RallyNorth.net

Beverly basketball ousted from tourney

Tuesday, February, 26 By Matt Jenkins
Staff writer

BEVERLY | The Winchester boys basketball team had a big-time spurt over the first 2<1/2> quarters, when time wasn't an issue. Beverly, on the other hand, answered with an impressive run of its own, but it came against two opponents | the Sachems and the clock.

The Panthers, who trailed by 24 points with three minutes to play in the third quarter, completely outplayed Winchester over the final 11 minutes, but had to settle for a 72-64 loss in a Division 2 North first round game.

Hot shooting and sharp ball movement allowed the Sachems to post 25 first-quarter points, and based on the game's pace it appeared that the century mark was in play.

Winchester knocked down four 3-pointers in the first eight minutes and added two old-fashioned 3-point plays. Had it been a game of H-O-R-S-E, Beverly wouldn't have survived the first quarter.

"They came out firing and were knocking down their shots," Beverly coach Scott Lewis said. "We scouted them last week and they couldn't buy one. I knew No. 24 (Andy Teahan) could shoot. Once he hit that first one they got a little rhythm and that opened things up inside when we started extending out."

Teahan drilled back-to-back triples on Winchester's first two possessions. He added another before the period was over, which forced Beverly to spread its defense.

Soon, the Sachems were moving the ball around the perimeter like it was on fire, then dumping it inside to forwards Matt Gaither, Chris Bernard, and Chris Cleary.

"We had a diversified attack and then when we got them extended we pounded it in and got some easy buckets," Winchester (11-10) coach Quinton Dale said. "We did a good job in all aspects of the game."

Winchester gradually built the lead in the second quarter, taking a 42-28 lead into the locker room, and increased the lead to 24 (59-35) with a 17-7 advantage over the first five minutes of the third quarter.

"Some of the other guys didn't step up for us in the first half," Lewis said. "But then everyone played well in the second half. I think once the nerves got out of their system and once they realized they could play with them they started kicking it in a little bit."

Beverly closed the third with a 13-2 run | capped by a 40-foot bomb to beat the buzzer by senior Matt Tobin | that sliced the deficit to 61-48.

The Panthers continued to put the heat on Winchester and drew within four (68-64) when Matt McQuaid converted all three freebies after getting fouled on a 3-point attempt with 29 seconds left.

Cleary made four free throws down the stretch to seal it for Winchester.

Tobin was a monster for Beverly, dropping 28 points and grabbing 14 rebounds in his final game in a Beverly uniform. "He played fantastic, as he has his whole career for us," Lewis said. "He's had a tremendous career and we're certainly going to miss him."

Tobin was joined in double figures by Nate Knudson, who hit for 10.

Gaither led Winchester with 22 points, Cleary had 15, and Teahan contributed 14. Bernard finished with 11 points and had four blocked shots on key possessions late in the fourth quarter.

Despite the Sachems' .500 record, Lewis knew the Panthers couldn't overlook their first round opponent. "Whenever you draw a Middlesex League team, even if they're .500, they just play a different brand of basketball," Lewis said. "They're much more physical, much more methodical, where the Northeastern Conference is more up and down. We were kind of hoping we could get them into our game. I think we did when we were making our run at the end, but we knew it was a tough draw from the start."