Revere Roundup

Boys basketball team drops its last two games

The Revere High boys basketball team was unable to overcome a slow start in its game with Salem last week, spotting the Witches a 25-10 lead after the opening period, and eventually fell by a 74-55 margin.

The loss ended any hopes that the Patriots had harbored of qualifying for the postseason state tournament. Revere entered the Salem game with an 8-10 record and needed to win its last two contests with Salem and Lynn English in order to qualify.

“I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed with the way we started against Salem, because we had played them well the entire game the first time we met, so we felt that we had a good shot at beating them this time,” said RHS head coach Rick Hayes. “We knew what to expect from them, but we didn’t execute.”

Indeed, Revere played the Witches evenly after the opening period, but the 15 point deficit proved too much to overcome. Trae Weathers, who has been named to the NEC All-Star team, led the Pats with 22 points, followed by Paul Cinelli with 17. Matt Handy chipped in with seven, Will Weathers added five, and Ruben Vargas and Dashaun Jones had two points apiece.

The Patriots then concluded their season on Saturday against league-leading Lynn English. Revere put up a strong fight against the Rams, who are undefeated in the NEC and whom the Boston Globe ranked among the top five teams in the state for most of the season.

After trailing by a 19-13 margin after one period and by five at the half, the Pats closed the gap to a point, 35-34, at the start of the second half, and trailed by just three, 56-53, after three frames.

However, the fourth quarter belonged to the Rams as they ended up on the winning side of an 80-63 decision.

Will Weathers turned in what Hayes described as a “phenomenal game” with a double/double of 14 points and 11 rebounds. Cinelli hit for 14 and Trae Weathers added 11. Matt Handy chipped in with eight, Vargas had six, and Emir Talic and Dashaun Jones scored two points apiece.

But the contest also was noteworthy for the appearance of captain Luis Cruz, who saw some real playing time for the first time this season (Luis missed the entire year because of a knee injury he suffered in the football season) and scored four points, hitting his first shot and then sinking two free throws that came via a technical foul.

“We really missed Luis this year,” said Hayes, “both as to his leadership and his playing ability. He would have made a big difference for us. It was nice to see him score a basket in the final game.”

Although the Pats’ final record of 8-12 left them out of the money for the state tourney, Hayes said his team made the most of its season.

“We had a great group of boys who gave 100 percent whenever they went out there,” said the coach. “We were in almost every game we played, and we improved tremendously throughout the season. We’ll miss our seniors, but we’ll be looking forward to next year.”

RHS girls finish with Senior Night

The Revere High girls basketball team wrapped up its season with a festive Senior Night last Tuesday at the Merullo Fieldhouse, at which senior captains Kerri Roach, Christina Bagnera, and Kelleigh Prince were honored for their contributions to the girls basketball program.

Although the Lady Patriots came out on the short end of the decision to perennial power Salem, which finished at 14-4 in the Northeastern Conference, RHS head coach Pam MacDonald was pleased with her team’s final mark of 7-13 as she reflected on the season.

“We were close in almost every game we played, which is something we could not say a year ago,” said MacDonald. “Given that our pivot player, Nicole Kjersgaard, was lost for the season and then our top scorer, Morgan Jenkins, suffered an injury that had her miss a few games, all in all, we had a good season. It shows how far the program has come in the last few years.”

MacDonald also thanks the many parents of players who gave their time and support to the team. She especially noted the contributions of Maureen Roach and Joyce Prince.

MacDonald announced sophomore Morgan Jenkins, who averaged about 15 points per game and as many rebounds, was named to the NEC All-Star team.