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Coach Gerard Boyce’s team begins the state tournament next week after the pairings come out on Saturday
By Joe McConnell
The state tournament begins next week after the pairings are announced on Saturday, Feb. 21, by the MIAA (Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association). But the Everett High School boys basketball team (12-8) still had two road games left on the regular season schedule against Beverly (Feb. 18) and Lynn Classical (Feb. 19) after press deadline. As of Feb. 17, the Crimson Tide is seeded 40th in the Division 1 power rankings. There are 66 teams statewide in this division.
Last week, coach Gerard Boyce’s team picked up a win against visiting Revere (79-41, Feb. 12), before dropping a 72-62 decision to non-league host Newton South the next night.
Despite the lopsided final score, Boyce claims that it was not their best showing this year. “We were not very good on the defensive end throughout a large portion of this game,” he said, “and for us moving forward, we will have to play with much more intensity on that side of the ball (to win against tournament teams).”
But eventually, the Tide regained their defensive presence in the second half, “when it mattered most,” the third-yard Everett coach added. “We finally found that intensity, which allowed us to get the stops we needed to pull away.”
Boyce promises that they will be working on that in practice to make sure that energy is a part of their game for all four quarters in the tournament.
But the Everett coach was more pleased with the effort against Newton South. “We were more competitive in this one until the very end,” he said. “Playing four games in five days, however, finally caught up to us. Despite our tired legs, we still saw some great offensive production from our leaders.”
Samir King Dacosta led the way with 20 points. Jayden Alsaindor was next in line with 15, and Cristian Vasquez was close behind with 14.
“Even though we struggled to find our usual rhythm as one unit, having three players in double figures shows the grit that we have, even when the schedule is grueling,” said Boyce. “We are going to use this hard-fought stretch of games as a learning experience, while also getting some much-needed rest, before going back into the gym to sharpen up our defensive rotations for the tournament.”
Girls snap losing streak with satisfying win over Revere
With two games still left on the regular season schedule against Lynn Classical (Feb. 18) and non-league Worcester North (Feb. 19) after press deadline, the girls basketball team (6-12) has been trying to find its way back to the win column the last two weeks. But against host Revere last Thursday night (Feb. 12), their efforts were awarded with a satisfying 47-31 win.
That win, coming after three straight losses, couldn’t have come at a better time. “This was a great team win,” coach Riley Dunn proclaimed.
Julianna Rivera put on a memorable show with 16 points and eight rebounds. Katerin Landaverde Vazquez was not far behind with 11 points and six boards. Their contributions resulted in more than half of the team’s points.
Ariana Rouse, Casey Martinez and Landaverde Vazquez all had three assists apiece in this team win.
The Everett girls were back at it again the next night against host Lynn Classical. They hung in there for a while until they simply ran out of steam in the closing minutes, and as a result the Rams won by 12, 45-33.
The Tide didn’t have much time to think about that loss, because they were back on the bus on Valentine’s Day for a noontime game against non-league host Haverhill, where they ended up losing, 56-32.
Landaverde Vazquez was credited with a double / double against the Hillies that included 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Junior Kylee Nord and Abigail Falkowski both turned in great minutes off the bench, according to Dunn, while adding, “they both impacted the game immediately, while also taking advantage of every minute that they were on the court.”
Captains Casey Martinez and Nicole Damaceno were relentless on every play in this game that featured a combined total of five steals and 14 rebounds between them, as they continue to lead by example.
The Everett quintet began the final week of the season with a 48-36 loss at home to non-league Gloucester on Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 17.
Damaceno led the way with a double / double against the Lady Fishermen, coming up with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Martinez chipped in with eight points, four assists and two steals, while Ashley Heath and Rosita Pineda Lun contributed some excellent minutes off the bench.
