BeantownHoops Blog

#15 New Mission 59 Burke 32
In a match-up between the two premier guards in the City, it was New Mission’s Niesha Kelly who got the best of Burke’s Khadijah Ellison.  Kelly had a game high 29 points to go along with 12 rebounds and 5 assists.  Ellison had all of Burke’s 8 points in the first quarter, but would only score five points the rest of the game to end up with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 steals.
“To play against a person of John Rice’s caliber (head coach at Burke) and to win, you’re just playing against history, and for us to win against a coach who has never lost on this stage I’m honored,” said New Mission Head Coach Greg Berry on his team’s City title.
New Mission freshman Donaizha Fountain added 16 points and 13 rebounds while Burke’s Frederika Lawson had 9 points for Burke.
#1 Madison Park 66 #2 New Mission 59
The #1 Cardinals rode the backs of point guard Spencer Braithwaite and center David Campbell in the second half to repeat as City Champs.  Braithwaite scored 10 points in the half, while Campbell had 17 points.  Campbell led all scorers with 25 points and had 12 rebounds as well.
“It really was a great game tonight, I really enjoyed it.  This just gives us a lot more confidence in ourselves knowing that we can make big time plays in big time games,” said Campbell.
“It was just a good team effort defensively, we always start off sluggish, but today we came out better at the start.  I’m just feeling real good right now and we’re going ride this wave right into the state playoffs,” added Braithwaite.
New Mission was led by the 18 points of Senior Osmel Odena and the 10 points, 19 rebounds, and 3 blocks of Ousmane Drame.

Odena’s game winner puts New Mission in the championship game
by beantownhoops.com
New Mission point guard Osmel Odena was not having his best game against #11 East Boston.  The Senior had 10 turnovers and was having trouble with the press, but one shot would make up for it.  With four seconds left and down two points, Odena received the inbounds pass, took three dribbles to his right and launched a desperation three pointer with two defenders draped all over him.  The shot hit the backboard square and went right through the net to propel the #2 Titans into the championship game of the Boston City playoffs.
“Coach McCarthy told me that I was going to get the final shot and I just took it and hoped it went in,” said Odena on his game winner.
It was the play before Odena’s shot that gave the Senior his opportunity.  East Boston had the ball at half court and all they needed to do was get the ball inbounds, get fouled, make their free-throws and the game was over.  However, New Mission  knew that if they could get a stop they had a chance to win it.
“Deny the ball, give it all you got, and if it got in we had to foul quickly,” Odenda said about what they had to do in the final seconds.
The Jets threw the ball ahead of the defensive pressure, but it was too much and the ball went out of bounds without anyone touching it.  The miscue gave the Titans the ball at half court to set up Odena’s dramatic shot.
“I told the guys that four seconds is a long time and a lot can happen.  I always tell them to fight until the end and that’s what I said to them in the huddle, Fight!  Fight!  Fight!,” said New Mission Head Coach Cory McCarthy.
Odena gets credit for the game winner, but it was the play of fellow senior Ousmane Drame that made the difference.  Drame had a triple double with 12 points, 16 rebounds, and 13 blocks, not to mention the number of shots he altered all game.  In the final quarter, Drame along with guard Charles Gunter carried the Titans.  Gunter had seven points and Drame had nine points and had three blocks in one sequence to keep New Mission in the game.
“Ousmane just kept working on the glass and was great defensively. I’m just proud that all the guys that played tonight made a major contribution for us to get the win,” said Coach McCarthy.

Eastie was led by Elijah Chislohm and Walter Lewis’ 14 points while Dimitry Coronel added 13.

Notes:  Be sure to check out Danny V’s article in the Herald for more coverage of the games……The New Mission win avenges an earlier loss to East Boston, their only loss of the season…..Many interested high school coaches in attendance at each game, specifically watching Madison Park who will be in the DI south and East Boston who will be in the DI north……In an all-time classy move, East Boston Head Coach Malcolm Smith went into the New Mission locker room after the game to congratulate the team and to wish them luck in the championship game.  “I have so much respect for Malcolm and what he has done at Eastie.  He is a class guy and a great coach,” said Coach McCarthy…..The championship game will be at 6:30 p.m. and will follow the girls final featuring New Mission vs. Burke.

