SALEM — The last thing Beverly boys basketball senior Zach Zigelbaum probably thought during the three weeks he was out after an appendectomy last month, was that his absence would actually benefit the Panthers.
With Zigelbaum playing in just his third game back, Beverly used a complete, team-effort to dispatch Salem, 60-54, on the road last night as the Panthers improved to 12-7 overall.
The win, combined with Lynn Classical's win over Lynn English, gave the Panthers a share of the NEC North title.
Dom Abate and Ty Suggs exploded in the second half with timely buckets, big rebounds and strong defense as both guys finished with 10 second-half points. Suggs saw a significant bump in minutes when Zigelbaum was out and showed the confidence that playing time has given him.
Abate, who's been a solid contributor all year, was poised all night and even provided the play that all but sealed the game for Beverly.
With Zigelbaum back and his teammates more poised and experienced, Beverly is as dangerous as ever.
Abate drained a fourth-quarter trifecta and on the ensuing defensive possession, picked Salem guard Christian Dunston's pocket and took it the length of the court for a lay up to give the Panthers a six-point lead with just over a minute remaining.
"Abate came out and hit some big shots, made some big plays for us," said Beverly coach Scott Lewis. "It's what we've been looking for him to do. And Suggs played so well down low. He kept balls alive for us down there, he played great."
Settling for jump shots early on, Beverly managed only 23 points in the opening half but started to work the inside-outside game in third quarter. Aven Jones only had one bucket in the second half, but his 13 first-half points on some lights-out shooting kept Beverly from getting it's doors blown off.
Cam Rogers, Abate, Jones and Jonangel Franco all shared the daunting duty of covering Dunston, who had 11 points in the first half. Eventually the eight, fresh legs wore down Dunstun's tired two, and the junior was limited to just two points in the final two quarters.
"We switched out of the zone too and they were able to pull ahead there. They did a nice job of getting easy shots and knocking 'em down. They crashed the offense boards and got offensive put backs and that hurt us," said Salem coach Tommy Doyle, whose Witches dropped to 11-8. "They were more aggressive in the third and fourth quarter than they were in the first half and that was able to put them over the top."
Beverly needed to beat Salem last night and have Lynn Classical beat Lynn English in order to capture a share of the Northeastern Conference North title.
"Tonight was just a great team win," said Beverly coach Scott Lewis. "This was a big game for us (tournament) seeding wise. We (Beverly and Salem) were both tied with seven losses."
Salem senior Nick Walsh was outstanding for the Witches hitting some big, three-pointers to finish with 12 points.
