RHS Sports roundup

RHS girls basketball edges Somerville, 43-39

The Revere High girl basketball team earned a hard-fought 43-39 triumph at Somerville last Monday.

Lamees Alassad paced the winning effort with a strong two-way performance. Lamees scored 12 points and made nine steals, including a highlight-reel play in which she sank a hoop at the buzzer of the third period after making a steal that was caused by a great defensive effort from fellow freshman Haley Belloise. The big bucket capped a huge third quarter for Revere.

Carolina Bettero drained some key three-pointers late in the contest to seal the victory and Skyla DeSimone was instrumental in controlling the pace and protecting the ball, as well as getting 10 points of her own. 

Friday’s contest with Malden was highlighted by Senior Night festivities to recognize the team’s seven members of the Class of 2021 for their contributions to the girls basketball program.

“Although we lost to Malden 43-29, we were able to celebrate our seven seniors: Gianna Lossano, Frankie D’Angelais, Isabella Cuartaras Lopera, Nina Cassinello, Alana Nelson, Erika Anderson, and Lynzie Anderson,” said RHS head coach Matt Willis. “It was wonderful to watch them be able to be celebrated and to have family be able to attend the game for the first time this season.”

Willis and his crew will participate in the Greater Boston League’s version of March Madness when they travel to Lynn Classical this evening (Wednesday) for a quarterfinal contest with the Rams. 

The GBL is holding a post-season playoff for the right to claim the GBL Cup. If the Revere girls win tonight, they will advance to the semifinal round tomorrow (Thursday). The championship game is set for Saturday.

RHS boys basketball tops Malden on Senior Night

The Revere High boys basketball team observed Senior Night in fitting fashion with a 50-41 triumph over Medford this past Friday evening.

“Senior Night always is a special event,” said RHS head coach David Leary. “With the team’s roster filled with 12 seniors this year and the uncertainty of not knowing until just weeks ago that there would even be a season, this one was even more special.”

The Patriots’ first three home games of the 2021 season were played in an empty gym because of COViD guidelines, but an exception was made for Senior Night to allow four  spectators per senior player. 

The buzz in the Merullo Fieldhouse could be felt during the ceremony in which each senior was honored for his time and contributions to the boys’ hoop program. 

The National Anthem then was played following the festivities and Malden stepped on the floor, knowing they were going to have to match Revere’s intensity right away. 

The Patriots came out on fire, as seniors Steven Leone, Jafar Barry, and co-captains Dillan Day and Calvin Boudreau all lit up the scoreboard multiple times in the first period. Revere scored the most points they had in a quarter all season and led 18-11 after the first frame.

The second quarter had a much different feel to it. Revere cooled down from its torrid early pace on offense and Malden began to find its own rhythm. The Patriots only managed a few baskets from seniors Marco Cerbone and Randy Urdaneta, including a three-pointer, but their defense was good enough to hang on for a slim 26-23 lead at the half.

Revere received nice contributions from their two non-seniors, Jack D’Ambrosio and James Clauto, to start the third quarter and that seemed to give the senior co-captains a boost as Day (10 points, five rebounds, five assists) and Boudreau (14 points, eight rebounds) began to take the game over. 

The Patriots played outstanding defense, holding Malden to just four points in the third period and extending their lead to 39-27 heading into the final eight minutes. 

Malden however, was not planning on just giving their hosts the game. The Golden Tornadoes started the final frame on a 6-0 run to cut the margin in half. Leary called a propitious timeout to settle down his troops and the move paid immediate dividends.

Senior forward Jafar Barry (nine points) sank a textbook, pull-up jump shot and then had a nice fast-break layup, plus the foul, to push the Revere lead back up over double digits, cementing the win for the seniors, who fittingly earned their first victory of the season in the last home game of their great careers at Revere High.

“These kids deserved this tonight,” said Leary after the emotional win. “We had a great ceremony and it was great to see the families and the smiles through the masks. Our players all stepped up tonight and our seniors shined through on their night. Hopefully, we can now carry this momentum into next week, but for tonight we are going to celebrate this one. 

“These kids, especially these seniors, have been through so much this past year and we are just so happy for them to be back together and making memories that they always will cherish. Just a fantastic group of fine young men,” the coach added.

Earlier in the week, the boys traveled to Medford for a contest in which the home-team Mustangs were celebrating their Senior Night and Revere was hoping to play the role of spoiler. 