Scoring:
East Boston: Winn 3, Lewis 14, Green 5, Amazon 12, Chislohm 14, Coronel 13, Ornella 6
New Mission: McDaniels 14, Odena 15, Davis 2, Drame 12, Gunter 14, Nzerey 11

Scoring by quarters:
East Boston:   14 13 18 22 = 67
New Mission: 7  22  18  21 = 68

Rebounds:
East Boston: 33
New Mission: 40
Turnovers:
East Boston: 17
New Mission: 14

3 pt. Shooting:
East Boston: 3/11 .272
New Mission:3/13  .230
Free-throws:
East Boston:  12/22   .545
New Mission: 21/35 .600
Madison Park 70 Boston English 53
Spencer Braithwaite had 19 points and 5 steals and David Campbell had a game high 22 points to go along with 11 rebounds and 2 blocks to lead #1 Madison Park over Boston English.
Boston English played with more energy in the first half and were leading 23-16 with five minutes left in the second quarter.  That is when MP turned up the defensive pressure and at the break had a six point lead 33-27.
The second half saw three significant runs, the first a 12-2 run by Madison Park to give them a sixteen point lead at the end of three, 51-35.  The two smallest players on the court then took over, English’s Jose Figueroa and Daryn Gethers.  Figueroa hit three threes (four total in the quarter) and Gethers added four points to cap a 13-0 English run to close the gap to 51-48.
That would be the closest English would get as Madison Park responded with a 19-5 run to close out the game.
“I just felt like we came out a little sluggish.  In the sec0nd half we picked it up defensively, got a lot of stops, and went on a nice run,” said Braithwaite.
“It doesn’t really matter who we play tomorrow.  I think whoever we play we have a great shot to win the championship,” added Braithwaite about his team’s chances in the final.
Boston English was led by Figueroa’s 19 points and Alex DoSouto’s 13.

Scoring:
Boston English:  Figueroa 19, Gethers 4, DoSouto 13, Walton 4, Jones 9, Matumona 4
Madison Park: Braithwaite 19, Hudson 4, Moquete 2, Pettus 7, Bennett 1, McCollum 4, Stokes 11, Campbell 22

Scoring by quarters:
Boston English:  18   9    8   18 = 53
Madison Park: 14  19  18  19 = 70

Rebounds:
Boston English:  34
Madison Park: 37
Turnovers:
Boston English:  25
Madison Park: 21

3 pt. Shooting:
Boston English:  7/25  .280
Madison Park: 2/15 .133
Free-throws:
Boston English:  6/9  .666
Madison Park: 12/17  .705

In a tune-up for the City playoffs next week, the Titans rolled over Boston English 69-40.  Samir McDaniels had a game high 19 points while center Ousmane Drame had 10 points, 17 rebounds and 3 blocks.

The Titans would lead by as many as 33 points in the second half, 66-33, and were never threatend by the Bulldogs. The win sets up a rematch with #13 East Boston next Thursday in the City playoffs, where the Titans can avenge their only loss of the season.

“We’re ready for that game.  We had trouble with their press last time, but we’ll get by that this time and hopefully play Friday,” said McDaniels.

More importantly for New Mission is focusing on making a huge state playoff run and keeping the same intensity they have shown in the regular season.

“The city championship is not our focus, a state championship is.  Our guys are really good at responding when you point out their weaknesses and I’m going to make sure to get them ready (for state). As long as we keep playing as a team, we’re going to be fine,” said New Mission Head Coach Cory McCarthy.

New Mission will face East Boston at 5:30 p.m on Thursday.

