JUNIOR ADAM GOLDSTEIN hits this free throw from the charity stripe to narrow the gap with Greater Lawrence, 36 to 31. (Deanna Castro Photo)
By DAN NUNN
Fall at Masco 72-61
NORTH READING — The Hornets were defeated by the Masconomet Chieftains 72-61 in their matchup on January 3. Junior Adam Goldstein had a strong performance with 22 points including three 3-pointers. Junior captain Justin Dorosh was the only other Hornet in double digits with 16 points.
The game was deadlocked at 11 after one. But the Chieftains blitzed North Reading with 25 points in the second quarter to take a 36-24 halftime lead. The Hornets pulled within eight at the end of the third, but were outscored in the fourth and fell 72-61.
Stung by Sachems 78-65
The Hornets’ record sank to 3-5 after their 78-65 road defeat against the Pentucket Sachems on January 6. Senior Gerard Walsh had his best game of the season, scoring a team high 13 points. Goldstein added 12 points and Dorosh had 11.
It was a high scoring and even first quarter. At the end of the first the game was tied at 19-19.
The Sachems couldn’t be contained in the second quarter though, outscoring North Reading 23-12. The Sachems took a 42-31 halftime lead.
Pentucket stayed hot the second half and cruised to the 13-point victory.
Dorosh gives Hornets much needed victory
Justin Dorosh’s bucket with 26 seconds left propelled the Hornets past the Manchester-Essex Hornets 70-69 on Friday night. Dorosh was the leading scorer with 12 points.
The Hornets struggled defensively in the first half. In the first quarter their offense kept them in the game and North Reading was only down 23-18 after one.
Manchester-Essex expanded the lead in the second quarter. By the 4:53 mark the lead had ballooned to 33-22. With under a second remaining in the half and the Hornets down by 10, junior Billy Brandano was fouled taking a desperation three. He hit two out of three free throws to cut the lead to 44-36 at the half.
North Reading executed much better on both ends of the floor and stormed back in the third quarter. The Hornets opened the quarter on a 15-6 run and a three by junior Shane Bartlett gave them a 51-50 lead. North Reading took a 56-54 lead into the fourth.
Early in the fourth the lead expanded to 63-58. But Manchester-Essex responded with six quick points and re-took the lead 64-63 at 4:59.
It was back and forth the rest of way and with under 30 seconds left the Hornets were down 69-68. But Dorosh hit a clutch runner to give North Reading a 70-69 lead. Manchester-Essex had four chances in the waning seconds but somehow the Hornets survived and escaped with the one-point win, improving their overall record to 4-5 and their league record to 2-4.
Upcoming games
The Hornets hosted the Royals of Georgetown Tuesday night after press time. On Friday, they travel to Rockport for a 6:30 p.m. tip off and they’ll play a 1 p.m. game on Martin Luther King Day at Amesbury on Monday, Jan. 19.
