Patriot boys finish strong, make postseason

Having its full complement of players after suffering through some injuries to key players midway through the campaign, the Revere High School boys’ basketball team was able to regroup to win five of its last six games and earn a spot in the state Div. II playoff tournament. The Patriots finished 10-10 overall on the season. They, at one point, stood at 5-9 and a postseason berth looked remote at best. Revere will discover its tournament seeding and opening round opponent later this week.

In the regular-season finale on Tuesday at home against Hamilton-Wenham, the Patriots rolled to a convincing 57-34 triumph with a playoff bid on the line. Afterward, Head Coach David Leary said he was “so proud” of his team for sticking together after dropping four games below .500 with six games left in the 2022-23 season. As it turns out, Revere will get to play at least one more contest this winter. Against H-W, senior captain Domenic Boudreau continued his offensive onslaught by draining 23 points, followed by 11 from Vincent Nichols. Boudreau also pulled off a double-double by grabbing 14 rebounds.

Win number nine came at the expense of neighboring Everett last Wednesday. Once again, Boudreau was the leader with 28 points, seven rebounds and six blocked shots in a 56-49 victory. Alejandro Hincapie collected 15 points and had three steals, while Nichols chipped in with eight points and seven boards.

In between the two big wins was a tough 69-53 defeat against a very good Peabody squad on the road last Friday night. The game started off promisingly for the Patriots, who raced out to an early 7-2 advantage and led 16-15 after one quarter. However, with the aid of a 17-6 surge by the hosts, Revere trailed 37-29 at halftime.

Peabody would outscore the Patriots 21-11 in the third period to pretty much put the game away. Ethan Day finished with a team-high 13 points and senior captain Sal DeAngelis added 11. Vinny Vu also scored 11 points, and Day collected six rebounds.