The Revere High boys basketball team, after more than a year away from the court due to the coronavirus, took Lynn Classical to the wire in its opener, falling to the Rams, 58-54, in overtime at the Roland Merullo Fieldhouse.
Revere rallied from an 11-point first-half deficit and had the final shot in regulation after junior James Clauto made a steal and then drove in for the game-tying basket while being fouled on the play with 33 seconds left.
Clauto was unable to net the go-ahead free throw but the Patriots had a chance to win the game on an inbounds play with seven seconds left after Coach David Leary had called timeout.
Senior Calvin Boudreau, who happens to be the Revere football quarterback, threw a perfectly executed lead pass to senior Dillan Day, who had made a terrific move to get a step on his defender. But Classical’s Angel Garcia appeared to make slight contact with Day and that altered the Day’s attempt at what would likely have been the winning basket.
Garcia, a 6-foot-3-inch senior, was the difference maker in overtime as Classical outscored Revere, 10-6, in the extra session.
Clauto, who has made the jump from JV to varsity basketball this season, led all scorers with 23 points.
Calvin Boudreau had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Dylan Day had seven points while Marco Cerbone scored five points.
Leary was pleased with his team’s overall effort following the long layoff.
“I have great kids. We basically had five practices in the past 12 months, so I wasn’t expecting perfection,†said Leary. “I thought we played well, especially in the second half, against a very good Classical team.â€
Revere lost to Everett, 73-34, in the second game of the season Monday night at Everett High School. Revere trailed Everett, 25-20, late in the first half, but the hosts went on a 7-0 run to end the half and then took control of the game in the second half.
“They turned the pressure up and we didn’t handle it very well,†said Coach Leary.
James Clauto was the Pats’ leading scorer with 11 points. Dylan Day (6 points), Steven Leone (5), Calvin Boudreau (4) and Jared Natola (4) were the other scorers for Revere.
Patriots Notebook
Revere’s season opener matched Marvin Avery, making his debut as the Classical head coach against David Leary, who had succeeded Avery as the head coach at Lynn Tech. Avery led Tech to a Division 3 state title in 2002. One of Avery’s players was Antonio Anderson, who went on to play at Memphis and in the NBA for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Anderson is currently the head coach of the two-time defending Division 1 state championship team.
In fact, Revere hosts Lynn English today (Wednesday at 6 p.m.) and plays at Medford Friday and at Somerville Monday. RHS Senior Night is set for Friday, March 26 versus Malden.
With the addition of Classical and English to the GBL, Revere is arguably playing in one of the most competitive basketball leagues in the state.
Ward 4 Councilor Patrick Keefe and Donald Boudreau were the broadcast duo for the Classical-Revere game on Revere TV. Keefe called the game “an instant classic†on the broadcast. Boudreau and Revere Parks and Recreation Director Mike Hinojosa were the broadcast duo for the Revere-Everett game.
David Leary is a 1997 graduate of Dom Savio (later Savio Prep) and was a starting guard on some excellent teams. In 1997, Leary and high-scoring guard John Bennett led Savio to the North sectional final, defeating Swampscott and upsetting Bishop Fenwick in the earlier rounds. Savio lost in a shootout to Weston, 102-88, in the North final at UMass/Boston, denying Leary an appearance as a player at the Boston Garden. The Spartans were coached by Angelo Fantasia.
