PHOTO BY BOB ROCHE
KIPP’s Dominic Jette led all scorers with 27 points in a 69-15 win for the Panthers.
By TREVOR WENNERS
LYNN — Coaches always preach the importance of making the first run in a game.
On Thursday, the KIPP Academy boys basketball team hit visiting Pioneer Charter School of Science with the first punch, and then never let them get up in a convincing 69-15 victory.
Junior Dominic Jette definitely did not want to allow Pioneer to hang around, as he dropped 18 first-half points en route to leading all scorers with 27 points.
KIPP first-year head coach Colin Halpin’s pregame message did not go to waste.
“That is what we had up on the board today, it was ‘hit first,” Halpin said. “Do not be the team that gets hit first, you’ve got to step up and be the aggressor.”
The Panthers definitely internalized their coach’s message, as a layup by Jette with 10:47 left in the first half gave them a 9-3 lead.
“Dominic is phenomenal,” Halpin said. “He is a great leader and he defends all the time. His energy is contagious, he gets a steal and finishes, and everyone’s energy level gets up. He is definitely our leader out there.”
Senior captain Lesley Lamothe responded with a layup for Pioneer, and then KIPP blew the game wide open with a 22-0 burst.
A layup by sophomore Wallace Reed (eight points) with 3:30 left in the half gave KIPP (3-4, 3-2 in the Massachusetts Charter League) a 31-5 advantage, as they took a 23-point lead, 32-9, into halftime.
“It was good to come back after we had a tough game on Wednesday night, we lost by close to 20,” Halpin said. “It was good that we were able to refocus ourselves and really defend, to only let up 15 points that is what we are looking for so that is nice.”
KIPP showed its ability to excel in the open floor with many layups off fast breaks, but the Panthers also showed the potency of their half-court offense. KIPP moved the ball and found the open man all night in its half-court sets, leading to many open jumpers, layups and three-pointers.
The Panthers buried six three-pointers led by a trio from Jette and one apiece from senior Jonathan D’Oleo (five points), senior Christian Krische (five points) and freshman Andrew Puati (three points). KIPP also showcased its depth, as 11 players scored between one and eight points.
“They make my life look easy out there when they are shooting like that,” Halpin said. “It is good and it spreads the defense out. Anytime you can spread the defense out and make them cover everyone and close out to every shooter that makes it more difficult for them, and gives us space to drive the ball and get some finishes.”
Moving forward into the stretch run of the season, Halpin is focused on patience with a great deal of youth, but he is also focused on improvement on a day-to-day basis.
“We play two freshmen a lot of minutes, we play sophomores and juniors,” Halpin said. “Our goal is to get better. We want to make a run in the tournament. We want to go win the Charter School League that would be the ultimate goal, but we know we got to take it day by day and get better every day and every practice.”
Next on the radar for the Panthers will be a matchup against visiting Prospect Hill Academy on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. The Panthers fell short, 74-70, to Prospect Hill on Dec. 19.