RHS boys basketball beats Classical, EMK
The Revere High boys basketball team won both of its contests this past week, defeating Greater Boston League (GBL) rival Lynn Classical and non-league opponent the Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers.
Last Tuesday, the Patriots hosted the Rams of Lynn Classical, which entered the contest with a 2-0 record.
Revere got off to a slow start, as Classical point guard Marvin Avery, Jr. made his first four shots, propelling the visitors to a quick 11-4 lead. However, that would prove to be the apogee for the Rams on the night, as the Patriots soon turned the tide in their favor.
Revere cleaned up some things on defense after an early timeout and senior captains Alejandro Hincapie (10 points, 6 steals) and Sal DeAngelis (6 points) got the offense going. Junior forward Andrew Leone (4 points, 11 rebounds) helped control the boards, holding the Rams scoreless the rest of the quarter, leaving matters deadlocked at 11-11 at the first buzzer.
The Patriots’ defense continued to stifle the Rams in the second quarter, holding Classical to just six points in the frame. At the other end of the floor, senior Captain Vinny Vu drained a three-pointer that got the home crowd going and sparked the Patriots to go on a run, with a layup by sophomore guard Ethan Day and another trey by senior captain Domenic Boudreau (11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals) that propelled the Patriots to a 20-17 edge at the intermission.
It was more of the same in the second half, as the Revere defense was suffocating, holding the Rams to just one point in the third quarter, led by the duo of Hincapie and Boudreau, who combined for 10 steals. Sophomore forward Eric Mayorga knocked down a corner three-pointer and DeAngelis, Boudreau, and Leone each had baskets to push the Revere advantage to 34-18 heading into the fourth quarter.
The young Rams continued to prove unable to get their offense going in the final period and Revere received more contributions on offense from junior forward Luke Ellis (4 points), who made a nice layup in the lane and had a strong rebound and put back; senior guard Maykin Funez-Gonzalez, who made a hard drive to the basket; and sophomore guard Joshua Mercado, who played great defense to help close out the game.
With Revere maintaining firm control over the final eight minutes, the Patriots cruised to a 43-22 victory.
“Our defense really gave us a chance, as our offense was sputtering in the first half,” said RHS head coach David Leary. “They’re (Classical) a young team, so we wanted to pressure their guys into taking tough, quick shots. We can build off of this.â€
Two nights later the Patriots traveled to Boston to take on non-league opponent EMK (Edward M. Kennedy) high school. The Patriots got off to a good start and never looked back.
Senior captain Vincent Nichols (8 points, 5 rebounds) got to the basket a few times, as did fellow senior captain Domenic Boudreau (9 points, 6 rebounds). Senior captain Alejandro Hincapie (10 points, 4 assists) had a nice steal and layup and junior forward Andrew Leone (4 points, 8 rebounds) sank two free throws, giving Revere a 14-10 lead to end the first quarter.
The second period went back and forth for the first few minutes, but when Boudreau picked up his second foul early, the Patriots needed someone to step up in his place and that someone proved to be sophomore guard Ethan Day (16 points, 3 assists).
Ethan made several nice drives to the basket, assisted by Hincapie, Nichols, and senior captain Vinny Vu, hitting for 10 points in the quarter to propel the Patriots into a 26-18 advantage at the intermission.
EMK came out of the halftime locker room on a mission to get the ball inside and that they did. The home team opened the second half on a 10-4 run, cutting the Revere lead to just 30-28, with two minutes remaining in the third quarter. Leary had seen enough and called a propitious timeout to get his squad to regroup, and that they did.
Baskets by senior captain Sal DeAngelis (10 points, 4 assists), Boudreau, and another two buckets by Day pushed the Revere advantage back to double-digits, 38-28, to close out the third quarter. The Patriots’ defense tightened in in the fourth quarter, as the Patriots had done in their previous contests.
Sophomore guard Josh Mercado made a few nice steals and then junior forward Luke Ellis came in to sink two free throws for an injured teammate to put the game out of reach for the 48-31 finale. The Patriots pushed their record on the young season to 3-1 before the holiday break.
