FILE PHOTO
Temi Falayi hit the game-winner for the Spartans on Friday night.
By MIKE ALONGI
The St. Mary’s girls basketball team was able to avenge an early-season loss to Catholic Central League foe Arlington Catholic on Friday night, scoring the final nine points of the game to squeeze out a thrilling win, 38-35, on the road in Arlington.
Trailing 35-29 with 1:17 left in the game, Mashayla Johnson hit a three-pointer to make it 35-32. After a few unsuccessful trips down the court, the Spartans got the ball back and Mia Nowicki (17 points) hit a three to tie the game at 35-35 with 17 seconds left. Arlington Catholic had a chance to ice the game but missed, and St. Mary’s grabbed the rebound and quickly called timeout to draw up a play. With 4.7 seconds left, the Spartans got the ball in to Temi Falayi, who put up a prayer of a three-pointer to go for the win. The ball bounced off the back rim, off the top of the backboard and then fell through the net, and after a quick conference by the referees the basket was called good and the Spartans (9-5) took home the win.
“Arlington is a very difficult place to play, and obviously they’re the top-ranked Division 2 team right now, so we knew this would be tough,” said St. Mary’s coach Jeff Newhall. “But I think the key for us tonight was the fact that we stayed together even though we struggled on offense and we played incredible defense. That kept us in the game and gave us a chance at the end.”
The Spartans are back in action on Monday night when they host Chelmsford.
Chelsea 46, Tech 37
The Tigers (7-7) struggled in the first half, but a second-half surge made it a close game in the end. Arianna Anaya led Tech with 14 points, Jamila Constantine added nine and Alondra Sanchez added seven.
Tech has some time to regroup as it doesn’t play until Thursday.
“We’re going to regroup and refocus,” Tech coach Kaitlyn Wechsler said.
Classical 48, Beverly 35
The Rams improved to 13-3 behind big nights from Paris Wilkey, who led all scorers with 23 points, and Irianis Delgado, who added 12. Classical is back in action Tuesday as it hosts Peabody.
Revere 52, Danvers 36
Valentina Pepic had a huge night, putting up 23 points for Revere in the victory. Tatianna Iacoviello contributed 11 points for the Patriots.
Bishop Fenwick 55, Cathedral 45
Senior captain Sam Mancinelli had 21 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals to help Fenwick to a big win in a conference matchup on Friday. Sophomore Jaxson Nadeau had 13 points, while sophomore Sammi Gallant contributed 12 points.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Bishop Fenwick 58, Cathedral 53
The Crusaders had three players finish in double-figures to help take down Cathedral in a Catholic Central League matchup on Friday night in Peabody. Nick Pignone led the way for Fenwick with 19 points, while senior captain Ryan Veguilla had 17 points and junior captain Isaiah Cashwell-Doe had 16 points.
Fenwick (5-8) will continue its CCL schedule with another conference game against Cardinal Spellman on Tuesday night.
Lynn Classical 68, Beverly 65
Classical had four players in double-figures as the Rams grabbed a Northeastern Conference win and improved to 12-4.
Erick Solis led the way with 19 points, while Deontae Plouffe contributed 16 points off the bench. Dyrrell Rucker and Edwin Solis each had 13 points.
The Rams have another NEC game on Tuesday when they travel to Peabody to face the Tanners.
Pat Gavin led the way for Beverly (8-3), notching a double-double with 30 points and 10 rebounds. Luigi Derrane had 17 points.
Lynnfield 52, Triton 46
Junior guard William Arsenault scored a game-high 22 points, including a pair of three-pointers, as the Pioneers (11-1) picked up a road victory and extended their winning streak to eight games.
Senior captain forward Louis Ellis dropped 15 points, with six coming from beyond the arc, while senior captain forward Michael Carangelo also reached double figures with 11 points.
Junior Colin Brennan led the Vikings with a team-high 16 points and drilled a game-high four three-pointers.
Marblehead 68, Salem 62
Patrick Bugler scored 13 points in the fourth quarter alone to help lift the Magicians to a big win over Salem. Bugler finished with 23 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Derek Marino contributed 18 points and eight rebounds. Marblehead (12-2) will play another Northeastern Conference matchup on Tuesday when they host Gloucester.
Anthony Pena led the way for Salem (6-5), putting up 20 points. Nate Lebron added 18 points and five rebounds for the Witches, while Vinnie Gaskins added 12 points and five rebounds.
St. John’s Prep 67, New Mission 64
Junior captain Tommy O’Neil had a double-double with 19 points and 15 rebounds to help the Eagles improve to 10-3. Nate Hobbs had 13 points.
St. John’s will take on Catholic Memorial on Tuesday night.
GIRLS HOCKEY
Bishop Fenwick 2, Peabody 2
Amanda Blanchette scored both goals for the Crusaders as they battled back to force a tie against the cross-town rival Tanners. Down 2-0 entering the third period, Blanchette got Fenwick on the board halfway through the period to cut the deficit in half. The Crusaders pulled their goalie with 1:27 left, and Blanchette notched the tying goal with just 11 seconds on the clock to earn the tie.
Meghan Carney had two assists on the night, while Ally Charette and Ally Giguere each had one assist.
SWIMMING
Lynn Tech 88, Minuteman Tech 65
The Tigers closed out their regular season with a win behind great performances from Coral Gonzalez and Jin Purdy, among others. Gonzalez won the diving event with a score of 124.5 and was also a member of the winning 200-yard medley relay team along with Purdy, Alyssa Shaw and Jacob Lejuene (2:36.9). Purdy also won the 100 breaststroke (1:25.37). The 200 freestyle relay team of Dustin Bloom, Brian Nolasco, Antonio Morales and Jose Gomez took first place with a time of 2:15.65.
Next up for Tech is the conference championship meet next Tuesday and Wednesday, then the Lynn City Meet next weekend.