UPDATE: Hornet boys’ hoop drops next three after capturing Winthrop Holiday Tournament Championship

 

 

 

After press time:
North Reading falls to Pentucket 54-42 (Jan. 13)
North Reading falls to Georgetown 73-50 (Jan. 10)

 

Berry named Tournament MVP, Griffin earns All-Tourney nod

WINTHROP — The North Reading High boys’ basketball team overcame two double digit deficits on their way to two victories and a championship trophy in the 4th annual Daniel Green Holiday Tournament held at Winthrop High on Dec. 27 and Dec. 28.

The Hornets trailed by 10 in the 4th quarter against Winthrop in the first round but exploded in the final six minutes, outscoring the Vikings 20-6 on their way to a 57-53 win.

In the championship game against Arlington Catholic, the Hornets were down a bucket to start the 4th and again reached another level, scoring 24 points in the final quarter to win it 55-50.

Junior captain Jason Berry earned tournament MVP honors after leading all scorers with 17 points against Arlington Catholic. Senior Parker Griffin, NR’s 6th man, earned a spot on the All-Tourney team after scoring 12 points off the bench in the title game.

“Two gutsy efforts from our guys,” said head coach Joe Casey. “We said going into the season that our margin for error is very thin and the last four games have proved that but we are playing good defense and that has allowed us to stay in games as we gain confidence offensively. We are searching for more consistency and I’m hoping these two wins help propel us to better things entering the New Year.”

Casey was referring to two close losses before the Hornets won the Holiday Tournament.

After their season-opening win over Triton, the Hornets fell to Manchester-Essex 43-42 on the road Dec. 20 and then to Greater Lowell Tech 51-44 at home on Dec. 23.

North Reading came close to ending Manchester-Essex’s 35-game CAL winning streak. The local Hornets led throughout, up 22-17 at the half and 34-27 after three, but a North Reading turnover with 15 seconds left resulted in a foul that M-E converted into two free throws and a 1-point lead. North Reading’s last-second shot rolled out.

“We lost our composure down the stretch but our effort was outstanding, they just made more plays than we did. Tough loss, but I was very proud of the effort.”

Berry had 17 points including 5 3-pointers and senior captain Matt Myette had 18.

 

 

The Hornets got into an early hole against Greater Lowell Tech, down 19-6 after the first quarter and ultimately couldn’t overcome 27 turnovers in the game.

“Their full court pressure crushed us and we threw the ball away too many times resulting in easy baskets for them,” said Casey. “Our defense was very good again but we struggled to score when it counted.”

Junior Gavin Wesley scored a game-high 17 points, all coming in the second half.

North Reading and Winthrop were even throughout in the first round of the David Green Tournament with the Hornets leading 20-17 at halftime.

The third quarter belonged to the home Vikings as a 2-3 zone disrupted NR, leading to Winthrop’s 10-point advantage in the 4th.

North Reading’s comeback was started by Griffin and Berry who both had big hoops cutting through the zone to trim the deficit to 6. Myette followed with two triples and a Berry foul shot gave the Hornets the lead with 3 minutes left.

After a Wesley bucket increased the lead to 3, junior Massimo Ranieri made “The hustle play of the year,” according to Casey, diving on a loose ball that resulted in a technical foul to Winthrop after the play. Myette hit the ensuing free throws to essentially seal the game.

Myette led all scorers with 20 including 4 3-pointers while shooting 6-for-6 from the line.

Berry finished with 9 points and Griffin with 8.

 

 

North Reading again struggled offensively out of the gate against Arlington Catholic as the Cougars went up 14-4 after one.

Another strong defensive performance in the 2nd quarter allowed the Hornets to get back into the game as they trailed 21-16 at the half.

“We got balanced efforts from a lot of guys to keep it close,” said Casey.

Senior captain Andrew Taylor and junior Conrad Gerber did a great job defending AC’s bigs despite being undersized.

Berry and Myette led the way as NR found their rhythm in the 3rd.

North Reading’s 4th quarter eruption was sparked by two big 3’s from Griffin to give the locals the lead. Myette scored 5 points in the 4th and Berry helped seal the win with two clutch pull-up jumpers in transition while also going 6-for-6 from the line.

The Hornets fell to 3-4 overall with losses to Lynnfield (58-47) on Jan. 3 and Newburyport (79-35) on Tuesday. Full stories will appear at a later date.

The team will look to get back in the win column this Friday night when they travel to Georgetown for a 7 p.m. tip off against the Royals.