RHS Girls Track Edges Chelsea
The Revere High girls indoor track and field team earned a closely-contested 44-41 victory over Chelsea last Wednesday at the Merullo Fieldhouse at Revere High.
Sophomore standout Liv Yuong added her usual 10 points to the Lady Patriots’ score sheet with first-place finishes in the hurdles (8.2 seconds) and high jump (5′-0″). Liv is undefeated in both events through Revere’s five meets this season.
Yuong led an RHS sweep in the hurdles, along with Lady Patriot teammates Yara Beguendouz (9.0) and Ayra Vranic (9.3) for nine Revere points.
Revere also swept the 50-yard dash thanks to the trio of senior captain Kyra Delaney, who took first place with a personal record (PR) sprint of 6.68 seconds. Ashley Cabrera came across in second with a PR clocking of 6.9 and Giselle Salvador was close behind in third with another PR of 7.0 seconds.
Other first-place finishers for Revere included Alannah Burke in the 1000m with a season PR of 3:32.7.
Notable second-place finishers included Luisa Khorsi in the high jump (4′-4″), Danni Hope Randall in the 300m (51.2), Reyhan Bensadok in the 600m with a huge PR of 2.09.4, and Olivia Rupp in the mile (6:35.9),
And in a meet where every point counted, adding valuable third-place points were Luisa Khorsi in the 300m (52.1), Hiba El Bzyouy in the 600m (2:10.5), Samantha Solis in the mile (7:18.8), and Douaa Elkawakibi in the two mile (16:59.6).
Coach Racquel MacDonald and her crew, who now stand at 3-2 on the season, were set to host Malden today (Wednesday) and Lynn Classical on Monday. The Greater Boston League championship meet is set for next Friday, February 3, at the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center in Boston.
RHS Girls Edged by Everett, Top Somerville
The Revere High girls basketball came oh-so-close to knocking off Greater Boston League (GBL) rival Everett, but came up just short to the Lady Crimson Tide by a score of 49-47 in a contest that went down to the wire last Tuesday.
The Lady Patriots started slowly, falling into a 10-0 hole that stretched into a 19-6 deficit by the end of the first quarter. Revere still trailed by 14, 27-13, midway through the second period.
“It was frustrating because I knew our team was capable of playing better than we showed,” said RHS head coach Chris Porrazzo. “We can’t turn the ball over and give up offensive rebounds like we did and expect to win. This message was conveyed, passionately, at half time.”
The Lady Patriots took their coach’s message to heart after the intermission and went on a tear in the third quarter, eventually bringing the contest back to level at 31-31.
“We were playing good defense, grabbing rebounds, and sharing the ball,” said Porrazzo. “It was some of the best basketball we’ve played this season.”
Revere then had numerous opportunities to forge into the lead, but missed six free throws and a pair of layups while the game was tied.
“It was a chance for us to put Everett away, but we did not capitalize,” said Porrazzo.
The remainder of the game was evenly contested. Revere held a 44-41 advantage at one point and briefly grabbed the lead again at 47-46 after a Shayna Smith lay-up.
However, Everett’s Kaylee Rossi hit the go-ahead basket for the Lady Crimson Tide with a little under a minute left.
With four seconds on the clock and the full length of the court to go, Lady Patriot Belma Velic got off a half court shot for the win, but the ball bounced off the backboard and front rim, giving Everett the 49-47 win.
“I was proud of the fight we showed in this game,” said Porrazzo. “We certainly improved from our near-20 point loss to Everett earlier in the season. And we proved to ourselves that we are never out of the game.
Smith led Revere with 23 points and seven rebounds. Velic hit for double figures with 14 points, pulled down four rebounds, dished three assists, and blocked three Everett shots.
Two nights later, Porrazzo and his crew played a hard-fought battle with GBL foe Somerville and came away with a 41-26 victory.
“At times we played the game with a lack of energy and Somerville’s defensive pressure got to us,” said Porrazzo. “It was an inconsistent performance for us and we had a hard time stringing together consecutive positive plays.
Haley Belloise, the team’s junior captain who is on the sidelines with a broken foot, made this observation about her teammates’ Somerville win.
“As a team we had great ball movement and on defense we were able to adapt and move on the flight of the ball,” said Belloise, who is known for her offensive prowess, but who also has a great defensive mindset. “Some things we still need to work on are passing and learning how to settle with the ball. It doesn’t always have to be. ‘Go, go, go!’ You still need to have urgency, but having control with the ball is just as important.”
Lea Doucette provided a huge spark for Revere in the second half.
“Lea is our reigning ‘Hustle and Spirit Award’ winner from last season and she showed why in this game,” said Porrazzo. “She is willing to do whatever is asked of her on the court and is one of the most-coachable and hardest-working players in the program. She is always fighting for boards, playing top-notch defense, and making hustle plays that matter. So it’s nice when she is able to score some points for us too. She impacted the game so much that her scoring was just an added bonus to her other contributions.”
This past Friday, Revere took on non-league rival Winthrop and came up on the short end of a 47-27 decision.