Scoring:
Boston English:  Jose 8, Alex 9, Antonio 2, Tre 4, Didjoe 6, Bryanne 9, DarDrick 2
New Mission: McDaniels 19, Odena 12, Davis 7, Drame 10, Willis 2, Gunter 5, Basile 5, Nzerem 9

Scoring by quarters:
Boston English:  6  12   13    9 = 40
New Mission:   18  15  23  13 = 69

Rebounds:
Boston English:  27
New Mission: 41
Turnovers:
Boston English:  12
New Mission: 7

3 pt. Shooting:
Boston English:  3/10  .300
New Mission: 4/9  .444
Free-throws:
Boston English:  3/6  .500
New Mission: 13/17  .767

The scouting report all season on the Watertown Red Raiders was to make someone other than Junior guard Marco Coppola beat you.  Coppola has been averaging just over 24 points this season and when other players have played well, Watertown has won.  The positive trend continued for Watertown as guards Danny Kelly, Cory Donahue, and Tyler Romanelli and center Connor Stockdale paced Watertown in the second half to upset #12 Belmont 57-53.

The first half was a duel between each team’s best player.  Belmont’s Andrew Musler had 11 points on 4 of 6 shooting, while Coppola countered with 20 points shooting 8 of 12 from the field.  The result was a 31-31 tie going into the half.

The individual battle ceased in the last half as Musler would only score three more points and Coppola would only score four.  Unfortunately for Belmont, the team totaled only 22 points in the two quarters after scoring 22 in the first alone.  The lack of point production opened the door for Watertown as they would take their largest lead of the night 45-36 with 2:13 left in the third quarter.  Donahue, Kelly, and Stockdale would combine for ten points in the frame and the Red Raiders took a six point lead heading into the fourth.

The fourth quarter was a back and forth affair and with 2:55 left and a five point lead, it looked like Watertown was ready to ice the game.  Belmont guard Vincent Cortina responded on the Marauders next possession hitting an NBA three with a man in his face and all of a sudden it was a two point game.  After a defensive stop, Musler was able to scoop a loose ball with one minute left to tie the game at 53.

Watertown missed on its next possession and Belmont had the ball with 34.5 seconds left and a chance at a last shot to win the game.  The Marauders ended up taking a corner three with 15 seconds left and the long rebound fell into Coppola’s hands.  Immediately he looked up to see a streaking Kelly who he hit in stride for a reverse lay-up and Watertown led 55-53 with seven seconds remaining.

The next possession as Belmont was bringing the ball up the court, Romanelli stole the ball from behind and then calmly hit two free throws after he was fouled to give Watertown the win.  Watertown Head Coach Steve Harrington was pleased with  how his guys contributed after Coppola was taken out of the game defensively by Belmont.

“When those guys have come up in those situations they have stepped up.  They have played enough games this season now that their confidence is up and they have come through,” said Coach Harrington.

Coppola was also proud of how his teammates played tonight.  “My teammates stepped up huge.  Everyone contributed, Connor was breaking guys down, Cory was hitting open shots, Tyler was flying around all over the place, and Danny had a huge lay-up at the end.”

“It’s a big confidence booster for the other players because Marco has been doing a lot for us.  The game definitely gives us more confidence going forward,” added Kelly.

Belmont was led by Musler’s 14 points and Cory Stratford’s 10 points.

Scoring:
Watertown:  Romanelli 7, Coppola 24, Donahue 7, Kelly 9, Stockdale 10
Belmont: Penta 3, Ferraro 2, Wynott 5, Papas 4, Cortina 8, Musler 14, Dillon 7, Stratford 10

Scoring by quarters:
Watertown: 15  16  14  12 = 57
Belmont:     22    9    8   14 = 53

Rebounds:
Watertown:  22
Belmont: 30
Turnovers:
Watertown: 4
Belmont: 12

3 pt. Shooting:
Watertown: 6/19  .315
Belmont:  7/15  .466
Free-throws:
Watertown:  8/8  1.000
Belmont: 8/11  .727

by beantownhoops.com (2/9/10)

Led by the 17 points and 19 rebounds of center Asia Ewing, the #3 Grey Ghosts defeated Newton South 67-56 in a match-up of the two top teams in the DCL Large.  With 4:30 left in the third quarter, Ewing grabbed a loose ball under the basket and calmly put it in to reach the 1,000 point mark.  It was her only field goal in the second half, but it was her dominant second quarter, 12 points, that kept the game close before Westford pulled away in the second half.

