UPDATE: Boys’ hoop defeats Essex Tech after two game split

ANDREW TAYLOR played lockdown defense for the Hornets during their 67-55 victory over Pentucket at home on Friday night. (Eric Evans Photo)

After press time: North Reading defeats Essex Tech 67-40 (Jan. 19)
North Reading falls to Hanilton-Wenham 60-49
North Reading defeats Pioneer 54-47 (Jan. 26)
North Reading defeats Triton 53-40 (Jan. 27)
North Reading falls to Ipswich 69-45 (Jan. 29)

Published January 18, 2024

NORTH READING — The North Reading High boys’ basketball team won their second game of the season on Friday night with a 67-55 home victory over Pentucket. 

The Hornets came out strong in the first quarter, starting with two foul shots from Jason Berry for a technical administered to Pentucket in the warm up lines and the Hornets never relinquished the lead from there. 

Berry made his presence felt early scoring 10 of his game-high 23 points in the 1^st as the Hornets raced out to a 16-10 lead.

The 2^nd quarter was a back-and-forth affair with Berry connecting on his third triple of the game and senior forward Eli Nikolopoulos adding 4 points but the margin was close as the home team led 28-26 at halftime.

North Reading erupted for their best offensive quarter of the year in the 3^rd as they dropped 22 points as Berry was joined by junior Matt Myette who had 9 of his 18 points in the 3^rd as the Hornet lead ballooned to double figures.

North Reading couldn’t fully put away Pentucket in the 4^th as the Panthers hung around until Berry’s runner in the lane put the lead back to 12 with just over a minute left to seal it.

Coach Joe Casey was quick to praise the efforts of junior Andrew Taylor who kept Pentucket’s best player under wraps the whole way with a tremendous defensive effort. 

“Andrew does a lot of things that don’t necessarily show up in the box score but deserves to be recognized,” said Casey. “It was nice to see us shoot the ball well. We have been struggling for most of the year with our shooting percentage. We shot close to 50 percent from the floor. Most games we have been shooting in the low 30 percent range.”

The Hornets also connected on a season-best 10 3-pointers in the win.

North Reading made the long trek to Amesbury on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The Hornets got off to a great start, going up 8-1 as they broke Amesbury’s full court pressure with three buckets from junior Parker Griffin who finished with 10 points. 

Myette scored 10 of his team-high 12 points in the 1^st but an early 14-6 advantage turned into a 19-14 deficit for the visitors as Amesbury went on a 12-0 run to close the 1^st up 19-17 after Berry (10 pts) hit a late 3 for North Reading. 

Both teams struggled offensively in the 2^nd quarter and it was tied 23-23 at the break. 

The third belonged to Amesbury who put up 19 in the quarter while the Hornets continued to struggle from the field as the home team led by 12 going into the 4^th in a game they would go on to win by a final score of 56-43. 

The 2-7 Hornets will travel to 0-9 Essex Tech on Friday night at 6:30 p.m.