RHS boys basketball tops Chelmsford, Somerville
The Revere High boys basketball team, who have been road warriors for their past eight games after opening their season at home against Everett, earned two victories this past week.
The Patriots trekked to non-league opponent Chelmsford of the Merrimack Valley Conference last Thursday and came home with a 55-49 victory.
Revere started slowly and trailed 6-2 in the first few minutes before senior tri-captain Josh Mercado (11 points, five rebounds, two steals) drilled a corner three-pointer, freshman Charles Dobre (three points, three rebounds, three assists) had a strong drive to the basket and senior tri-captain Ethan Day made a layup, a floater in the lane, and two free throws to give the Patriots an 11-10 lead at the end of one.
The second quarter was more of the same, with the teams exchanging baskets on multiple possessions. Mercado made a couple of free throws and hit another three-pointer, junior guard Isaiah Llanos came off the bench and hit a nice floater in the lane and played some spirited defense, and Day made a fast break layup and a trey from the top of the key. Chelmsford however, had an answer for every basket and the game was tied at 24-24 at halftime.
The Patriots came out strong after the intermission. The Revere defense held the home Lions to just 10 points, while involving more players on offense. Senior forward Erick Mayorga (three points, four rebounds) drained a corner three-pointer, senior tri-captain Avi Lung (five points, three steals) twisted for a sweet reverse layup, and Mercado hit another triple.
Junior forward Devin Berry (10 points, six rebounds) gave the Patriots a huge lift off the bench with three tough finishes in the lane over bigger defenders and Day had two more nice drives to the hoop, leaving the Patriots with a 42-34 lead heading into the final eight minutes.
Revere scored the first two baskets of the frame on layups from Berry and Day, but after a Chelmsford timeout and a change on defense, the home Lions changed the momentum and rattled the Patriots. The Lions went on a 15-2 run in a stretch of 2:30 to forge a 49-48 lead with four minutes to go.
Revere head coach David Leary used another timeout to try to weather the storm. The Patriots made a change defensively and after a stop, Day (21 points, six rebounds, four assists) had a great drive plus the foul to take the lead back. Ethan then added another two points on a tough put-back on an offensive rebound plus the foul and Lung closed the game out, making 3-of-4 free throws, to give the Patriots the 55-49 victory.
“We are proud of these guys,” said Leary after the nail-biter. “It’s not easy to travel an hour plus on a bus and show up mentally ready to go, but they were ready. The way these kids responded after losing the 12-point lead was important and encouraging moving forward. There was no quit in these boys and Ethan obviously was fantastic down the stretch. We all were proud of our defense holding Chelmsford scoreless over the final four minutes.”
The Patriots had no time to celebrate the Chelmsford win or to rest up as they headed to Somerville the next night for a Greater Boston League (GBL) showdown.
The Patriots’ legs seemed fine in the first quarter as the Revere offense looked like it was fired from a cannon. Senior forward Erick Mayorga (four points, six rebounds) made two hoops inside, senior tri-captain Avi Lung (seven points, four assists, two steals) made a nice pull-up jumper, senior tri-captain Ethan Day made three drives (including an “and-one”), a three-pointer, and a drive and kick to senior tri-captain Josh Mercado for a corner triple at the buzzer, giving Revere a 19-7 first quarter finish.
The second quarter proved to be much different, however.
“It may have been a combination of Somerville picking up their defensive intensity and fatigue starting to hit us on the second night of a back-to-back,” said Leary, whose squad managed to score just four points in the frame on a Day layup and two free throws from talented freshman Charles Dobre (six points, six rebounds, two steals), but fortunately the defense held up and Revere still led at the intermission, 23-16.
The third period was evenly-played as both teams continued to employ tough defense. Day made two layups and two free throws, Lung also hit a free throw, and Dobre had a fast break layup and two free throws, but the Highlanders sank a three-pack of treys to pull within 34-30 heading into the fourth period.
After Somerville scored the first five points of the quarter to take their first lead of the game, 35-34, Leary called a timeout to try to motivate his tired team — and the seniors responded. Lung had a nice drive to the basket and Day made one of two free throws to retake the lead at 37-35 with 3:37 to go.
