PEABODY — Friday night’s game between the Swampscott and Peabody boys basketball teams was a meeting of two of the best teams in the Northeastern Conference, and the drama didn’t disappoint. After trailing by as many as 10 points, the Big Blue rallied back to force overtime before taking down the Tanners by a score of 61-59.
“Peabody came out strong early so we called a quick timeout, and the guys just responded after that,” said Swampscott coach Jason Knowles. “Cam O’Brien caught fire and scored all nine of our points in the first quarter, and we were off and running from there. I think the key word for us is ‘resiliency,’ and we hung in there the whole game until we could pull ahead.”
Andrew Augustin led all scorers with 21 points, while Jacob Cooke had 14 points. Cam O’Brien added 11 points, while Evan Roth scored six points.
Nick Vecchio led the way for Peabody with 20 points, while Drew Lucas was right behind him with 17 points. Shea Lynch (10 points), Danny Barrett (eight points) and Nick Soper (three points) also played well in the loss.
“We have a young team that doesn’t have a ton of experience in spots like that, but I was happy with how we fought the entire game until the final whistle,” said Peabody coach Thad Broughton. “Both of our games against Swampscott this year have come down to the final play, and I’ve got to give a lot of credit to Swampscott. They’re a talented team and they came up with some big plays down the stretch to beat us.”
The start of the game was all Peabody, as the Tanners shot out of a cannon to a 12-2 lead in the opening minutes. By the end of the first quarter, Peabody held a 19-9 lead.
But Swampscott continued to battle, chipping away at the lead slowly with small runs. Still, Peabody remained hot and took a 26-18 lead into halftime.
Peabody stretched its lead to as many as 11 points in the third quarter, but Swampscott simply wouldn’t go away. Despite still trailing by eight points at the end of the third, Swampscott held a significant bit of momentum going into the final quarter.
In the fourth, the Big Blue continued to chip away. Swampscott cut the deficit to just six points by the midway mark in the fourth, then the Big Blue hit a big 3-pointer to make it a two-point game with just over a minute to play.
Then, with Peabody ahead 53-52, Cooke picked the ball up out of a mad scramble and knocked down a huge 3-pointer with eight seconds left to give the Big Blue a 55-53 lead. But on the ensuing play, Swampscott ended up fouling Lucas and allowing him to shoot the tying free throws, sending the game to overtime.
But despite the hiccup to close regulation, Swampscott came out strong in the overtime period. Behind some big plays from Augustin, O’Brien and Zachary Marks, the Big Blue took a five-point lead and held it for much of the quarter. Despite a late burst by Peabody that gave the Tanners some hope, Swampscott was able to knock down key free throws to close the game and seal the win.
“I think this is something that comes with having a more veteran team, we’ve learned how to win,” said Knowles. “Last year we had some tough losses and that stuff sticks. The guys know that they’re never out of it, and they battle until the very end.”
Peabody (3-2) travels to Saugus Tuesday night (7).
“We’re excited to go down there and play in the new gym and get a crack at Saugus,” said Broughton. “We know they’ve got some talented players, so it should be a great matchup for us.”
Swampscott (4-0) will look to remain unbeaten when it hosts Marblehead Tuesday night (7).
“I think if we can keep bringing the defensive pressure that we’ve brought in the first four games, we’ll be in good shape,” said Knowles. “Our offense has really started clicking over the past two games, so I’m excited to see where we can go from here.”