BRANDANO SCORES. Senior Tri–Captain Shane Bartlett scores on this breakaway to give the Hornets much needed momentum in in their game against Newburport. Right behind Bartlett is senior Derek Hogan. (Deanna Castro Photo)
By DAN NUNN
Sneak past Triton 60-56
BYFIELD — The Hornets boys’ basketball team got a much needed road victory, defeating the Triton Vikings 60-56 in their matchup on Feb. 4.
Senior Derek Hogan was the leading scorer with 18 points and his tally included three 3-pointers. Junior Adam Goldstein chipped in with 12 points while junior captain Justin Dorosh added in 11. Senior Gerard Walsh was the only other player in double digits with 10 points.
North Reading got off to a great start. They outscored the Vikings 18-9 in the first quarter. Triton trimmed the lead in the second quarter, outscoring the Hornets by five. The North Reading lead was just 30-26 at the half.
Triton fought back in the third to overcome that four-point deficit. They outscored the Hornets 15-10 and took a one-point lead into the fourth quarter.
But North Reading didn’t panic and battled back. The Hornets scored 20 points in the final stanza and escaped Viking territory with the 60-56 win.
Crush Notre Dame 78-40
The Hornets climbed back to .500 with a dominant 78-40 win over Notre Dame of Lawrence last Thursday night.
Justin Dorosh led all scorers with 14 points and junior forward Nic O’Connell scored 10. Sophomores Matt McCarthy, Mike McCauley and Jackson Tormey all scored the first varsity points of their careers.
Downed by Unbeaten Generals 81-54
The unbeaten and 13th ranked in the state Hamilton-Wenham Generals pushed the Hornets back under .500 with their dominant 81-54 victory on Friday night. With the loss North Reading falls to 8-9 on the season.
Adam Goldstein led the way with 18 points, nailing five 3-pointers. Derek Hogan poured in 13 points and Justin Dorosh had his 10th straight game in double figures with 10.
The Generals were red hot out of the gate. They blitzed North Reading with 35 points and took a commanding 35-19 lead at the end of the first. The Hornets never really recovered and Hamilton-Wenham cruised to the win. The Generals have won the Cape Ann League Kinney large division championship title with a current record of 13-0 and an overall record of 14-0.
Upcoming games
The Hornets must win two out of their final three games of the season to qualify for the state tourney with a .500 record. Their first opportunity came Wednesday night (after press time) at Ipswich in a game that was originally scheduled on the day of big blizzard on Jan. 27.
The Tigers compete in the CAL Baker small division where they are fourth in the standings out of six teams with a record of 4-8 in the league and 5-10 overall. This game counts toward the league standings and is the only competition between the two teams this season.
North Reading returns home for the final two games of the basketball season. They’ll first face the Masconomet Chieftains tonight (Feb. 12) at 7 p.m. in another make-up game originally slated for this past Tuesday night.
The Chieftains currently enjoy second place in the standings in the CAL Kinney division, behind only the Generals, at 10-3 in the league and 11-4 overall. This game also counts toward the league standings.
The Hornets will play their third consecutive game in their final regular season game on Friday night, Feb. 13 against Pentucket.
The Sachems are currently in third place in the CAL Kinney division with a league record of 9-3 and an overall record of 10-4. The game also counts toward the league standings.
