RallyNorth.net

McNamara, Sachems stun No. 1 H-W

Friday, March, 04 By Mike Grenier
Staff writer

HAMILTON — In quite possibly the biggest win in the program’s history, Pentucket pounded No. 1 Hamilton-Wenham with six three-pointers in the opening eight minutes, en route to a 59-54 stunner in the Division 3 North quarterfinals.

“This was a great victory for us,” said Pentucket coach Leo Parent, whose club is seeded No. 8. “To come in and beat the top seed in their gym is a great accomplishment. We barely got out of Round 1, so this is great.

The Generals, who finish up at 15-4, beat Pentucket 72-57 on Feb. 10 but they couldn’t overcome a shocking 26-12 first-quarter deficit.

Pentucket’s junior guard, Corey McNamara, was magnificent, nailing four shots from behind the arc in the opening quarter.

After Hamilton-Wenham narrowed it to 54-50 on a Jake Prince (23 points) offensive rebound with 1:19 left, McNamara buried yet another backbreaking three with 1:02 left.

“Corey hit a 3-pointer from NBA range to really put the game way. John (Modlish) had 13 points that were really the difference in the game,” said Parent.

McNamara finished with six threes and 21 points. Modlish contributed 13 points and Will Angelini, who fouled out late in the game, added 10 points for the Sachems (13-9), who will play Newburyport (14-7) in the semifinals (date, site and time TBA).

H-W cut the big early lead to five, 38-33, on a Stephen Tam drive late in the third quarter, but the Sachems went right back to work, getting two buckets by Modlish and a trifecta by McNamara as they built it back up to 45-35 at the end of three quarters.

“We had a lot of energy coming out tonight,” McNamara said. “We got into a good rhythm, and my teammates just found me with good passes. We knew that Hamilton-Wenham would make a run. They’re a No. 1 seed and a real good team. We didn’t panic when they made it close.”

No. 5 Newburyport is coached by Sachems baseball coach Tom L’Italien, a Pentucket grad and former teacher in the district.

“It’s been a very good rivalry,” Parent said. “We know each other’s programs well, and we want to fight for the chance to get to the Tsongas.”

The clubs split in the regular season. Pentucket won 54-42 on Dec. 28 and lost 66-58 on Feb. 11.

Sachem History

Complete Eagle-Tribune records go back through the 1987-88 season. In that span, Pentucket had one tourney win (2005) prior to this season. This season, the Sachems have two tourney wins and are in the North semis for the second time in that 24-year span. The other time was in 2005.

Prior to this year Pentucket had endured four straight losing seasons.