The Marblehead Magicians boys’ basketball team finished the regular season with a 59-55 loss to the Swampscott Big Blue at Marblehead High School on Feb. 18.
“Our guys played hard,” Michael Giardi, Marblehead’s head coach, said. “It was kind of an uphill battle the whole way, but credit our guys the whole way. They did a great job. They really worked hard, but there’s a couple little things that have to be done better.”
Swampscott’s offense exploded to life off of the opening tip, posting 13 unanswered points to start the game before Marblehead grabbed their first bucket with 3:35 to play in the quarter.
Down 20-7 at the first quarter horn, coach Giardi’s message to his team was simple: “We’ve got to stay positive.”
The words of encouragement had an immediate effect as Blake Golden and Blake Hammond knocked down 3-pointers early in the second period to kick off a 15-4 run that brought the Magicians within four points with just over a minute to play before halftime.
The Big Blue would claw back the momentum, however, sinking four consecutive baskets as the clock wound down to push the halftime lead to 32-22.
Marblehead took advantage of Swampscott’s physicality in the third quarter, drawing eight fouls and knocking down seven free throws. The Magician frontcourt was bolstered by a 10-point third quarter performance by Cam Weaver.
However, the slow accumulation of points for the Magicians would be outshined by a rapid sequence highlighted by a corner 3 by Swampscott’s top scorer, Connor Chiarello as time expired to extend their lead to 13 with eight minutes remaining.
Down, but not out, Marblehead took advantage of a series of errors by Swampscott, breaking serve and storming their way to an 11-4 run capped by a huge Hammond 3-ball to bring the Magicians within two with 32 seconds to play.
Swampscott found their way back to the free throw line again and again throughout the dying seconds of the game, finally breaking the one possession barrier with three seconds left in the game.
Marblehead’s hail mary baseball pass from the baseline was intercepted at the top of the far 3-point arc, sealing a 59-55 win for Swampscott to complete their season sweep.
The Magicians end the regular season with a 13-7 record as the waiting game begins to determine who their first round opponent will be in the MIAA Division II state tournament. All state tourney brackets will be released on Saturday, Feb. 21. As of Feb. 17, Marblehead sits at #20 in the Div. II power rankings.
