BOYS BASKETBALL
Mission accomlished.
The Peabody boys basketball team completed its turnaround by coming back from the brink of elimination with a state tournament clinching 67-56 win over Revere last night.
The Tanners won three straight games to improve to 10-10 and reach the Division 1 North tournament for the first time since 2007.
"I knew going into the season that we had the talent to get into the tournament, but we just had to play together as a team and get better each and every game. We definitely had some tough games — we lost three games right at the buzzer — and we were kind of learning on the fly," first-year Peabody coach Thad Broughton said. "But as the season progressed we started to see the improvement. I think that has been one of the reasons we've been able to make it. The guys have played together and we became a real solid unit."
Mike Gould had a huge game for the Tanners with 25 points, four rebounds, four assists, four steals and four blocks. Steve Girolamo added 14 points and nine assists.
Cam Forgitano and Migueal Andino played well for Peabody and Jason Hiou stood out despite playing with an illness.
Danvers 60, Gloucester 32: The Falcons went on a 20-5 run in the second quarter to take control of the Fishermen. Danvers' victory coupled with Winthrop's loss to Saugus gives the Falcons a share of the NEC South title. Junior Nick Bates scored 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead Danvers (15-3, 13-3 NEC). George Merry pitched in 13 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks, while Jon Amico added nine points and five steals.
Hamilton-Wenham 70, Ipswich 54: The Generals clinched the outright Cape Ann Leauge Division 2 title with the win. Ryan Beckett turned in a phenomenal all-around game with 13 points and 14 rebounds, while Ryan Willis (18 points) and Jake Lindland (14) shot the ball well for H-W, which finished the season 12-6. Stephen Tam added four poitns, seven assists and four steals.
Ipswich (5-13) got 15 points from Erik Fyrer and 10 points from Brenden Gallagher.
Georgetown 73, North Shore Tech/Aggie 51: The Bulldogs (6-12) had a tough time with Georgetown's size, though Jordan Mendez scored 19 points and Trace Schajbe scored 13 including 10 from the line in an aggressive effort.
Marblehead 62, Swampscott 60: The Big Blue missed a three at the buzzer as the Magicians (9-9) held on. Marbelehead, now 7-1 in its last eight, got balanced scoring with Brian Gellert scoring 14 and Kyle Forsgard, Phil Coughlin and Jeff Peras all scoring 12.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
gLOUCESTER 49, dANVERS 24: The Fishermen toppled Danvers, which honored seniors Katie McKenna and Nicole Stone before the game.
Peabody 63, Revere 50: Taylor Provost came up just two points shy of matching her age on her 18th birthday, but her 16-point effort was good enough to help the Tanners to victory. Sophomore center Carolyn Scacchi produced 14 points and 19 rebounds, while Alex Lomasney pitched in nine points and 10 rebounds for Peabody (7-11).
Salem 55, Beverly 34: The Witches converted an aggressive offensive game plan into a tournament-clinching win. Rachael Zipper (14 points), Alix Bryant (11), Holbrooke Phelan (11) and Jaclyn Panneton (11) each hit double figures for Salem (10-9).
BOYS TRACK
Danvers' Manson Wins Shot: Falcons junior Joe Manson won the shot put in the Division 3 Eastern Mass state meet held at the Reggie Lewis Center. Manson's first place throw of 51-11 demolished his previous school record (51-3) which he set earlier this winter. Freshman John Thomas placed fifth in the 55 meter dash (6.84).
Swamspcott's Hale wins 2-mile: Swampscott's Peter Hale won the Division 3 Eastern Mass. 2-mile title with a time of 9:38 at the Reggie Lewis Center. The Big Blue senior outleaned another runner at the finish line to grab the gold.
SKIING
mARBLEHEAD GIRLS WIN MBSLE: With six skiiers in the top 25, Marblehead won a slalom race at Blue Hills. Leah Harris, Syndey Andrews, Maggie Corbett, Audrey Meakin, Alex Maulden and Lauren Rogers all advanced to Feb. 28's state meet while boys skiiers Kyle Maulden, Charlie Thompson and Jason Harris did as well.
