Published in the January 21, 2016 edition
SENIOR CENTER Jess Lezon reaches over the opposition to grab this rebound for the Hornets. (Bob Turosz Photo)
By DAN NUNN
NORTH READING — With their victory over the Georgetown Royals on Monday afternoon the Hornets boys basketball team remained undefeated at 10-0 and qualified for the state tournament.
Trample Tigers 62-36
Eleven Hornets scored en route to their 62-36 dismantling of the Ipswich Tigers on January 12. Junior Mike McCauley was the leading scorer with 15 points.
McCauley scored North Reading’s first five points and they opened up a 12-4 lead midway through the opening quarter. But poor execution on the offensive end allowed the Tigers to cut the lead to 18-14 after one.
The Hornet offense erupted in the second and third quarters. They shredded the Ipswich defense outscoring the Tigers 32-12 and took a huge 50-26 lead into the fourth quarter. Coach Casey emptied the bench in the final quarter. The lead ballooned to 62-31 and North Reading went on to the easy victory.
Dominate Manchester-Essex 62-43
Twelve Hornets scored as North Reading earned their second straight blowout victory defeating the Manchester-Essex Hornets 62-43 on Friday night. Senior captain Justin Dorosh was the high scorer with 16 points and senior David Smith added 11 off the bench.
Manchester-Essex took a quick 2-0 lead. But that was the last lead they would have as North Reading would go on a wild run the rest of the first half. The Hornets outscored Manchester-Essex 34-8 and took a 34-10 halftime lead.
The rout continued in second half with all 15 players on the roster getting playing time. By the start of the fourth quarter the lead had exploded to 54-19. All Manchester-Essex could do in the fourth was cut the final score to 62-43.
Rout Royals 88-48
Senior Adam Goldstein’s 25 point and 9 rebound performance propelled the Hornets to their 88-48 rout of the Georgetown Royals on Monday afternoon. Mike McCauley had another good game with 11 points.
North Reading got off to a slow start. They were sloppy on both ends of the floor and found themselves down 18-16 after the first quarter. But the Hornets turned things around in the second quarter. Their improved defense fueled the offense. North Reading outscored Georgetown 24-8 in the quarter and took a 40-26 lead into the half.
The Hornets put the game away in the third. They opened the quarter on a 16-4 run and were ahead 56-30 at the 3:16 mark. By the end of the quarter the lead was 64-38. In the fourth quarter the bench continued to increase the lead and the final tally was 88-48.