“I’m really excited, it’s a big accomplishment, but I’m just glad that we won, that was my goal for today,” said a modest Ewing on reaching her milestone.

“As far as I’m concerned, Asia has been the best player in the DCL the last two years.  She is a dominant presence and the team rallies around her because they know she’s a team player,” said Westford Head Coach Russ Coward.
Early on the game looked like it was going to be a blowout by Westford as they jumped out to a 10-2 lead.  But behind the play of Juniors Sophie Bikofsky (11 pts. 14 rebs.) and Kendall Burton (17 points), Newton South rallied and took their first lead at 7:30 of the second quarter, 16-15.
The rest of the quarter was a shooting clinic by the Lions as they hit four threes and made countless jumpers to score twenty-four points in the frame to take a 38-33 halftime lead.
“We didn’t communicate very well and they were killing us on the pick and rolls.  They (Newton South) were also doing a good job of spreading the court and attacking our zone,” said Coach Coward.
The Ghosts came out more aggressive in the second half and picked up their intensity on the defensive end.  Newton South would go scoreless for the first four and a half minutes of the quarter and by that point Westford had taken a five point lead 45-40.  They would extend their lead to as many as nine points in the fourth quarter before adding a couple free-throws for the eleven point win.
Newton South was led by Burton’s 17 points and Bikofsky’s 11.  Suzanne Parker had 15 points and 4 assists and Erica Wright added 10 points for Westford.  The Ghosts improve to 16-1 overall and 9-0 in league play while Newton South drops to 14-3 overall and 5-3 in the league.

Notes: The win was the 11th straight for Westford….. It was Senior Night for Newton South who honored their two Senior players, Allie Leipzig and Nikki Butera.  In a nice gesture, the Newton South team also gave flowers to the Westford Seniors…..I’ve never been a fan of the field house set-up, but Newton South by far has the best one I’ve seen to this point…..Westford had already clinched the DCL Large title coming into the game…..Finally, when you think you’ve seen it all, a Newton South shot lodged between the rim and the backboard in the second half.  Normally during a girls game, a ref gets a ball and tries to dislodge it, not tonight.  Without hesitation, Newton South Head Coach Sam Doner ran onto the court, grabbed the net, pulled himself up to the rim, and got the ball down.  Coach Doner then went back to the bench and started coaching again like nothing happened.

Scoring:
Westford:  Parker 15, Gallant 3, Mills 2, Wright 10, Malboeuf 8, Boyle 7, Ewing 17, Webb 5
Newton South:  Ka. Burton 3, Collins 6, Rothman 7, Leipzig 7, Ke. Burton 17, Horowitz 1, Haghayeghi 2, Bikofsky 11, Sloan-Cullen 2

Scoring by quarters:
Westford:         15  18  16  18 = 67
Newton South:  14  24  5  13 = 56

Rebounds:
Westford:  45
Newton South:  39
Turnovers:
Westford:  16
Newton South:  20

3 pt. Shooting:
Westford:  4/8  .500
Newton South:  7/22  .318
Free-throws:
Westford:  17/28  .607
Newton South:  10/17  .588

by beantownhoops.com (2/5/10)

