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Illness and a suspension left Greater Lawrence Tech vulnerable at the most inopportune time.

So when the Reggies found a way to finally subdue scrappy Chelsea, coach Dan Habib wasn't about to complain.

Prior to last night's battle for Cape Ann League supremacy, North Andover head coach Mike McVeigh noted containing Wilmington's offense would be vital.

Unfortunately for the Scarlet Knights, the Wildcats erupted for 68 points through three quarters and whipped the visitors, 75-57.

St. John's Prep basketball standout Ryan O'Connell was watching an alumni game in the school's gymnasium two years ago when he noticed a big man displaying an extraordinary shooting touch from outside.

Beau Cassidy knocked home a short baseline jumper to give Pinkerton a 12-10 lead after a quarter.

The junior marksman's next hoop was a 20-foot, 3-point bomb. In between, defending Class L champion Salem High rolled off your text-book 23-0 barrage, covering nearly 11 minutes, including a scoreless second quarter. The Blue Devils weren't tested again, solidifying their spot at the top of the standings (12-0 in Class L) with an impressive, 69-48, romp over the Astros before about 500 fans at the Hackler Gymnasium.

When Salem forward Chris Dunston got into second half foul trouble, Tommy Doyle needed to find a solution.

The Witches are undersized to begin with, but going small against a Lynn Classical team that features a pair of athletic big men in Jarrell Byrd and Tony Johnson just wasn't an option. So Doyle, on a hunch, went with 5-foot-11 widebody Danny Byors, hoping the junior could provide a little rebounding and toughness in the post.

St. Mary's sharpshooter Tyler Grillo drained the second of back-to-back 3-pointers to give his Spartans their first lead of the night, 60-58, with 1:47 left and the Bishop Fenwick bench sighed | they couldn't possibly allow their rivals from Lynn to come from behind and knock them off again, could they?

Thanks to a fourth quarter rally at Triton Regional High School last night, the Newburyport Clippers clinched a tournament berth by out-dueling the Triton Vikings, 55-42.

The contest was a defensive battle throughout, but the Clippers proved to be the better team by hitting jump shots and nailing timely free throws.

Playing against a quality opponent like Georgetown, the host Rockport boys basketball team knew it had to come out hard to stay in the game. The Vikings (2-14) did that in the first half as they led 26-25 at the break but they lost steam in the second half as the Royals (10-6) showed the skill of a team that clinched a tournament spot last night. Georgetown went home with a 66-46 win.

Back on Dec. 11, in its first game of the season, the Manchester Essex boys basketball team lost at non-conference foe Pope John, 79-63.

As if the revenge factor wasn't enough going into the rematch, the Hornets (6-12) were playing with their head coach on their minds since Bill Cahill couldn't make the game due to a concussion suffered on duty as a Gloucester policeman earlier in the day.

The Manchester Essex boys basketball team found out that things could've been different this year, if the Hornets just could've stayed healthy.

Back at full strength for the first time in six games, Manchester Essex routed Triton, 73-55. The win boosted the Hornets record to just 5-12, but nevertheless head coach Bill Cahill is happy to have his whole team back.