PEABODY – The Swampscott boys basketball squad combined solid defensive pressure and strong outside shooting to belt Goffstown (NH), 84-55, yesterday afternoon in the opener of the Tanner City Holiday Tournament at Peabody High.The Big Blue (4-1) shot out to an 11-0 lead on the outside shooting of forward John Beaulieu (game’s high scorer with 32). Beaulieu, who drilled seven three-pointers in the contest, had a pair in the game’s first moments. The Grizzlies (0-3) were held scoreless until center Alex Stoyle hit a soft jumper with just over three minutes gone after the tap.”John had a nice shooting night,” said Swampscott coach Paul Moran. “Both he and (guard) Craig (Rodenstein) did a super job from the floor.”Swampscott held a 21-13 lead after the first quarter, then increased its margin to 30-13 after beginning the second stanza with a 9-0 run. Included in that streak were steals by Rodenstein and teammate Trevor Wheeler, who went coast-to-coast for their buckets.Rodenstein was no slouch with the ball, as he had 15 points by halftime, and finished with 27 overall; Swampscott slowly edged away from Gofftstown to take a 46-28 lead. Rodenstein was instrumental in beginning the Big Blue fast break, with the team taking advantage of numerous Grizzlies misses, and heading downcourt for several Swampscott hoops.”Our fast break is something we work on constantly,” added Moran. “We made them into (transition) baskets, but they’ll be cut down when we go back into league play.”The Big Blue continued to pull away in the third, with Beaulieu collecting 13 points in the quarter. Among the highlights was a nifty give-and-go with Rodenstein, with the guard getting the basket to put the Big Blue ahead, 61-34, midway through.Forward Scott Leffler added ten points for the Big Blue, guard Jeff Thomas contributed 12 and forward Corey Paquette chipped in with 11 for the Grizzlies.Wakefield 60, Peabody 50Peabody (1-4) was never able to grab a lead against Wakefield (3-2), despite a competitive game from both teams.The play was sloppy early on, as both teams struggled to find a rhythm offensively. Wakefield’s physical style of play helped it to an 11-4 lead, but Peabody fought back to close the gap to 15-12 after the first period.In the second quarter, the Warriors exerted themselves on the glass to take over the game. Wakefield out-rebounded Peabody 25-11 in the first half, led by Jared Ioshua and Brian Millea. By controlling the paint, Wakefield built a 27-18 lead at the break.Peabody coach Chris Mastrangelo said his team did not play the scrappy style of basketball it’s used to in the game.”The team knows it needs a lot of intensity and scrappiness to compete,” Mastrangelo said. “We didn’t have that tonight, and the kids knew it. We made a couple of runs, but we never capitalized.”The third quarter was Peabody’s best chance to get back into the game. Trailing 35-25 with just under one minute to play in the frame, Peabody ran off six quick points, highlighted by a steal and driving layup from Marc Linehan. However, with less than 10 seconds remaining, Wakefield’s Zack Boyages knocked down a huge three-pointer to build the lead back to 38-31 and take the momentum away from the Tanners entering the fourth quarter.”I tip my hat to (Boyages),” Mastrangelo said. “After we score 6 points in a row, the kid knocks down a huge three at the buzzer. It was a huge play.”Peabody never quite regained the edge, as Wakefield regained a 15-point advantage in the fourth. Despite a late rally by the Tanners, Wakefield’s Nick Serino iced the game with four free throws down the stretch.Brian Fleming’s 11 points garnered him Peabody’s MVP honor, while Kevin Skop added 13 points for the Tanners. Wakefield MVP Joshua had 12 points and 7 rebounds.