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Haverhill's athleticism was on display as the Hillies downed Newburyport 69-39 in the Haverhill Coca-Cola Tourney second round last night.

Haverhill will face Timberlane, which beat Pentucket last evening, in the final tomorrow at 6 p.m.

The Manchester Essex boys basketball team can look to one reason why it wasn't able to knock off unbeaten Newburyport last night.

The free throw line.

The Clippers went to the charity stripe 22 times in the fourth quarter and 29 times in the game en route to defeating the Hornets 74-65. Newburyport (4-0) converted 21 of 29 free throw attempts, while Manchester Essex scored just 11 points at the line.

Three years ago, then-Newburyport freshman Richie Burke got his first dose of what could be described as a hostile environment.

Making his first start at Georgetown in front of a large crowd, a very nervous Burke was not playing to the best of his abilities. Taking pleasure in his struggles, the Georgetown fans directed their most vicious cheers at Burke in an attempt to antagonize the rookie.

Newburyport point guard Richie Burke picked the perfect night to turn in one of the best games of his career.

In a typical gritty Amesbury-Newburyport clash, the Clippers slick point guard scored a game-high 17 points to carry his team to a 45-36 victory at Newburyport High.

NEWBURYPORT | Down a 3-pointer at halftime of last night's season opener against Triton, Newburyport coach Tom L'Italien knew he needed to change his game plan.

The power inside game wasn't working.