It was a game that they could have won, but the Marblehead High boys basketball team (11-4) ended up dropping a 70-63 decision to host Masco on Feb. 10. The Magicians led at halftime, 32-28, but in the second half they were outscored, 42-31, to erase their advantage.
“We had a lead throughout most of the game and then went into cruise control,” said coach Mike Giardi. “We had a nine-point lead at one point, but then we let (Masco) gather some momentum, and they got right back into it. We had some costly turnovers the last few minutes of the game and also missed some open shots, and Masco was able to take advantage of it to hit some big shots.”
Nick Lemmond paced the offensive attack against the Chieftains with 20 points. Scott Campbell was next in line with 13. Isaiah Makor and Ryan Commoss scored 10 apiece. Tryone Countrymon netted six. Miles O’Neill chipped in with four.
But the Marblehead boys did not waste much time regaining their winning form, taking their frustrations out on host Gloucester four nights later, 77-58.
“We kept up the pace the entire game and really never let up,” Giardi said. “Ryan Commoss did a great job inside and really made their big man work for points. It was a good bounce-back win for us.”
Commoss poured in 22 points, making 11 of 15 field goals to lead the winning effort. He also had help from four of his teammates, who also managed to get into double figures. Makor accounted for 16, followed by Lemmond with 15, Countrymon 11 and O’Neill 10. Campbell rounded out the winning effort with three points.
The local squad then beat host Swampscott on Feb. 16, 83-64.
Marblehead is the ninth-ranked team in Division 2, according to the latest power rankings on Feb. 17. Malden Catholic (16-2), Mansfield (17-2) and Sharon (14-3) are the top three squads in the division.
Blizzard of wins for boys hockey team
The Marblehead High boys hockey team (12-4-3) picked the right time to get hot with the postseason looming on the horizon.
The hockey Magicians won their first five out of six games in February — 9-1-2 in their last 12 — starting with a 4-3 win over Masco on Feb. 1. They then dropped a 7-3 decision to Winthrop, before topping the likes of Swampscott (6-2), Danvers (6-2), Gloucester (4-1) and non-league Shawsheen (3-2 in overtime).
As of the Current’s press deadline, coach Mark Marfione’s team had two games left on the regular season schedule against Beverly (Feb. 18) and non-league Lowell (Feb. 19). The state tournament pairings are scheduled to come out around Feb. 24.
As of Feb. 17, the Magicians are ranked 10th in Division 2, according to the MIAA (Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association) power rankings. Duxbury (13-4-2), Tewksbury Memorial (16-1-1) and Canton (15-4) are the top three clubs in the division.
Senior Drake Wyman netted the game-winner in sudden-death overtime against Shawsheen to keep the Magicians February victory tour going for another day.
James Caeran and Jacob Aizanman each lit the lamp once to account for the other Marblehead scores. Senior captain Hogan Sedky, Crew Monaco and Wyman were credited with the helpers.
Sophomore goalie Leo Burdge helped secure the win by making 19 saves.
