Saugus boys top Vikings, lose in overtime at Lynn Tech

So far through three games, the Saugus High School boys’ basketball team is looking like a postseason-caliber squad. The Sachems looked strong by beating the Winthrop Vikings in their home opener last Friday and just fell short in an overtime loss on the road to a very good Lynn Tech team on Monday.

In last Friday’s 65-55 win over the Vikings, the Sachems found themselves trailing 17-15 after one quarter but they proceeded to get things rolling in the second quarter. Saugus outscored the visitors 21-9 in period two – helped along by three-pointers from Chris Flynn and Max Anajjar – to build a 36-26 lead at halftime.

The Sachems added to the double-digit advantage, which reached 17 points by the middle of the fourth quarter. Winthrop made one last push to get back in the contest, closing within nine with just over two minutes left. But the Sachems were able to hang on for the victory.

Senior guard Ben Tapia-Gately finished a team-high 23 points for Saugus while Isaiah Rodriguez finished in double figures with 13. Anajjar and Flynn also hit the double-digit plateau by scoring 11 points each.

On Monday, Saugus got caught up in a back-and-forth battle at Lynn Tech and came within 30 seconds of escaping with a win. But the host Tech squad hit two clutch free throws in the final seconds of overtime to emerge victorious, 62-61.

The Sachems trailed by eight points after the first quarter before fighting back to take a 25-24 lead at the half. From there, it was a nip-and-tuck affair with neither team able to pull away, as the contest eventually went to an OT session.

“Every time we got a five or six point lead in the second half Lynn Tech kept battling back and found a way back in it,” Saugus head coach Joe Bertrand said after the game. “We just didn’t make timely shots and that was the difference.”

Tapia-Gately netted 18 points to lead the Sachems, who fell to 2-1 on the season. Josh Osawe reached double digits with 15 points and Anajjar collected 11 points. Saugus hosted Lynnfield on Thursday (after press deadline) and will take part in the David Green Memorial Holiday tournament at Winthrop on Dec. 28-29.