Nearly halfway through the 2021-22 basketball season, the Revere High School boys’ and girls’ basketball teams are both looking like postseason tournament participants. As of early this week, the Patriot girls had amassed seven wins in 11 games, and the boys were 5-3 after pulling off an impressive road victory over the Lynn Classical Rams on Tuesday night.
In the boys’ win at Classical, Revere fell behind by an 11-3 margin with about two minutes remaining in the first quarter. But the Patriots got it turned around when they decided to take measures to slow the tempo of the game. The move paid off, as the Patriots were able to right the ship and eventually come away with a close 48-45 triumph.
Revere has proven to be a strong defensive team so far this season, holding opponents to an average of less than 60 points a game. Low-scoring contests seem to be a strong suit for the Patriots, and that was evidenced on Tuesday. After Classical’s 11-3 up-tempo start, Revere would go on to allow the Rams just 34 points over the final three-plus periods.
Defensively, the Patriots went to a 2-3 zone and that caused problems for the Rams, who struggled with their perimeter shooting. Meanwhile, Revere got some effective outside shooting from Domenic Boudreau, who nailed four three-pointers and finished with 20 points overall. Revere owned a 39-32 lead heading into the final quarter before the Rams fought back with an 8-0 run to take a one-point lead. Boudreau came up big with a three to regain the advantage, and the Patriots were able to hold on from there. A basket by Boudreau with 25 seconds to go clinched the victory. Along with the excellent defensive team effort, the Patriots got a nine-point performance from Ramadan Barry and eight points from Hamza Ghoul.
Revere played at Lynn English on Thursday (after press deadline) and travel to TD Garden in Boston to play Hamilton-Wenham on Sunday afternoon (scheduled 2:30 p.m. tip).
Girls knock off Classical for seventh win
Coming off a 32-14 win over Somerville last Thursday (ending a span of five games in eight days), the Revere girls resumed the season on Tuesday at home and didn’t lose a beat against the Lynn Classical Rams. Thirteen points from Carolina Bettero led the Patriots over the Rams by a 45-36 count.
Bettero canned 25 in a 44-42 loss to Winthrop two weeks ago, scoring more than half the team’s points. But the Patriots had a more balanced attack against Classical. Elaysia Lung netted 12 points and Belma Velic collected nine points and nine boards, missing a double-double by a single digit in each category.
Tuesday’s victory was a statement win for Revere, which improved to 7-4 overall, as the visiting Rams were 9-2 entering the game. The Patriots played Lynn English at home on Thursday (after press deadline) and are scheduled to host Chelsea on Saturday afternoon, but the forecast for a possible snowstorm Saturday could force a postponement.