By DAN NUNN
SOUTH HAMILTON — After starting the season 5-6 the Hornets rattled off nine straight wins to finish the regular season at 14-6. They are the 15 seed in the MIAA Division 3 state tournament and will host a first round game against No. 18 Greater New Bedford Vocational School on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. The winner will play the winner of No. 2 Watertown vs. No. 34 Medway in the Sweet 16.
MIAA DIV. 3 BOYS’ BASKETBALL BRACKET
Hornets Win Patton Tourney
Squeak past Revere 52-45
The Hornets won a tight contest against Revere 52-45 in the opening game of the Patton Tournament held at Hamilton-Wenham. Senior guard Cody Cannalonga was the leading scorer with 18, while Junior Andrew Boulas added 12.
North Reading had a sluggish first half, struggled to generate offense and only had four field goals. But strong defense and shooting 10-16 from the foul line kept them in the game. By halftime they were up 19-14.
Both teams opened up offensively in the third quarter. Cannalonga had two 3-pointers to give the Hornets a little breathing room, but a late Revere push kept the score close. After three, North Reading clung to a 36-29 lead.
A balanced Hornet attack in the fourth pushed the lead to double digits and junior forward Craig Rubino hit a clutch 3 to seal the game.
Crush Arlington Catholic 69-49
The Hornets brought home the Patton Tournament title with their impressive 69-49 victory over Arlington Catholic. Andrew Boulas scored a team-high 17 points and was named to the All-Tournament team.
Cody Cannalonga finished with 13 and took home tournament MVP with 31 points in two games.
Coach Joe Casey was also quick to point out the efforts of junior forward Sam Morelli, who dominated the glass on the defensive end.
“Sam does a lot of the dirty work for us, that often times goes unnoticed. But his efforts in the second half were key to the victory,” said Casey
NRHS ran their triangle and two defense to perfection, keeping the potent AC offense off-kilter for most of the game. Cannalonga came out on fire with 13 of the Hornets 17 points in the opening quarter and the lead was 17-10 after one.
North Reading continued to get nice offensive balance from Cannalonga, Boulas and seniors Quinn Reisenberg, and John Jennings and took a 32-23 lead into halftime.
It was Boulas who had the hot hand as the Hornets continued to build in the third quarter, scoring nine in the period. NRHS exploded in the fourth quarter outscoring AC 18-8 to win the tournament going away.
