SAUGUS – The Boston Herald is reporting today that Joe Luis has been named the new baseball coach at Saugus High School, replacing Steve Freker who was recently named the new coach at Malden High School. Luis graduated from Peabody High School and played college baseball at U-Mass Lowell.
Boys Ice Hockey
Danvers 3 Winthrop 2 – Falcons share NEC title
Swampscott 10 Everett 4
Marblehead 4 Saugus 1
Peabody 7 Beverly 1
Medfield 5 Masconomet 2
BC High 2 St. Mary’s 1
Gloucester 4 LynnJets 1
North Reading 1 Lynnfield 1
Triton 3 Pentucket 1
Newburyport 5 Amesbury 2
Girls Ice Hockey
Peabody 1 Medford 1
Bishop Fenwick 6 Shawsheen 1
Boys Basketball
Lynn Classical 69 Lynn English 46
Gloucester 73 Bishop Fenwick 49
Girls Basketball
Revere 56 Danvers 54
Bishop Fenwick 53 Cardinal Spellman 45
Salem State Men’s Basketball Falls
SALEM — Leonny Burgos (Lawrence, MA) scored 29 points and added five assists as the Falcons of Fitchburg State claimed the top seed in the upcoming Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament with a 96-83 win over Salem State Wednesday night at Twohig Gymnasium. The Falcons moved to 9-2 in the MASCAC while enhancing their regular season record to 14-10. The loss dropped the Vikings to 9-3 in conference and 15-10 on the year.
Before the game Salem State honored seniors Marcus Faison (Cambridge, MA) and Shyheim Davis-Smith (Boston, MA), who were playing in the final regular season home game of their college careers.
Salem State built momentum midway through the first half as they began to connect from long range. Alex Santos (Lawrence, MA) pushed his team to a 12-point margin after knocking down three triples in a three-minute span, as he led Salem State with 10 first half points. As a team, the Vikings’ shot 46% from beyond the arc which allowed them to build a double-digit edge. Rayshaw Matthews (Boston, MA) paced the Vikings’ offense with his great play in transition as he collected four assists to go with seven points. Salem State gained their largest lead of the night, 32-18 when Sean Bryan (Lowell, MA) found Tyreik McCauley (Worcester, MA) from across the court for an easy transition layup with 8:52 remaining.
The Vikings forced 12 Fitchburg State turnovers that were converted into 13 points. However, the Falcons didn’t let up despite the deficit as they continued to pound the ball inside as they pursued the comeback. Joshua Bosworth (Springfield, MA) anchored the Fitchburg State offense with 13 points on 6-7 shooting. Bosworth led the Falcons on a short 7-0 run during the final eight minutes that cut the Salem State lead to just four-points after Burgos knocked down a free throw. Salem State got into foul trouble early which granted the Falcons 12 free points during the half. The two teams were both able to score a basket in the final seconds and the Vikings took a slight 45-41 lead heading into halftime.
Salem State’s bench production declined dramatically in the second half as they mainly stuck with their top six players. The Vikings’ bench tallied 18 points in the first half while it trickled down to only eight in the second half. Fitchburg State dominated in the paint in the second half as they outscored the Vikings’ 30-18. Burgos had a career half for the Falcons, leading the surge with 23 points after only six points in the first half. Burgos used his speed to get past Salem State in transition, which turned into12 fast break points. The Falcons regained a 58-57 lead after a Burgos three with 14:00 minutes remaining.
Santos helped the Vikings get the lead back immediately as he converted on a three-point play with a strong take to the basket. Shaquan Murray (Boston, MA) enhanced the Salem State lead to 64-58 after knocking down two free throws, but Fitchburg State battled back by continuing to take the ball to the basket where they converted 20-22 free throw attempts after halftime. A Burgos layup gave the Falcons an 82-80 lead, a lead they wouldn’t surrender for the remainder of the game. Fitchburg State went on a 12-2 run over the next four minutes that allowed them to secure the 96-83 win.
Burgos led all scorers with 29 points while Bosworth trailed with 19 points. Jaleel Bell (Dorchester, MA) collected a double-double with 17 points and 12 assists. Santos led the way for Salem State with 19 points and five assists while Murray added 18 points in the loss. Marcus Faison (Cambridge, Mass.) went over the 750 rebound mark (758, 6th place all-time) with a nine point, nine rebound effort.
Salem State will play next in the MASCAC Tournament while the Falcons have one more home game against the Rams of Framingham State before the start of playoffs. That game will be held on Feb. 18 at 1:00 p.m.
Salem State Women’s Basketball Wins
SALEM — Saran Kaba’s (Dorchester, MA) layup with 14 seconds left helped Salem State secure a 71-67 victory over Fitchburg State on Senior Night as the Vikings secured the sixth and final playoff seed in next week’s MASCAC post-season tournament. The win improves the Vikings record to 11-14 overall and 3-9 in conference play. The Falcons loss drops them to 9-15 on the season and 1-10 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference.
