connors) had solo coverage near the hoop the Falcons would find him.

With good-look outside shots appearing regularly, Danvers was able to put together consecutive runs of points in each of the first three quarters. The trio of runs doomed Whittier.

Whittier was two dimensional (Ryan Grant and Justin Reyes) and despite getting forty-two points between them, they were mostly of the highly-contested, low-percentage variety. Thus the Wildcats could never put more than two baskets together in a row while the outcome was still in question.

The first Danvers’ run (five points) came right away – Danny Connors putback of a rebound and a Nick Bates three. This segment put the Falcons in front, 5-0.

Nick McKenna (13 points) defended by Ryan Grant (20 points)

The Danvers lead after a quarter was 15-11.

The Wildcats were only down four (19-15) after a Ryan Grant (20 points) layup. Then the second Falcon run (eleven points) happened. Vinny Clifford (14 points) started it with a jump shot. Nick Bates (19 points) added a three (his second) before Nick McKenna (17 points) made a jumper in the lane and two free throws. The last two points were by Nick Bates on an assisted layup from Eric Martin.

This run sent Whittier to a fifteen-point deficit (30-15) with 1:47 left in the second quarter. The Wildcats closed to nine (33-24) as Justin Reyes (22 points) nailed a buzzer-beater off the backboard to end the first half.

Whittier started the second half with a Justin Reyes free throw but then came Falcon Run #3 (fourteen points) and this one took the outcome mystery out of this game.

Vinny Clifford (14 points) fires a three over Nathan Frongillo

Remarkably, four different Danvers’ players (Vinny Clifford, Nick McKenna, Nick Bates, and Danny Connors) hit three’s in this segment. Danny’s was an old-fashioned three and he followed those points with a layup.

The four 3-point baskets were all assisted – three by Eric Martin and one by Nick Bates. It was terrific basketball to watch………..if you were wearing Danvers blue.

Those 2 ½ minutes of pure Danvers offense elevated their spread to twenty-two (47-25) with thirteen minutes of basketball left. The Wildcats would “win” the rest of the game, 26-22, but the cows had left the barn.

Clearly there was a contrasting style of play between the teams. Whittier was all about Justin Reyes or Ryan Grant (20 points) creating openings for themselves. Justin’s quickness and Ryan’s dribbling enabled them to do just that on occasion. Most of the Whittier turnovers (they had eighteen by my count) came from trying to set up teammates.

Danvers, on the other hand, ran organized offense with plenty of passes and movement. Eric Martin had the ball to start almost every possession and his ability to set up teammates was excellent as shown at the start of the second half. Whittier coach Tom Sipsey ran a number of defenders at Eric but with little effect. Danvers had only three turnovers when this game was still competitive.

The Triton gym was packed with plenty of support for both teams. The chanting was above board after the, “You’re all ugly,” attempt was squelched.

Eric Martin passes

Danvers made eight three’s in the game while Whittier had four.

Danvers state-final opponent (St. Joe’s of Pittsfield) from 2012 is still alive in the West.

Justin Reyes and Ryan Grant were co-MVP’s in the Commonwealth Conference this year.

Vinny Clifford had four 3’s in the second half. He had seven 3’s last game against Minutemen in the quarterfinals.

Danvers Boxscore

Whittier Boxscore

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

Justin Reyes gets inside

Ryan Grant goes baseline

Ryan Grant, Eric Martin, Danny Connors

Nick McKenna (13 points)

Justin Reyes fouls out

Eric Martin defended by Ryan Grant

Andrew Wells

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Tagged as Danny Connors, Eric Martin, Justin Reyes, Nick Bates, Nick McKenna, Ryan Grant, Vinny Clifford

March 4, 2012 · 12:19 am

Danvers cruises to D3 North semis with (75-45) win over Pentucket

Will Angelini (20 points) contests George Merry (13 points)

Eric Martin (23 points) including nineteen in the first half

(Danvers) The Danvers Falcons made it look way too easy as they buried Pentucket, 75-45, in the D3 North quarterfinals on Saturday night at DHS.

Danvers moves on to face Wayland in the D3 North semifinals at Wilmington High School on Tuesday (7PM).

In this one, Danvers (17-4) broke away from a 6-6 tie after four minutes and by halftime were in complete control (44-24).

Pentucket (14-8) was smothered defensively down one end and victimized down the other end by a team packed with players able to get to the rim.

Danvers scored twenty-five baskets in the first three quarters and twenty-one of them were layups or converted rebounds. Let’s just say they turned up plenty of high percentage shots.

Junior Eric Martin (23 points) had nineteen in the first half. Danny Connors (18 points) added twelve first half points.

Meanwhile, Pentucket had very few good looks thanks to persistent man-to-man pressure. A big plus for Danvers was that defenders had shot-blockers beyond them closer to the basket. There were very few easy Sachem attempts.

6-6 Will Angelini (20 points) led Pentucket scorers with nifty moves around the basket. When he went out with his second foul with 2 ½ minutes left in the first quarter the Danvers lead was only 13-8. The rest of the quarter the Falcons put a 10-4 run in place and took a 23-12 lead over the team from West Newbury.

Danny Connors (18 points) layup

Halfway through the second period that 11-point quarter edge had become twenty (38-18) and you knew that things were not likely to get any closer. The Falcon advantage increased to 63-34 by the end of the third quarter.

The most exciting play of the game was in the second quarter when Will Angelini flew in from the right on a feed from Patrick Kelly and put down a rousing dunk.

When DHS coach John Walsh announced in the press that Corey McNamara was the best shooter he had seen this year, you knew that the word would reach the Falcon defenders. Corey has been no stranger to tight coverage this season. That Danvers could limit the senior to eight points says something about their defenders.

One nice thing about this type of game is that the reserves get to play in front of a large crowd. There were people turned away.

Corey McNamara (8 points) defended by Jon Amico

DHS is close to installing permanent bleachers. The extra seating provided by those bleachers would have helped in handling a crowd estimated between 800-1000.

The students on hand were especially well behaved after school officials got within range of them.

The lights in the gym flickered with about six minutes left. Someone quipped at the time that the lights had gone out for Pentucket quite a while earlier.

6-7 George Merry ran into foul trouble covering Will Angelini but still ended up with thirteen points.

Will Angelini and Corey McNamara have been significant players for the Sachems for a number of seasons. There was seldom a game in which they weren’t heavily covered. They still managed to score a lot of points. Replacing the two of them will be a huge challenge for PHS coach Leo Parent.

After watching Danvers play I left wondering how any team in D3 can beat them. They executed so well at both ends.

Danvers is a team that plays the regular season against D2 teams and then drops down to D3 for the tournament. Most D3 schools in that arrangement struggle to qualify for the tournament (10 wins) and often need the Sullivan Rule to get in. Not Danvers. They won the challenging Northeast Conference (South) this season. They could well be playing in the Worcester Centrum later this month.

Two coaches with games tomorrow were in the crowd – Tom L’Italien (Newburyport) and John McNamara (Pentucket girls).

Danvers boxscore

Pentucket boxscore

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