Revere boys’ basketball team falls late to Chelsea

By Dom Nicastro

Revere fell to 1-3 after losing a Greater Boston League barnburner, 51-50, at home against Chelsea last week. The longtime GBL rivals drew a large crowd and each got off to slow starts.

Revere senior co-captain Luke Ellis (five points, six rebounds) got the offense going with a three-pointer from the top. Senior co-captain Andrew Leone (five points, seven rebounds) had a strong drive to the basket and, despite the aggressive, physical Red Devils defense on junior guard Ethan Day (18 points, eight rebounds), Day got to the basket twice, and the Patriots had a slight 9-7 lead to end the first quarter.

The second quarter was back and forth. Revere junior guard Josh Mercado (nine points, three steals) hit two jump shots. Day got to the basket and made two tough floaters in the lane, and sophomore forward Sean Burnett (nine points, four rebounds) made a fast break layup and a pull-up jump shot.

But the Chelsea pressure defense was the story in the first half. The Red Devils caused Revere to have 15 turnovers, and the visitors took a 23-21 lead into halftime.

“I knew we were going to have a tough time against a very aggressive Chelsea defense, and they really controlled the second quarter,” Revere coach David Leary said. “We needed to get the ball inside, but we could never get it there.”

The third quarter started off with the same trend as the second quarter, as Chelsea created four straight turnovers, scoring on all of them, and led, 31-21, just two minutes into the frame. Leary called timeout and tried to settle down his young Patriots, but the Red Devils scored again to go up by 12.

Revere found its rhythm. Day got to the basket and scored, was fouled and made the free throw. Burnett then made a very athletic catch and finish on the fast break and hit a jump shot at the top of the key. Day then made two more tough shots in the lane, and Revere cut the Chelsea led to 40-35 to end the third.

Revere junior forward Erick Mayorga (five points, four rebounds) made two nice baskets in the paint to start the fourth quarter. Day then got to the basket, and Leone sank a three-pointer from the wing to give Revere its first lead since the first quarter. Revere’s defense was really tough during that stretch, and after a Mercado corner jump shot the Patriots turned a five-point deficit to a five-point lead.

Chelsea Junior Guard Edwin DeJesus then got hot making a nice layup and two three-pointers to put the Red Devils ahead, 48-45, with 1:48 remaining in the game.

The next sequence was very intense: After a missed shot Leone fought for an offensive rebound, dove on the loose ball and tipped it to Mayorga up top. The junior forward then swung the ball to the corner to Mercado, who calmly sank the game-tying three-pointer with 1:08 to go.

The Patriots’ defense caused a turnover and the Patriots brought the ball up the court to take the lead. Revere moved the ball around, and with the shot clock winding down it got into the hands of Ellis. The senior forward banked in a Jack Sikma-like fadeaway shot to put the Patriots up, 50-48, with 33 seconds remaining. Chelsea pushed the ball up and a Revere player blocked a shot out of bounds under the Red Devils’ hoop with 14 seconds to go.

Revere called its last timeout to set the defense up. Chelsea got the ball in and swung it up to senior point guard Brauli Quezada, and he drained a deep three-pointer to go ahead 51-50. Revere pushed the ball up but Day’s desperation shot at the buzzer came up short.

The loss puts Revere at 1-3 now early in the season.

“Well, that was an excellent atmosphere for a high school game, but it always is when we play each other,” Leary said. “We did not take care of the basketball; 24 turnovers will not lead us to many wins. We just have to be better. We will work on it, but I was proud that the kids did not quit and fought back. We almost stole that one.”

Revere is hosting a Holiday Tournament that started Wednesday, Dec. 27, in Lynnfield and continues the next night. The Patriots go to Malden on Wednesday, Jan. 3 (6 p.m.).

Revere girls’ basketball team easily handles Chelsea

Revere went into lockdown mode on defense and took care of Greater Boston League rival Chelsea, 52-16, on the road. Eight different players contributed on offense with at least two points. Shayna Smith led the way with 13 points.

“Overall, it was a solid defensive game holding them to under 20,” Revere coach Ariana Rivera said.