“Much like the rest of the season, in half court sets, we played them well,” said Porrazzo. “But when the game opens up with pressing and fast breaks, it tends to get away from us. We have to keep learning how to handle the pressure and play with poise, something that will be put to test next week against the Lynn teams.”
Porrazzo and his crew were set to take on Lynn Classical last night (Tuesday) and will host Lynn English tomorrow (Thursday). They will travel to Medford next Tuesday.
With their season two-thirds over, the Lady Patriots stand at 5-8 overall (5-4 in the GBL) and must win five of their remaining seven games in order to achieve the .500 record that is necessary to qualify for the state tourney.
RHS Boys Basketball Drops Heartbreaker, 48–45, on Halfcourt Buzzer Shot
The Revere High boys basketball team traveled to Somerville last Thursday night for a Greater Boston League matchup with the much-improved Highlanders, who were looking to avenge a 53-35 loss to the Patriots in mid-December.
The first quarter got off to a slow start for both teams. Revere senior captain Vincent Nichols (13 points, five rebounds on the night) got things going with a strong drive to the basket. Sophomore guard Ethan Day (four points, four rebounds) tossed in a floater in the lane and senior captain Alejandro Hincapie scored three buckets in the frame, but Somerville led 11-10 at the end of the period.
The Highlanders found their touch from behind the three-point arc in the second quarter, scoring all 12 of their points on a quartet of treys. Revere senior captain Vinny Vu (seven points, four rebounds) and sophomore guard Josh Mercado knocked down three-pointers of their own to keep things close, but the Patriots trailed 23-20 at the intermission
The third quarter went back and forth between the two teams and the scoring came more often, as Nichols got to the basket and scored plus the foul, Day got in the lane for two, and Hincapie (who finished with a strong stat line of 18 points, six rebounds, and four steals) found his touch, knocking down back-to-back three-pointers to bring the teams back to level at 36-36 heading into the final quarter.
Revere came out and scored the first two baskets of the fourth quarter on a nice fast-break layup from Vu and a slash to the hoop by Nichols, giving the Patriots their largest lead of the game at four points, 40-36.
But Somerville responded with back-to-back hoops to bring the game even at 40-40 with less than three minutes to play.
Hincapie got fouled and made one of two free throws, but the Highlanders answered with another three-pointer to go up 43-41 with 1:47 left on the clock.
Nichols then scored two straight baskets and again put the Patriots ahead, 45-43, with less than a minute to go.
“This game was back-and-forth the whole way, so it had the feeling that whoever had the ball last would win the game,” said RHS head coach Davie Leary.
A Somerville player was fouled on the next possession and sank both free throws to deadlock matters at 45-45 with the clock winding down. Revere brought the ball up the court and was going to try to play for the last shot, but a Somerville defender tipped the ball out of bounds with 3.9 seconds remaining.
Leary called a timeout to draw up a play to go for the win, but a controversial offensive foul on Revere was called before the ball was even inbounded, turning the ball over to Somerville. With the Highlanders needing to go the length of the court to win the game, Somerville called a timeout to draw up a play of their own. Somerville senior forward Rodrigo DiFusco caught a pass, took two dribbles and let it fly from half court — and the shot went in at the buzzer for the 48-45 final score.
“That was a tough one to lose, but it was an amazing shot he made,” said Leary after the crushing loss. “We just made too many little mistakes throughout the course of the game and it added up to a big thing in the end. We just need to regroup, keep working hard, and hopefully get some guys back healthy.
“We played hard — we just need to execute better,” Leary added. “The whole night felt like whoever had the ball last would win, and unfortunately it was them.â€
Leary and his crew were scheduled to travel to Lynn Classical last night (Tuesday) and will trek back to Lynn tomorrow (Thursday) evening to take on the undefeated Lynn English Bulldogs. They will host Medford next Tuesday at 7:00 at Merullo Fieldhouse.
Boys Track Runs Past Chelsea, 59-26
The Revere High boys indoor track and field team glided to a 59-26 triumph over Chelsea last Wednesday at Merullo Fieldhouse.
The Patriots took first place in eight of the nine individual events, including sweeps of the 50 yard hurdles behind the trio of Isaiah DeCrosta (7.0 seconds), Javan Close (7.4), and Fajr Riazi (9.0) and the 50 yard dash thanks to Allen Hou (6.1), Latrell Ashby (6.2), and Brandon Carvajal (6.4).
Revere went 1-2 in the high jump (Giancarlo Miro with a leap of 5′-6″ and Javan Close with a jump of 5′-2″) and the 1000 (Zaraius Bilimoria in 3:16.9 and David Roth in 3:23.4).
Other first-place finishers for the Patriots included Gabriel Santana in the shot-put with a throw of 35′-8″; Sami El Asri in the 300 dash in a time of 40.8; Ahmed Bellemseh in the 600 in a clocking of 1:38.5; and Youness Chahid in the two mile run in 12:06.5.
Adam Assour added three points in the mile with a second place finish in a time of 5:48.6 and Kevin Alves added a point to the Revere score sheet with a third-place effort in the 600 (1:44.7).
The Patriots, who now are 4-1 on the season, are scheduled to host Malden today (Wednesday) and Lynn Classical Monday.
