Everett bounces back from the English heartbreaker to beat Somerville to secure ninth win

Currently ranked 36^th in Division 1, boys basketball looks to improve its seed for the postseason

By Joe McConnell

The Everett High School boys basketball team (8-2 in the Greater Boston League, 9-4 overall) had just one game this past week, and that was a 52-47 triumph over visiting Somerville last Thursday night (Jan. 25). They finally suited up for another game last night (Feb. 1) against Revere after press deadline.

The win over Somerville followed a heartbreaking 75-73 loss to Lynn English, and first-year head coach Gerard Boyce was just happy to get his players back into a game.

“It was good to get back on the court after a heart-wrenching game we gave away to Lynn English,” Boyce said.

Boyce credits his team’s resiliency, especially in the second half for the win over the Highlanders.

Allsin Desruisseaux paced the offensive attack in the Somerville game with 15 points. Jaysaun Coggins was next in line with 13 points. Tyson Chhun chipped in with 10. Liam Dorosario had seven.

Before the aforementioned Revere game last night, Boyce had his team working on various plays in practice to become a more efficient, consistent well-oiled machine.

“During the week off, we tightened some bolts in our overall game,” said Boyce.

The Tide lost to the Patriots, 44-41 back on Jan. 5, and as a result of that defeat they were looking for avenge. Boyce praised his Revere coaching counterpart, Dave Leary, and he knows games against the Patriots are always close encounters. “(Leary) is a sound coach, who does a wonderful job with his program every year,” Boyce said.

The Everett boys will be on the road at Somerville (Feb. 6, 7 p.m.) and Medford (Feb. 8, 6 p.m.) next week. They are ranked 36^th in Division 1, as of Jan. 30. The Top 32 clubs automatically qualify for the state tournament, with everybody else with a winning record participating in a play-in game to begin the postseason. Counting last night’s encounter against Revere, they still have five more games left on the regular season schedule to improve on their current seeding.