“We had some early bumps in the road with injuries and sickness, but we should be proud of the way we handled ourselves these first few games,” said Leary on the decent start to the season. “We have a lot of work to do, but I also think we have potential to improve and grow as a team. We’ll be tested over vacation for sure.â€
Leary and his crew will meet East Boston today (Wednesday) at noon in the Second Annual David Green Memorial Holiday Tournament hosted at Winthrop High School. If the Patriots win, they will play Thursday at 2:00 p.m. in the championship match; if they lose, they will play in the consolation game at noon. Winthrop and Saugus are on the other side of the tournament.
The Patriots will return to their GBL schedule when they host Lynn English next Tuesday evening at the Merullo Fieldhouse at 7:00.
Yuong wins two for RHS girls track
The Revere High girls indoor track and field team came up on the short end of a 49-36 decision to Greater Boston League rival Somerville last Wednesday. The Lady Patriots now stand at 1-1 on the season.
“We were down some runners due to illness and vacations, but still saw some excellent performances,” said RHS head coach Racquel MaDonald.
Lady Patriot Liv Yuong took home 10 points for the team for the second meet in a row, with first-place finishes in the 50 yard hurdles in a time of 8.3 seconds (which tied Liv’s personal record) and in the high jump with a leap of 4′-10″.
Revere had a huge sweep in the 50 yard dash. Ashley Rodriguez, back from injury, sprinted to first place with a time of 7.3, followed by teammates Giselle Salvador (7.4) and Jade Dang (7.8).
Second-place finishers for the Lady Patriots included Ashley Chandler in the shot-put (22′ 4′) , senior captain Kyra Delaney in the 300 dash (51.2), Olivia Rupp in the mile (6:32.1), and Daniela Santana Baez in the two-mile (16:44.4).
Third place finishes that added a point to the Revere side of the scoresheet came from Luisa Khorsi in the high jump (4′-2″), Ayra Vranic in the 50 hurdles (9.9), Francoise Kodjo in the shot-put (21′ -4″), Danni Hope Randall in the 300 (52.8), and Sam Solis in the 1000 (4:12.8).
“We look forward to coming back after the school vacation well-rested and ready to take on Lynn English,” noted MacDonald.
Boys track edged by Somerville, 48-38
The Revere High boys indoor track & field team dropped a hard-fought, 48-39 decision to Greater Boston League foe Somerville last Wednesday in a meet that was decided in the final event, the 4 x 400 relay, in which the Patriots fell short by one second.
The first-place finishers for the Patriots were: Richard Vilme in the high jump with a leap of 5′-6″; Isaiah Decrosta in the hurdles in 7.2; Sami el-Asri in the 300 dash in 40.7; and Ahmed Bellemsieh in the 600 in 1:39;
Adding three points to the Revere scoresheet with second-place performances were: Javan Close with a high-jump of 5′-2″ and the hurdles with a clocking of 7.4; Kevin Purciful with a toss of 32′-6.5″ in the shot-put; Allen Hou in the 50 yard dash in 5.9; and Zaraius Bilimoria in the mile in 5:55.2;
Contributing single points with third-place efforts were: Giancarlo Miro in the 300 dash in 44.9; Kenan Batic in the 1000 in 3:11.8; and Adam Assour in the two-mile in 13:35.
After the nine individual events, the teams stood at 43-38 in favor of Somerville, with the five points in the winner-take-all 4 x 400 relay up for grabs. However, the Highlanders prevailed by one second with a clocking of 3:56 to the Patriots’ 3:57.
Revere was without the services of star performer JV Cunha, who runs the 1000 and the relay, and Brayden Shanley, the Pats’ top distance man, as well as top shot-put man Felipe Maia. Their absence not only cost Revere points in those events, but also forced RHS head coach David Fleming to juggle his line-up which affected other races.
Revere will be back in action after the holiday break when they will host Lynn English on January 4.
