FILE PHOTO
Jake McIntire scored 19 points in Swampscott’s win.
By HAROLD RIVERA
The Swampscott boys basketball team earned its first win of the season, 62-55, over Georgetown on Wednesday night.
“Our defense was the reason we won tonight,” Big Blue coach Justin Fucile said. “We came out and played great defense. A.J. Venuti and Sean Lahrizi, their defense in the fourth quarter was outstanding.”
Jake McIntire scored 19 points to lead the way. Matt Moran added 13 points while Dylan Hayes contributed with 11 points.
“All 12 kids played and contributed,” Fucile said. “They’re always cheering for each other from the bench. They say ‘family’ when they break the huddle and that’s how they play.”
Swampscott will visit Lynn English on Friday, looking to make it two wins in a row.
“This meant so much to us tonight,” Fucile said. “Hopefully we’ll get another win before the end of the season and keep improving.”
BOYS BASKETBALL
Classical 67, Danvers 63
The Falcons scored the first 11 points of the game and held a commanding 18-point lead after a quarter, but the Rams climbed back into the game and despite struggling defensively, and came all the way back to get the win.
Gilbert Minaya led Classical with 20 points, and Edwin Solis added 18. The Rams (15-3) will have a big test, weather-permitting, Friday night as they travel to Marblehead.
St. John’s Prep 59, Hamilton-Wenham 53
The Eagles were led by Nate Hobbs, who put up 26 points to boost the Prep to a 13-4 record. Tommy O’Neil and Matt Relihan each chipped in with 10 points.
Whittier 80, Tech 79
The Tigers lost a heartbreaker on the road as Whittier clinched the game at the buzzer.
“I’m real proud of these guys,” Tech coach Stevie Patrick said of his team. “They’re getting better and better every game. I feel like they’ve found themselves. They felt the loss, but they’re proud of the way they played.”
Rob Wallace had a big game with 24 points, and Belmin Berilo chipped in with 16. David Davis logged a double-double and Aquemini Gaston added 11 points.
With four games left to play, the Tigers have a shot at capturing the Commonwealth Athletic Conference Small division title, which Patrick said was the goal from the beginning of the season.
“If we win these last four games, three of which are against teams we’ve already beaten, we’ll win the division,” Patrick said. “It would be real sweet if we can, we have the momentum.”
The Tigers have a busy schedule coming up. They’ll take on Minuteman Friday and play Northeast Saturday at 11:30 a.m.
BOYS HOCKEY
Lynn 3, Bedford 1
John DiFilippo scored two goals and Ryan Clark netted one for the Jets.
“We wanted to create a little more offense off the forecheck,” Lynn coach Joe Conlon said. “I thought the key was our penalty kill at the beginning of the third period. We did a good job to put it away after that.”
Lynn (10-3-2) visits Winthrop on Saturday.
Marblehead 4, Peabody 3
James McCarthy scored the game-winner for the Magicians. Aidan Gillis scored a goal and Drew Cioffi netted a pair for the winners. Chris Gillen scored two goals and Connor McCarron added one for the Tanners.
Winthrop 6, Beverly 1
Behind a three-goal performance from Charlie Page, the Vikings improve the 13-1-2 on the season. Page also added an assist to his strong outing. Winthrop junior Henry Brooks added two goals.
Masco 5, Lynnfield 0
The Pioneers (7-7-1) will look to bounce back on Saturday at Pentucket.
GIRLS HOCKEY
St. Mary’s 3, Archbishop Williams 1
Aylah Cioffi had a huge night for the Spartans as they beat Catholic Central League foe Williams on the road, logging a hat trick. Cioffi scored her first just over four minutes into the game on assists from Marina DiBiasio and Codi Butt. She netted her second with 27 seconds left in the period on assists from Zoe Solomons and Rose Callahan. Cioffi capped the scoring in the second on an assist from Mady Hentosh.
Goalie Emily Stephenson made 17 saves for the Spartans.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Classical 44, Danvers 40
Classical trailed by ten at the half but stormed back to get the win. Soneta Srey scored 16 points and Paris Wilkey added 13.
“After losing to Peabody and Revere last week, this was a big bounce back win tonight,” Classical coach Tom Sawyer said. “We were down ten points at half and then we played a good third quarter to even things up. We scored 16 points in the fourth to squeeze out the win.”