Senior Colleen Hooper’s runner with 16 seconds gave Mansfield the one point win 55-54 in a match-up of power teams in the Hockomock.  It wasn’t quite Willis Reed in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA finals, but after injuring her ankle in the first half, Hooper had 11 points in the second half, none more important than her last two while she was being hounded by two Franklin defenders.
“I was just under pressure and I knew I had to score for the team,” said Hooper on her late quarter heroics.  “This is awesome.  We’ve been fighting hard as a team and I’m just really happy right now.”
It looked like early on that Mansfield would run away with this game leading by eight 24-16 going into the break.  Franklin could never find a groove and almost had as many turnovers (15) than points in the half.  Mansfield would extend the lead to as many as eleven points halfway through the third quarter, but that is when Franklin Junior Meghan Shaw put on a shooting display.
On five straight possessions Shaw took a three, hitting four of them and Franklin found themselves down only four points 39-35 at the end of three.  To start the fourth, Franklin scored four straight and all of a sudden they had outscored the Hornets 19-10 and had tied the game, 39-39, for the first time since it was 9-9 with 2:30 left in the first.
“In the second half we just started playing and believing in what we were doing.  It was just a matter of confidence for us,” said Franklin Head Coach John Leighton.
The fourth quarter was one of the best quarters of high school basketball I have witnessed in awhile.  The teams would answer each others runs and the game would be tied six times in the period.  The last deadlock with 42 seconds left was broken by Franklin’s Sara Doherty’s free-throw putting the Panthers up 54-53.  After the time-out, Hooper drove across the lane from left to right and shot her runner right over two Franklin defenders to give the Hornets the lead and the win.
“They’re athletic (Franklin) and they play great D and we knew it was going to be a battle.  What I liked is that we had a game slip away Tuesday and today it looked like it might get away from us again, but we kept our composure and stuck together and just found a way to win,” said Mansfield Head Coach Mike Redding.
Franklin was led by Shaw’s four threes and 12 points and Senior Taylor Kale added 10.  Hooper led Mansfield with 17 points and Senior Jess Eason pitched in 11 points and 7 rebounds.

Notes:  The teams could face each other again in the DI South playoffs.  As Coach Redding said, “I sure hope we don’t have to play them again.”…..Franklin won the JV game…..Coach Redding is also the head football coach at Mansfield…..Considering that the Mansfield/Franklin boys were playing at Franklin in a game for first place, it was a nice sized crowd for the game…..Don’t think this game has league implications? #1 Oliver Ames sat right in the front row observing this one on their night off…..Photographer Phil Grove will have pictures of the game tonight at FHS.Smugmug.com…..I wish every school had youth teams play at halftime, it is a great way to pass the time and keep the community involved in the program.

Scoring:
Franklin:  Shaw 12, Grove 4, Doherty 8, Kale 10, Heiser 4, Irvine 4, Phelan 9, Meredith 3
Mansfield: McPherson 5, Davis 2, Shannon 6, Walker 4, Copley 4, Hooper 17, Trombetta 2, Campbell 3, Eason 11

Scoring by quarters:
Franklin:     9  7  19  19 = 54
Mansfield: 13 11 16  15 = 55

Rebounds:
Franklin: 32
Mansfield: 30
Turnovers:
Franklin: 23
Mansfield: 11

3 pt. Shooting:
Franklin: 7/21 .333
Mansfield: 4/8  .500
Free-throws:
Franklin:  11/15  .733
Mansfield: 13/30  .433

by beantownhoops.com (2/1/10)

As the saying goes in basketball, “Live by the three, die by the three.”  When the Watertown Red Raiders are shooting the ball well, they are a tough team to beat, but when they are missing and playing against a bigger team, the task becomes a daunting one.  Lexington used its size down low all night while Watertown shot 22% from behind the arc in the #25 Minutemen’s 57-49 win at Watertown.

Lexington got off to a great start and four minutes into the game they had reeled off eleven straight points.  Ironically, Lexington hit its first and only three of the game when Senior David Miller drained one from the wing. It wasn’t until Watertown Junior Marco Coppola’s two free-throws at 3:54 that the Red Raiders finally got on the scoreboard.  The Minutemen continued to extend its lead in the first half and stretched it to as many as seventeen points in the second quarter before going into the break with a 31-16 lead.

The second half saw the Red Raiders battle back and on two separate occasions they got the lead down to four with 1:40 left in the third and then down to five with 5:39 left in the 4th.  But Lexington always had an answer and Junior big man Matt Sharma’s four consecutive points bumped the lead back to nine and Watertown could never recover.

“In the first half we really didn’t play with the same effort as we did in the second half. We spotted them that lead and didn’t play with much energy, ” said Watertown Head Coach Steve Harrington.

Despite outscoring Lexington 33 to 25 in the second half, it was the poor shooting that hurt Watertown’s chances.  They finished the game shooting 6/27 from the 3-point line and Coppola, who is the leading scorer in the Middlesex, did not hit one of this seven attempts.  The only Red Raider to shoot well was Senior captain Tim Barba who made four of the six threes, but that wasn’t enough to take the sting out of this loss.