Kaba’s drive to the basket broke a 67-67 tie, before the junior sealed the win with two free throws with four seconds remaining.
Norma Waggett (Saugus, MA) led the way for the Vikings with 16 points, while Kyra Rose (Rockland, MA) had a game-high 20 points for Fitchburg State. Prior to tip-off senior guard Kaitlyn Bryan (Lowell, MA) was honored for her contributions to the women’s basketball program in her last regular season game.
Salem State’s bench kept the game close early close game as Courtney Paschal (Waltham, MA) led the Vikings with 10 points on 3-5 shooting in the first half. They needed that production as they had a hard time containing Falcon guards Emma Thomson (York, ME) and Rose, who combined for 21 first half points. Michaela McTomney (Bellingham, MA) sparked a small 5-0 run that gave the Falcons a 16-11 advantage after knocking down two consecutive mid-range jumpers with just under three-minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Fitchburg State’s ability to make three-pointers spotted them a 21-13 lead, their largest of the half after Thomson made her third triple of the night. As a unit, the Falcons shot 5-13 from beyond the arc while Thomson went a perfect 3-3. Defensively, the Vikings had a hard time stopping the Falcons, who moved the ball from corner to corner as they tallied seven assists as a team during the first half. However, the Vikings’ were able to cut that deficit to 23-22 after Kia Fernandes (Wareham, MA) made a difficult layup after being fouled.
Moments later, Norma Waggett (Saugus, MA) gave Salem State the lead with a layup in transition that was assisted by Kate Lipka (Peabody, MA). Despite the advantage, the three-point shooting of the Falcons regained the lead at 31-28 after Rose and Allysa Rivera (Chelsea, MA) made two consecutive three’s. However, Courtney Paschal (Waltham, MA) retaliated with a three ball of her own which notched the game at 31-31 before halftime. Paschal provided great energy off the bench with 10 points in the first half.
The back and forth game continued in the second half as both teams gave it their all, with nine lead changes and 12 ties throughout the game. Salem State trailed midway through the fourth quarter 61-57, before going on a 10-3 run started by Waggett with under six minutes left. With the game up for grabs Rose made two free throws after getting fouled to tie the game at 67 before Kaba, on the ensuing inbound possession, went coast-to-coast for the go-ahead layup.
The Vikings received 27 points off the bench from Bryan, Fernandes, and Paschal. Waggett also posted another double-double with 11 rebounds to go along with her 16 points.
Michaela McTomney also finished with a double-double in the loss with 10 points and 17 rebounds.
Fitchburg State wraps up the regular season on Feb. 18 when they host the Rams of Framingham State at 3:00 p.m.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Endicott men’s volleyball team defeated Lesley University, 3-0, by scores of 25-5, 25-5, and 25-7 on Wednesday night in a conference matchup at the Nicholas Athletic Center.
Despite witnessing the contest only reach 51 minutes in duration, Endicott registered new season-highs for kills (41), hitting percentage (.567), assists (tied-35), and service aces (18) in the victory.
Freshman Bryn Lipton (Rockford, Ill.) paced the Gulls with eight kills on 11 swings (.545), while classmate Conner Holland (Derry, N.H.) also highlighted the attack with a career-high six putaways on seven attempts (.857).
Daniel Toth (Glenwood, N.J.), Troy Riorden (Fairport, N.Y.), and Tyler Willgoos (Newington, Conn.) also chipped in with kills apiece.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Gulls did not allow any kills in the first set, and only seven total in the match (3 – set 2; 4 – set 3).
- Lesley only scored eight of its 17 points on its own volition (seven kills, one block solo).
- Devin Racey (Voorheesville, N.Y.) facilitated Endicott’s attack with a 13 assists, all coming in the first set.
- Chad Riorden (Fairport, N.Y.) dished out 10 assists in the second set, and Adam Dake (Victor, N.Y.) rounded out the group of setters with 10 more in the third.
- Amar Patel (Keene, N.H.) collected a career-high digs.
- As a team, the Gulls held Lesley to a -.082 hitting percentage.
FOR THE FOES
- Jason Hulteen (Galena, Ohio) tallied a team-high five kills.
- Steven Newman (Natick, Mass.) had two kills and four digs.
- Karuna Chiemruom (Cranston, R.I.) set up all seven kills for the Lynx.
WHAT’S NEXT
Endicott (7-8, 2-0 NECC) travels to Elms on Saturday, February 25 for a league match at 1 PM. Lesley (0-8, 0-2 NECC) hosts John Jay this Friday at 8 PM.
