ITEM PHOTO BY KATIE MORRISON
Derek Marino (right) of Marblehead takes the ball to the rim against Dariel De Mota of English.
By HAROLD RIVERA
LYNN — Coming into Friday night’s game against Lynn English, the Marblehead boys basketball team knew the Bulldogs were talented. That wasn’t enough to intimidate the Magicians.
Behind a 34-point performance from Derek Marino, Marblehead rolled to an 84-59 win over English at Paul Cavanagh Fieldhouse.
“They’re super talented,” Marblehead coach Mike Giardi said of the Bulldogs. “We knew they were athletic, we knew they had some really good players and we knew they’d come attack us. That’s what we prepared for.”
The contest was a back-and-forth affair at the start. Marblehead raced out to a 21-15 lead but English refused to lay down. The Bulldogs clawed back in thanks to buckets from Ivenson Lopes and Tommy Rijo. Marblehead led 21-19 at the end of the first.
The second quarter was scoreless for the first two minutes until Charlie de Rochmont drained a three pointer to give English a 22-21 lead. Justin Faia provided a quick answer for the Magicians with a layup and a free throw to reclaim the advantage at 24-22.
Towards the end of the quarter, Marblehead’s press defense puzzled the Bulldogs, and English committed a string of turnovers. Marino knocked in a three at the buzzer and his team led 40-29 at the half.
“We’ve been changing it up all year,” Giardi said of his team’s defensive gameplan. “We’ve been attacking, full court pressure. We backed off a few times tonight and I think that confused them (English) a little bit.”
English coach Mike Carr said turnovers were a key factor in his team’s loss.
“Since I’ve been here, when we see teams try and pressure us, our eyes lit up,” Carr said. “It usually means that’s a layup for us. Against other teams this year, we’re just not executing. We’re struggling against pressure. It comes down to execution.”
English struggled to defend Marblehead’s attack in the paint in the third quarter.
“We’re not doing a good job rebounding,” Carr said. “We worked very hard defensively early. We forced them to take quick shots and they missed, but we didn’t come up with the rebounds and loose balls.”
Every time the Bulldogs looked to climb back into the game, the Magicians made sure that any English rallies were short-lived. Marino scored 12 points in the third quarter and Marblehead led 60-44.
“We talked to Derek and we were on him in practice,” Giardi said. “We’ve been telling him that he needs to take it to the next level and push himself to the rim. He came up with big rebounds for us. He’s a quick jumper and he really gets to the rim.”
Marino also earned words of praise from the opposing coach.
“He’s a good player,” Carr said. “He does everything well. Coach Giardi, since he’s been there, has done a great job against our pressure so we backed off on it. It came down to open looks but he’s a special player. They’re a heck of a team.”
Marblehead put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter and the Magicians rolled to the win, 84-59.
Marino scored a game-high 34 points and grabbed 12 rebounds. Bo Millett grabbed 13 rebounds, while Patrick Bugler scored 15 points in the win.
For English, Rijo scored 18 points while Lopes added 15. The Bulldogs (5-4) hope to regain their focus before they host Salem next Friday.
“It’s partly a loss of focus,” Carr said. “At 5-4, that’s a tough place for us to be. That mental focus is something we need to find again to get back to being us.”
The Magicians (9-2) are also back in action next Friday, when they visit Danvers.
Harold Rivera can be reached at [email protected].