The Highlanders answered with a few defensive stops and a 4-0 run to move ahead, 39-37, with 1:53 remaining. Both teams missed on their next few possessions until Day got inside for a hoop to tie it up at 39-39 with 57 seconds on the clock.. Somerville was fouled on a drive on its next possession and made one-of-two from the stripe to go ahead, 40-39, with 31.1 seconds to go.
After a Revere missed, the Patriots had to foul to stop the clock with 18 ticks on the clock and the Highlanders made both FTs to move ahead, 42-39. After the Patriots made a few passes looking for a three-pointer to tie it up, Leary called a timeout to draw up a play with six seconds to go.
The whole gym knew where the ball was going and sure enough, it ended up in the hands of Day (27 points, five rebounds) at the top of the key. Ethan took two dribbles to his left and took a step-back trey that banked in with 1.2 seconds on the clock to tie it up at 42-42, sending the game into overtime.
Both teams made stops in the first 90 seconds of OT, but then Revere pushed it on the fast break to get a Lung layup to take a 44-42 advantage with 2:20 to go. The Patriots pushed the ball again and, after a miss, junior forward Devin Berry (two points, six rebounds) pulled down an offensive rebound and put it back in to extend the Revere advantage to 46-42.
The Highlanders however, would not go away as they nailed a three to cut it to 46-45 with 30.6 remaining. Day was fouled with 23 seconds to go and made one of two free throws to make it 47-45. Somerville came down looking for the tying or go-ahead basket, but freshman phenom Dobre jumped the passing lane and flew down court to the basket. Although Charles missed the layup, Day was there to clean it up with the rebound-and-finish to give Revere the 49-45 overtime win.
“Well that was intense,” said Leary after the wild finish. “This was a huge effort and win and we were obviously fortunate to get this one. We knew it would be tough. They are well-coached and aggressive and I think we got fatigued at some point after playing back-to-back, but we are so proud of the way these guys responded and didn’t quit and obviously Ethan’s shot was immense. We’re looking forward to finally playing at home again next week.”
Learyn and his crew, who now stand at 4-5 on the season, will host GBL rival Lynn Classical tomorrow (Thursday) in a rematch from their game at Salem State two weeks ago when Classical prevailed, 64-51. The Patriots then will entertain Medford next Tuesday. Both contests will tip off at Merullo Fieldhouse at 7:00.
RHS girls track wins two more
The Revere High girls indoor track and field team handily defeated Greater Boston League (GBL) opponents Malden (77-17) and Lynn Classical (78-3) in a tri-meet last Thursday at the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center in Boston.
The Lady Patriots dominated the meet from start to finish, winning all 10 of the individual events against both foes. “A Revere girl took first place in every single event, except the relay which we chose not to run at the end of the meet — absolutely phenomenal,” said RHS head coach Racquel MacDonald-Ciambelli. “The girls are really starting to hit their peaks as we head into the halfway point of the season and move closer to championship-meet season.”
The Lady Patriots were led by senior Liv Yuong, who took first place in three events, the 55m hurdles in a clocking of 9.86, the high jump with a leap of 4′-10″, and the long jump with a flight of 14′-8.5″ to score a total of 30 points on the evening.
The other first-place finishers for Revere were: Ashley Cabrerea Rodriguez in the 55 dash with a sprint of 8.17; Rania Hamadani in the 300 dash in 47.32 (which was the best time of the night among all of the GBL competitors); Gemma Stamatopoulos, who continued her dominance in the 600 dash in 1:48.77 (Gemma’s time also was the best among the entire GBL on the night); Genevieve Zierten in the 1000 in 3:48.70; junior Olivia Rupp, who continued her dominance in the mile in 5:52.17, a GBL-best for the night; Francoise Kodjo in the shot-put with a personal record (PR) toss of 27′-9″; and Daniela Santana Baez in the two-mile with a run of 15:23.57.
Second-place performers were: Victoria Osias in the 55 dash; Danni Hope Randall in the 300; Zacharani Kalliavas in the 600; Valeria Sepulveda in the 1000; Stamatopoulos in the high jump; Jocelyn Lazo in the shot-put; and Basma Sahibi in the 55 hurdles;
Third-place efforts came from: Lesly Mendoza in the 55 dash; Jaliyah Manigo in the 300; Amina Larzhal in the 600; Gianna Chiodi in the 1000; Mayaah Ndi in the high jump; and Aidah Louaddi in the shot.