“We consider them (Lexington) one of our biggest rivals and it is always a tough loss or a very good win.  They just hit all their shots and we didn’t have an answer.  We didn’t play well in the first half, but we did much better in the second half which was good to see.  We’ll just get right back after it on Wednesday,” said Barba.

Lexington was led by Sophomore Chris Lee’s 14 points and Sharma’s 12.  Coppola finished the game with 23 points on 7/21 shooting and Barba had 14.  Both teams will be back in action Wednesday with Lexington traveling to Reading while Watertown hosts Woburn.

Notes:  In the game preceding, the Watertown Girls defeated Lexington 53-36…..Nice to see a couple of our members at the game tonight, plus Danny V of the Herald and Justin Rice of Bpssports.com covering the game as well…..Great job again by Watertown local TV announcer Al DiTullio who I sat behind during the game…..This is a rare three game week for the Middlesex league…..Despite the loss, Watertown has already qualified for the state playoffs for the fourteenth consecutive year.

Scoring:
Lexington:  Moss 8, Monvoukas 10, Lee 14, Morrison 1, Miller 6, Sharma 12, Simmons 2, Boeglin 4
Watertown:  Barba 14, Romanelli 6, Coppola 23, Kelly 2, Stockdale 4

Scoring by quarters:
Lexington:    17  14  14  11 = 57
Watertown:  10  6  16  17 = 49

Rebounds:
Lexington:  36
Watertown:  26
Turnovers:
Lexington: 19
Watertown:  11

3 pt. Shooting:
Lexington: 1/3  .333
Watertown:  6/27  .222
Free-throws:
Lexington: 10/12  .833
Watertown: 9/11   .818

by beantownhoops.com (1/29/10)

After the 2008-09 campaign where they went winless in the GBL, the Medford Boys had nowhere to go but up.  Coming into tonight’s game against Somerville, the Mustangs were 4-2 in the league and only one game back of league leader Cambridge.  Energized by the play of Tevin Moore and Jimmy Richardson, Medford continued its transformation defeating the Highlanders 49-45 at Brune Field House.

The game was a low scoring affair with both teams focused on preventing the other team’s star from scoring.  Medford  star Andrew White had only four points in the half, while his fellow All-GBL performer from last year, Franklin Salvador had six.  With the stars being hounded all night, someone else had to fill the void.  Medford’s Tevin Moore obliged by scoring all seven of his team’s points in the first quarter and ended up with 10 pts. and 5 rebounds at the break.  Somerville’s Ricky Arisme kept pace with Moore scoring six points as the Highlanders found themselves down 25-23.

“It was a big game and I just went out and did what I had to do for the team,” said Moore.

The second half saw more of the same defensive focus on White and Salvador, but Salvador was able to get free for consecutive jump shots and gave Somerville the lead 27-25 with 3:40 left in the third quarter.  That would be the last lead the Highlanders would have as Medford went on a 9-1 run behind the play of Jimmy Richardson.  Richardson scored on a put back, had a steal, and had two rebounds during the run to give Medford a 36-28 lead.

“This was a huge game for Jimmy.  It was definitely his best game of the year.  They (Somerville) did a real good job on Andrew and denying our sets, so other guys had to step up and they did,” said Medford Head Coach Anthony Faradie.

Medford would get the lead to as high as nine points in the fourth quarter, but Somerville was able to battle back and found themselves only down two with thirty seconds left.  On the ensuing Medford possession, it was close on whether or not there was a backcourt violation, but it was not called.  Andrew White was fouled and made both of his free-throws to give the Mustangs the four point win.

White finished with only 12 points (plus 10 rebounds), well below his average of 21 ppg., but after enduring three sub par seasons, the senior is just happy to be in this position.

“It feels real good making that big transition to the next step after winning three games each year to winning eight already.  I’m so happy and my teammates did a great job tonight,” said White.