The opening quarter was played pretty evenly. Revere junior guard James Clauto made a nice end-to-end basket, senior guard Marco Cerbone made two nice drives to the hoop, and senior forward Randy Urdaneta sank a three-pointer from the top of the key.

However, Medford held a 14-10 advantage at the end of the period.

The Patriots offense then went cold, managing only seven points over the next eight minutes and trailed at halftime, 24-17.

“Our defense was solid, as it has been all year, but it’s tough to stay up and locked-in defensively the whole game when you don’t make shots,” said Leary, expressing how a lack of balance can affect a team. “We were not scoring enough to set up our defense and that hurt us offensively as well.” 

The same story basically played out after the intermission. The Patriots played well defensively, but could muster only six points in the third quarter to trail 36-23 heading into the final frame.

Revere received a spark off the bench thanks to seniors Zach Bowden and Nathan Ramos, who made a basket each inside. A layup and three-pointer from Cerbone (nine points) also provided some life for Revere, but it proved too little, too late, and Medford closed out the game with a 51-36 win on their Senior Night.

Leary and his crew now will turn their attention this week to the Greater Boston League’s own March Madness in pursuit of the GBL Cup. The Patriots will travel to Everett to take on the Crimson Tide this evening (Wednesday) at 6:00 in a quarterfinal playoff contest.

Although Revere came out on the short end of a 73-34 decision to Everett three weeks ago, Leary and his crew are playing much better and are hopeful for a different result this time around.

If the Patriots prevail over the Crimson Tide, they will advance to the semifinals tomorrow evening. The championship game is set for Saturday.

Marini’s hat trick paces Revere, 5-2

Senior James Marini notched the hat trick and teammates Alex Trichilo and freshman Cam Correia (Cam’s first varsity goal) added a goal apiece to lead the Revere High hockey team to a 5-2 triumph over Greater Boston League rival Everett last week.

The Patriots led all the way, 2-1 after one period and 3-1 after two. Revere increased its margin to 4-1 early in the third stanza and when Everett pulled within 4-2, the Patriots put the game on ice with the final tally for the 5-2 finale.

Goalie Cam Wickens made 23 saves to earn the win between the pipes.

“It was a total team effort,” said RHS head coach Joe Ciccarello. “Everybody played with a lot of emotion and pulled together.”

Although the Patriots came up on the short end of a 2-1 decision in their next encounter with Somerville, Ciccarello was pleased with his team’s effort.

Revere trailed 1-0 after the first period and 2-0 after the second, with the latter goal coming thanks to a fluke play. However, the Patriots battled fiercely in the final 15 minutes, with a goal by Marini narrowing the gap to 2-1.

“We had a lot of good chances to tie the game in that third period, but we just couldn’t find the handle,” noted Ciccarello.

The Patriots, who now stand at 2-2 on the season, have a busy week ahead with four games in eight days against their other GBL opponents. They were scheduled to take on Lynn last night (Tuesday) and then will meet Somerville tomorrow (Thursday), Medford on Saturday, and Everett on Monday.

That will conclude the pandemic-shortened regular season with playoffs to be scheduled thereafter.

Twins wins vs. the Lynns for RHS swimming team

The Revere High swim team enjoyed a successful week, earning a pair of victories over Greater Boston League rivals Lynn Classical and Lynn English.

Last Monday, coach Chris Hill’s Patriots took the measure of English, 82-52, and three days later toppled Classical, 91-71.

Leading the way for Revere in the dual triumphs was senior captain David Del Rio, who had four first-place finishes, the 200 free and 100 fly on Monday vs. the Bulldogs and the 500 free and 50 free on Thursday vs. the Rams.

Freshman Alem Cesic also was a major contributor with four first-place performances. Alem took first on Monday against English in the 500 free and 100 breast and then took two firsts on Thursday vs. Classical Thursday in the  200 free and 100 breast.

Junior Ashton Hoang had a great week, winning the 100 back and 200 free on Monday, and the 100 fly on Thursday. 

Senior Reked Caushaj took second in the 100 fly and 100 breast on Monday and followed that with a first in the 200 IM and second in the breast on Thursday. 

Mohamed Benzerdjeb took second in the 200 free and first in the 100 free on Monday and on Thursday he added a second in the 50 free and another first in the 100 free.

The Patriot relay teams dominated both rivals, taking first and second in all six relay races over the two meets.

Hill and his crew were scheduled to be back in action this past Monday with a meet against Somerville. They will take on Medford this coming Monday.