After press time:
North Reading falls to Lynnfield 59-40 (Jan. 31)
North Reading defeats Ipswich 58-41 (Jan. 29)
BYFIELD — The NRHS boys’ basketball team traveled to Triton High on Friday night, seeking an important victory. The road Hornets found that win with a convincing 62-45 decision, improving to 6-7 on the season.
North Reading was ranked No. 56 in the latest Div. 3 power rankings but they can atomically qualify with a .500 record, which made this a critical win over the Vikings.
The Hornets, who have won three of their last four, need four more wins to qualify for the postseason. Five of their final seven games will be at home.
Triton also entered the game needing a win but fell to 6-8 after the loss. The Vikings are now ranked No. 58 in D3.
North Reading came ready to play from the jump, taking control with a suffocating full court, man-to-man press that created five turnovers leading to easy hoops in the early-going.
Propelled by juniors Jason Berry (7 1st quarter pts) and Gavin Wesley (5) the visitors raced out to a 19-11 lead after one.
The Hornets cooled off in the 2nd quarter but the defense helped maintain a double digit lead as they took a 29-17 advantage into halftime.
The 3rd quarter ended up being a track meet as the game was played at a feverish pace. Both teams erupted offensively as the Hornet lead ballooned to 18 with Berry, Wesley and Conrad Gerber hitting key buckets.
Even still, the Hornets only maintained a 9-point lead going into the 4th as the Vikings stayed within striking distance.
“We couldn’t shake them,” said head coach Joe Casey. “Every time we were on the verge of breaking the game open, Triton would close the gap.”
The Hornets once again turned to their defense to shut down the Vikings in the 4th, limiting the home team to just 6 points in the frame as NR got some big hoops from Gerber, Wesley and Berry to win going away.
The defensive effort was led by senior captain Andrew Taylor who played his best game of the year according to Casey.
“He simply dominated the glass for us,” said Casey as the 5’9” Taylor pulled down 12 rebounds. “Nobody plays harder than he does.”
Berry and Wesley led all scorers with 20 points each. Gerber finished with 10.
The Hornets hosted Ipswich (3-9) on Wednesday after press time. They travel to rival Lynnfield (9-4) this Friday night at 7 p.m. before hosting Rockport (5-9) on Monday night at 7 p.m.