Somerville was led by Arisme’s 15 points and Salvador and Skerby Odivin’s 10 points a piece.  Somerville falls to 5-8 overall and 1-5 in the league while Medford improves to 8-4 and 4-2 in the GBL.

Notes:  Next up for Medford will be league leader Cambridge on Tuesday…..In the JV game Somerville won 41-39……I think it should be a state requirement for all schools to give out a game program like Somerville’s.  It had a preview of tonight’s games, the starting line-ups for the Highlanders, News and Notes, a Did You Know section and the rosters for both teams, good stuff……Medford’s only three came during the decisive third quarter run……White was 5 of 11 from the field while Salvador was 4 of 18……On the lighter side, all through the fourth quarter the P.A. announcer kept calling off the winning 50/50 numbers, finally with 30 seconds left in the game and a fourth winning ticket being picked somebody won.

Scoring:
Medford:  Smith 4, Sanders 4, Moore 13, Pitterson 2, White 12, Willingham 2, Keating 3, Richardson 9
Somerville:  Salvador 10, Arisme 15, Che 4, Odivin 10, Thomas 6

Scoring by quarters:
Medford:        7  18  13  11 = 49
Somerville:  10  13  13  9 = 45

Rebounds:
Medford:  39
Somerville:  30
Turnovers:
Medford:  21
Somerville:  17

3 pt. Shooting:
Medford:  1/4  .250
Somerville:  2/13  .153
Free-throws:
Medford:  10/17  .588
Somerville: 5/8  .625

by beantownhoops.com (1/26/10)

With star post player Monet Lowe nursing a leg injury, someone had to step up for #14 Newton North if they wanted to keep their undefeated record alive in the Bay State.  Fortunately for the Tigers, not one, but four players did just that to lead them to a 56-47 win over visiting Braintree.  Junior guards Ella Scheuerell (9 pts.), Djaidah Wynn (10 pts. 8 rebs. 5 steals), and Briana Hunt (18 points) all had solid games and Junior center Megan Gentile chipped in as well with 8 points and 8 rebounds to improve the Tigers record in the league to 12-0 and 13-1 overall.
Defense has been the calling card for the Tigers who have been holding opponents to 37 pts. a game all season. When Braintree jumped out to an early 4-0 lead because of lack of effort, Head Coach Hank DeSantis was not very pleased.
“Our goal is to always keep teams under 40 pts.  Our help defense and ball pressure just needed to get better, it’s been good all year, we just needed to do a better job,” said Coach Desantis.
North responded to their coach’s wishes and one minute later they had a 6-4 lead that it would not relinquish the rest of the game.  The lead was extended to eight, 26-18 going into the break, and with four minutes left in the third, the lead would get to eleven 35-24.  The Wamps would not give in and behind the scoring of Junior Amanda McKenney (17 points) and Freshmen Rachel Norton (8 points), Braintree would get the lead down to four to end the third 38-34.
The four point difference is the closest Braintree would get and after Briana Hunt made her fourth three of the game with 4:40 remaining, Newton North had a 13 point lead and had closed the door on any chance of a comeback.
“We upped our intensity in the second half and took a ‘one possession at a time’ mentality to get back in the game, but Newton North is just a very good team.  It was definitely a challenge for us, but I was happy with the effort my team put in tonight,” said Braintree Head Coach Kristen McDonnell.
Depending on tonight’s game, Newton North will have at least a three game lead in the Bay State Carey division and Coach DeSantis knows what looms in a tough DI South, that includes #3 Wellesley, #8 New Bedford, and #9 Brockton.
“We know what to expect, but we’re doing what we need to do to win basketball games.  We just need to fine tune some things and come together and we’ll be fine.”

Braintree was led by McKenney’s 17 points and Norton and Junior Ann Donahue’s 8 points a piece.

Notes: 5:15 p.m. start for the game because there was a wrestling match that followed…….Add Freshmen Rachel Norton of Braintree to the list of impressive underclassmen this season…..Monet Lowe’s injury has no timetable for a return right now according to Coach DeSantis…..In the JV game, Newton North hit a three with two seconds left to win 42-41.