“Two newcomers to the 600m, Zizi Kalliavas and Amina Larzhal, also had a great finish, both running below 2:03 for the sweep against both opponents,” noted MacDonald-Ciambelli.
MacDonald-Ciambelli and her crew, who stand at 4-0 on the season, will be back on the track at the Reggie tomorrow (Thursday) to take on GBL rivals Lynn English and Chelsea.
RHS girls do well in NE Meet
Several members of the RHS girls indoor track team participated in the MSTCA Northeast Invitational Meet this past weekend.
Liv Yuong hit a season personal record (PR) in all three of her events with a 9.78 clocking in the 55m hurdles (30th overall); a leap of 15′-10.50″ in the long jump (10th overall and only a half inch off of her own school record of 15′-11″); and in the high jump, in which Liv took third overall to win a medal, clearing 5′-0″.
“It was a huge day for Liv overall and her ability to perform in multiple events at these meets really shows her overall endurance as well. We expect big things from her come championship-season,” said RHS head coach Racquel MacDonald-Ciambelli.
“Gemma Stamatopoulos and Olivia Rupp took on a new event for both of them, the 1000m,” continued MacDonald-Ciambelli. “Both absolutely shined and ran excellent times. Gemma took 39th overall with a time of 3:23.77 and Olivia took 45th overall with a time of 3:25.79.
“As training partners, I knew that this 1000m race was exactly what they needed to better their times in the mile and the 600,” MacDonald-Ciambelli continued. “Olivia was able to focus on a shorter race and better prepare for the third quarter of the mile. Gemma’s heat was very clumped and she had to spare a lot of energy in order to avoid a box-in. I’m confident her time in a more spread-out race would have been closer to 3:20.
“Junior Rania Hamdani ran a huge lifetime PR in the 300m and broke 47 with a clocking of 46.27, which was good for 57th overall in a field of over 300 girls,” said MacDonald-Ciambelli. “This puts her right at the top of the GBL in this event which is so exciting. Sophomore Zizi Kalliavas also ran a PR in the 300m with a time of 50.03.
“Junior Aida Louaddi also threw for a PR in the shot-put with a toss of 23-05.00,” MacDonald-Ciambelli said. “All four of our Revere throwers (Caleigh Joyce, Francoise Kodjo, and Jocelyn Lazo) cracked the top 100.
“Overall, this was a stellar performance at this massive meet,” MacDonald-Ciambelli added. “I can’t wait to see what the rest of the season brings.”
Track boys run to 4-0
The Revere High boys indoor track and field team remained undefeated with a pair of runaway victories over Greater Boston League opponents Lynn Classical (66-19) and Malden (58-33) last Thursday in a tri-meet at the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center in Roxbury.
Oliver Escobar was a double-winner for the Patriots vs. Malden, capturing the 55 meter dash in a sprint of 6.87 and the high jump with a leap of 5′-6″. Joey Angiulo also won two events vs. Malden, the 300 dash in 40.71 and the long jump with a flight of 18′-6.25″.
Other first-place winners for Revere vs. Malden were: Edwin Alarcon in the 600 in 1:32.47, a clocking that was the best of the night among all GBL runners; Bryan Maia in the shot-put with a throw of 41′-7.5″; and Youness Chahid in the two-mile in 11:10.90, which was the best time of the night among all of the GBL.
Adding three points in the Malden side of the meet with second-place efforts were: Isaiah DeCrosta in the 55 hurdles; Diogo Yogi in the mile; Mohammed Fares in the 1000; Kenan Batic in the 600; and Fajr Riazi in the 300.
Scoring single points with third-place performances were: Jeremy X in the 55 dash; Ziyade Dendane in the mile; and Kepler Celamy in the long jump.
The Patriots will be back in action tomorrow (Thursday) with a dual meet against GBL opponents Lynn English and Chelsea at the Reggie.
RHS girls hoop to host Somerville Friday
The Revere High girls basketball team, which stands at 4-5 on the season, will host Greater Boston League (GBL) rival Somerville this Friday. The opening tip is set for 6:30, with the Lady Patriot junior varsity squad getting underway at 5:00.
Coach Ariana Rivera and her crew, who stand at 4-5 as they approach the midpoint of the 2025 season after dropping a 33-31 decision to Winthrop this past Monday, also were scheduled to play at GBL foes Malden last night (Tuesday) and Medford next Tuesday.