The Rams (14-5) host Marblehead on Friday.
“They’re a solid team and they’re well coached,” Sawyer said. “We’re going to have to play well. They have scoring weapons and they play well on defense.”
Whittier 68, Tech 36
The Tigers dropped to 8-9 after a tough loss on the road. Jamila Constantine and Arianna Anaya each scored 11 points, while Annmarie Teixeira added six.
Mystic Valley 50, Lynnfield 45
The Pioneers trailed 25-11 at halftime, but outscored the Eagles 20-9 in the third quarter to make a game of it trailing by three, 34-31 after a buzzer-beating three-pointer by junior Sophia Ellis.
Midway through the final quarter, Liz Shaievitz (14 points) converted two free throws on a technical foul, then Shannon Furey threaded the needle on the ensuing inbounds play and found Melissa Morelli for two more and the Pioneers trailed by one, 38-37. Mystic Valley went on a 9-2 run to stretch the lead to 47-39 with three minutes left, but the Pioneers came back again and made it a one-possession game at 48-45 after Shaievitz grabbed an offensive rebound and laid it in with 4.3 seconds to go.
Mystic Valley’s Menel Lamadzema (28 points) sealed the win with two free throws.
Ellis finished with seven points and four rebounds, while Morelli had seven points and eight rebounds.
“Had we played the first half the way we played the second, it would have been a much different result,” Shaievitz said.
The Pioneers dropped to 1-14 and play archrival North Reading Friday night.
BOYS TRACK
Revere 49, Swampscott 37
The Patriots ran to a close win over the Big Blue at home Wednesday, taking first place in seven events. Swampscott’s Joseph Varghese jumped 5 feet, 10 inches to win the high jump, but the Blue lost out to Revere’s Gabriel Felix-Martinez in the shot put (40-11 1/4).
The Patriots dominated in the short-distance races, as David Sinatra won the 50-yard hurdles (7.0 seconds), Jonathan Hysenaj won the 50 (6.0), Wesley Zambrano won the 300-meter race (41.3) and Zachary Gentile won the 600 (1:34.2), barely topping Swampscott’s David Denham (1:34.9). Swampscott made a comeback as Thomas McDevitt won the 1000 (2:57.4) and Jack Dennehy won the mile (5:11.0), but Revere won the 2-mile (Sebastian Mejia, 11:26.1) and the 4×400 relay. Swampscott finishes the season at 5-2.
“It was a good season,” Swampscott coach Brian Kirkland said We’re making strides and laying the foundation for better things to come. I’m looking forward to next year and I’m thankful for this past season.”
Beverly 65, Salem 21
Winners for Beverly were Sam Abate in the high jump (5-4), Bobby Adams in the shot put (42-9 1/2), Sean Richardson in the 300 (40.2), Brian Harty in the 600 (1:35.3), John Jones in the 1000 (2:54.5), Dakota Lillelund (5:11.1), Zach Curry in the 2-mile (11:21.5) and the 4×400 relay team.
Salem’s winners were Jaden Oliver in the 50 hurdles (7.0) and Giovanny Guzman in the 50 (5.9).
GIRLS TRACK
Swampscott 57, Revere 29
The Big Blue earned the split at Revere, as Swampscott took first place in all but two events: the mile (Hannah Fitzpatrick, 5:55.9) and the 4×400 relay.
Winners for Swampscott were Haley Bernhardt in the high jump (4-8), Maisie Vazquez in the shot put (34-8), Kendall Rhodes in the 50-hurdles (8.3), Alexandra Gladstone in the 50 (6.9), Catie Cullinane in the 300 (48.2), Ocean Crawley-Sweeney in the 600 (1:59.9), Ashley Marston in the 1000 (3:30.5) and Haley LaKind in the 2-mile (15:20.0).
Beverly 80, Salem 5
The Panthers swept every event, with Tyler Orlandella winning the high jump (5-0), Rona Scott winning the shot put (34-4 1/2), Natalie Coughlin winning the 50 hurdles (8.1). Grace Byrd (6.6), India Ingemi (43.9), Abby Walsh in the 600 (1:41.4), Lexi Sutyak in the 1000 (3:23.0), Maeve Dineen in the mile (5:56.1) and Massy Aitken in the 2-mile (13:15.8).