Scoring:
Braintree:   Marshall 4, Beach 2, Bernasconi 2, Kennedy 6, McKenney 17, Donahue 8, Norton 8
Newton North:  Wynn 10, Scheuerell 9, Hunt 18, Abbot 7, Gentile 8, Rolfe 4

Scoring by quarters:
Braintree:            8  10  16  13 = 47
Newton North:  12  14  12  18 = 56

Rebounds:
Braintree: 23
Newton North:  36
Turnovers:
Braintree: 13
Newton North:  9

3 pt. Shooting:
Braintree: 1/6  .166
Newton North:  5/14  .357
Free-throws:
Braintree: 6/9  .666
Newton North: 5/9  .555

by beantownhoops.com (1/24/10)

Senior Elijah Chislohm scored 8 pts (12 for the game) in the third quarter and Junior Jeff Amazan had 10 points in the last four minutes to lead East Boston over New Mission 68- 66 in a battle of city powers.

The first half was a low scoring affair with both teams feeling each other out and applying different defensive schemes.  New Mission forward Samir McDaniels had 9 points in the two quarters to give the Titans a slim 26-23 lead.

The second half was a different story as both teams increased their defensive pressure, most notably East Boston.  Down 36-29 with 2:43 left in the third, the Jets went on a 13-2 run to end the period.  New Mission turned the ball over in the press on five straight possessions and after Sophomore Dimitry Coronel’s corner three the Jets had a four point lead 42-38.

“We have been lacking aggressiveness the last couple of games and I just let them know that we’re going to be sticking with this press.  They finally decided to buy into it because we had to do something to get the intensity going,” said East Boston Head Coach Malcolm Smith.

“The third quarter just came down to who wanted it more and we came out an pressured the basketball, it was a complete team effort and we just left it all out there,” said Chislohm.

East Boston extended their lead early in the 4th on Coronel’s steal and dunk and it looked and felt like the Jets were going to pull away.  After Junior Jeff Amazan hit a three with 4:20 left, Eastie had a five point lead 57-52, but New Mission would battle back.  The Titans rallied to tie the game at 60 with 1:48 left and that is when Amazan took over.  Regarded as one of the top players in the city, Amazan struggled all game only scoring one point going into the fourth.

He was fouled on a three point attempt and made all three free-throws.  After a New Mission miss, Amazan hit another three from the corner and just like that East Boston led 66-60 with  28 seconds left in the game.

“I just kept my confidence up and kept going and kept shooting,” said Amazan.

New Mission was led in scoring by McDaniels and Kachi Nzerem who both had 17 points.  The loss is New Mission’s first of the year, but Head Coach Cory McCarthy is confident about the rest of the season.

“Are execution wasn’t very good down the stretch, but once we get our execution down we will be New Mission again.  We’ll learn from this.  At this point, the loss actually benefits us more than the win does.  Once we get towards the end of the season, we’ll be way better off than we are today.  I guarantee you that New Mission will be there at the end,” said Coach McCarthy.

Notes: The game was part of the Public v. Catholic Roundball Classic.  In the first game, Madison Park defeated St. Raphael Academy (RI) 66-35.  In the final game Winthrop beat Cathedral, 52-50…..Elijah Chislohm was named the game’s MVP…..New Mission starting point guard Osmel Odena missed the game due to personal matters……The game was held at Emmanuel College…..For more on Boston City athletics check out BPSsports.com.

Scoring:
New Mission:  McDaniels 17, Davis 6, Morgan-Thames 2, Drame 8, Gunter 2, Basile 5, Nzerem 17, Banks 9
East Boston:  Flakes 11, Winn 2, Lewis 6, Green 5, Amazan 11, Chislohm 12, Williams 4, Coronel 13, Ornella 4

Scoring by quarters:
New Mission:    8   18  12  28 = 66
East Boston:    10  13  19  26 = 68

Rebounds:
New Mission:  21
East Boston:    24
Turnovers:
New Mission:  28
East Boston:    27

3 pt. Shooting:
New Mission:  7/16  .437
East Boston:   4/12  .333
Free-throws:
New Mission: 12/22 .545
East Boston: 14/33   .424