SPRINGFIELD — The No. 39 NRHS boys’ basketball team defeated No. 26 Springfield Science and Technology in a Div. 3 preliminary round game, 53-42 on Feb. 26.
After the long commute to Springfield, NR had a quick turnaround to face No. 7 Salem on the road Friday night and came up short in a first round matchup, 58-34.
North Reading’s win over Springfield Science was made even more impressive by the fact that they were without senior All-Star Parker Griffin who tore his ACL in the final game of the regular season, “a huge loss for the team,” according to head coach Joe Casey.
Perhaps playing for their teammate, the Hornets raced out of the gates early, dominating the first quarter and taking a 10-3 lead into the second.
Conrad Gerber got the team started with a pretty put-back, Matt Myette hit 2 3-pointers and Gavin Wesley hit a layup to put the Green and Gold up 10-0 to start.
A terrific zone defense kept Sci-Tech struggling from the field as the Hornets maintained their lead but struggled to score in the 2nd quarter.
“Every time the lead shrank we answered,” said Casey.
Cole Bakr provided a spark off the bench with two inside hoops and a Myette 3 at the end of the half made it 24-11.
The Hornets couldn’t full shake the Cyber Hawks in the second half though they maintained a double digit lead.
The defensive effort was led by Andrew Taylor who took a school record four charges in the game.
“I’ve never seen that in any game I’ve ever been associated with,” said Casey. “It was just unreal.”
After leading 38-26 going into the 4th, things tightened up in the final frame with the home team getting it to 46-40 but NR finished strong, doing most of the damage from the foul line as they went 10-for-13 from the stripe in the 4th (12-for-16 in the game). Wesley went 7-for-8 from the line.
“We kept our composure and all of those foul shots we shot in practice paid off and won us the game,” said Casey. “That was one of our better wins in the last five years for the program and one of the bigger upsets in the D3 tourney.”
Myette led all scorers with 15 followed by Wesley with 11 and Jason Berry with 9.
The Hornets were blitzed by Salem early on Friday night as the Witches jumped out to a 13-0 lead.
“We struggled to score and it looked like it might be a long night for us,” said Casey.
Late hoops from Myette made it 16-5 Salem after one.
Salem increased their lead in the second but the Hornets responded thanks to an 11-2 run sparked by Myette, Berry and Wesley, making it 24-18 at halftime.
Myette opened the second half with a 3 in front of the Hornet bench much to the delight of the NR fans as the lead was cut to 24-21.
That was as close as the Hornets would get as Salem went on an 8-0 run.
The lead got to as many as 13 but NR did not go away getting it down to 9 twice in the 3rd before the Witches pulled away with a few late 3’s in the 4th to win the game convincingly 58-34, a final that does not accurately reflect the story of a great Hornet effort.
Myette finished with 13 in last game while Berry added 11.
“This was a great group of kids that played hard and were easy to coach,” said Casey. “Our tournament run is a testament to all of their hard work and was no accident.
“This past week was the icing on the cake to what has been a very successful year.”
The Hornets, who finished at 12-10 overall, will lose six seniors but return plenty of talent next season.