If anything has become clear this season in the Northeastern COnference its that anybody can beat anyone on a given night.That was proved again on Friday as Marblehead used a stingy defense to hold a potent Swampscott team to 50 points en route to a 53-50 win on home soil that was capped with an 8-0 run down the stretch.”They made more plays than us down the stretch and just beat us,” Swampscott coach Paul Moran said. “I thought we played a good game but that’s a credit to them with their good defense.”For the Magicians, it was a return to action after a two week layoff.”There were over 1,000 people there and it’s a big rivalry game,” Marblehead coach Wayne Hanscom said. “So to win is great.”Swampscott (5-2) led 16-9 after one quarter but went ice cold in the second as the Magicians outscored them 15-5 to take a 24-21 halftime lead.The Big Blue rebounded in the third to take a 39-38 lead but suffered a second and even more costly cold streak in the fourth quarter, where Marblehead put up a 25-11 run to close the game.Tom Powers led a balanced Marblehead attack with 10 points. John Beaulieu was the game’s top scorer for Swampscott, finishing wih 19 points and 10 rebounds.St. Mary’s 70, Pope John 50At St. Mary’s, the Spartans (4-3) ran out to a 44-19 halftime lead and put it on cruise control from there.Tyler Grillo led St. Mary’s with 23 points. John Bakopolus chipped in 15 and Tade Ogunbona had 11 for the Spartans.Tech 62, Gr. Lowell 51At Tech, Victor Smith was the big gun for the Tigers (3-1) with 25 points. Tech broke open a close game in fourth quarter, outscoring the Gryphons 20-6 to pull away.Jose Rios and Jake Canty had nine points each.Salem 66, Beverly 60At Beverly, the Witches (2-3) were in a 15 point hole (29-14) in the second quarter but used a 17-2 half closing run to tie the game at 31 before finally outlasting the Panthers.”Our defense was huge for us (Friday),” Salem coach Tom Doyle said.Chris Maxson’s 19 points were a team and game high for Salem. Junior Lugo had 18 points and Bryan Ortiz added 11. Sean Linehan picked up 12 rebounds off the bench.Matt Tobin had 17 points in his first game back for Beverly whule Nate Knudson had 13 and Brian Skerry added 12.Winthrop 63, Saugus 50At Winthrop, the Vikings (6-0, 5-0 NEC South) struggled mightily in the first half but still held a 21-19 lead at the break. The lead was only three points through three quarters before WInthrop outscored the visitors 25-15 in the final eight minutes.Dino Mallios was outstanding for Winthrop, finishing with a game-high 25 points. Jonathan Murdock added 15 and Mike Visco’s 10 gave the Vikings three players in double figures.BC High 64, St. John’s 43At BC High, the Prep (3-2, 0-1 Catholic Conference) cut a 12 point halftime lead to four in the third quarter thanks to a 10-0 run before the defending Division 1 state champs put the pedal down for good.Ryan O’Connell was outstanding for St. John’s in the loss, scoring a game-high 30 points that included six 3-pointers and eight rebounds. He stands 31 points shy of the 1,000 mark in his career.Mike Hall had 10 blocks and eight rebounds for the Prep, who is at CM next Friday.Peabody 53, Revere 50At Revere, the Tanners (3-5) had an 11 point lead with two minutes remaining and then had to hang on for dear life as the hosts nearly came all the way back.Danny Mello had 18 points to lead Peabody. Mark Linehan also reached double figures with 14.Lynnfield 69, Triton 56At Byfield, the Pioneers (3-4) trailed 38-37 after three quarters but went wild in the fourth, outscoring the Vikings 32-18.Mike Kennedy led Lynnfield with 21 points while Mark Connolly had 20 and Jeff Millinazzo chipped in with 10.