CODY CANNALONGA reached the 1,000 point club at the TD Garden on Saturday night, joining Hornet Hall-of-Famers Dick Hassinger (’66) and John Murphy (’03). (NRHS Athletics Photo)
Cannalonga becomes 3rd Hornet to reach 1,000 points
BOSTON — February 5, 2022 was a special day in NRHS boys’ basketball history. The Hornets got the opportunity to play Amesbury at the TD Garden in the Andrew James Lawson Foundation Invitational.
In addition to a 68-55 victory on the parquet, North Reading celebrated senior Cody Cannalonga, who became just the third player in program history to reach 1,000 career points, joining Dick Hassinger (’66) and John Murphy (’03), both Hornet Hall of Famers.
Cannalonga needed 14 points to reach the milestone, which he hit in the first half on his way to a game-high 28 points in the game. He got number 1,000 from the free throw line.
“Hollywood couldn’t have scripted this any better,” said head coach Joe Casey. “What a great night for Cody and our program. We picked the perfect time to play our best game of the season. I’m so happy for Cody and his family. He has put in a ton of work over the years. He works extremely hard and I have been fortunate to have had him in the program for four years.
“This is a very big deal and to do it at the Garden is something that was almost surreal. Couldn’t have happened to a better kid.”
Fellow senior captain Quinn Riesenberg had the best game of his career according to Casey, scoring 18 points.
Riesenberg had 8 points in the opening frame with two 3’s and a nice inside move. The fast-paced first included a 13-5 lead for North Reading but Amesbury closed to within one with five seconds left. A halfcourt buzzer beater by junior Logan Scribner went off the backboard and in, giving the Hornets a 21-17 lead after one and sending a large Hornet crowd into a frenzy.
The story of the second quarter was a stingy Hornet defense that limited Amesbury to just 8 points. Behind a triangle and 2 defense anchored by juniors Andrew Boulas, Scribner and Alex Carucci, Amesbury struggled to get into any sort of rhythm.
Cannalonga took care of things on the offensive end, scoring 12 points in the quarter including the two foul shots with 1 second remaining in the half to put him into the 1,000 club. He was honored at half court by the Garden PA announcer before the start of the second half to thundering applause by the crowd.
Up 36-25 to start the 3rd, Riesenberg added 6, Cannalonga 5 and junior Craig Rubino had two hoops inside to keep Amesbury at bay with a 51-37 lead after three.
Rubino, along with senior captain John Jennings and junior Sam Morelli, dominated Amesbury on the glass despite being outsized.
“I told Cody and the team afterwards, we are not done yet,” said Casey as the Hornets looked to build off this historic night. “We have a monster last stretch of games and our goal is qualify for the Div. 2 state tournament.”
The Hornets fell to Georgetown on Feb. 1 but beat Lynnfield on Feb. 3.
Cannalonga had 24 points against the Pioneers and Riesenberg had 11. Cannalonga had 11 in the first quarter and NR’s full court pressure was terrific as they led 18-10 at the end of one. That lead was 32-22 at the half.
The Hornets exploded in the 4th, outscoring Lynnfield 26-6 in the frame. Most of the points came off of a ferocious press that was propelled by Riesenberg who had 8 in the quarter. The Hornets caused 25 Lynnfield turnovers in the game.
After their Amesbury win, NR went on to beat Ipswich 68-62 on Monday and Pentucket 61-58 on Tuesday to create a four-game winning streak. Full recaps of those two games will appear next week.
North Reading (9-6) can punch their tourney ticket with one more win. They travel to meet Triton on Friday night at 7 p.m.