After press time:
‘North Reading falls to Newburyport 78-40 (Feb. 7)
NORTH READING — The North Reading boys’ basketball team’s dream of a state tournament appearance stayed alive with an exciting 56-52 victory at home over Rockport on Monday. The Hornets improved to 8-8 with the win.
This victory came after splitting a pair of games last week, a 58-41 win over Ipswich and a 59-40 defeat in Lynnfield.
The Hornets had three players in double figures against the Vikings led by Gavin Wesley (14 pts), Matt Myette (13) and Jason Berry (10).
North Reading got off to a quick start, going up 8-2 behind hot-shooting from Myette who had 8 points in the quarter. Rockport kept pace as both teams traded buckets until the first ended with an 18-17 NR lead.
Both defenses settled in during the 2nd quarter. Midway through, Rockport star Josiah Whitley sank a 3 to resider his 1000th career point, putting the Vikings up 3. Their lead would get as high as 5 before Berry nailed a triple at the buzzer as Rockport clung to a 27-25 lead. The Hornets only managed to score 7 points in the quarter.
The offensive struggles continued in the 3rd with only 9 points in the quarter but Wesley kept NR within range on two nice inside hoops. A late 3 from Parker Griffin had the Hornets down 40-34 going into the 4th.
The Hornet deficit reached 7 in the final quarter before they mounted a comeback.
A full court defense forced Rockport into multiple turnovers, leading to easy hoops for Wesley and Conrad Gerber.
Down a bucket, Myette drained a corner 3 to point the locals up by one with 3 minutes left. That clutch shot was followed by a Berry 3 and Gerber foul shots putting NR up 7 with two minutes left.
Things got crazy in the last 2 minutes as a pair of missed NR free throws and two 3-pointers by Rockport cut the lead to one.
A Hornet turnover gave the ball back to Rockport with 11 seconds left with NR up 54-52.
Senior captain Andrew Taylor made the play of the game, intercepting a Viking pass to seal the victory as Rockport was forced to foul Berry who calmly sunk two foul shots to seal the comeback victory.
“It was a gutsy effort in the 4th quarter,” said head coach Joe Casey. “The kids stuck with it when we were struggling offensively. I’m proud of them for finding a way to win. Our defense once again saved us.”
North Reading needs two wins in their final four games to automatically qualify for the Div. 3 state tournament. They host Newburyport (15-1) on Thursday at 7 p.m. and Pentucket (4-11) on Monday at 7 p.m. The Clippers beat the Hornets 75-39 in the first matchup on Jan. 7 and the Panthers beat NR 54-42 on Jan. 13. The Hornets are 5-2 since that loss while Pentucket is 2-6 during that same stretch.