Boys basketball defeats English in double OT
The Revere High boys basketball team split its two contests this past week, dropping a 62-53 decision to Lynn Classical, the first-place team in the Greater Boston League, but knocking off Lynn English, 68-62, this past Thursday in an exciting double-overtime battle.
Last Tuesday, the Patriots took on Lynn Classical, which is in first place in the Greater Boston League (GBL). Revere dropped its first encounter with the league-leading Rams in December, 51-30, but the Patriots have been showing signs of improvement lately and that showed in the rematch.
Senior tri-captain Isaiah Llanos (six points) got the offense started by hitting a corner three-pointer. Junior guard Chris Recinos (14 points, seven assists) had two strong moves to the basket and also drained a trey, and senior tri-captain Devin Berry got a rebound and put back giving the Patriots a 12-10 lead after the first quarter.
The second period was dominated by Berry, who scored 12 of Revere’s 16 points in the quarter on various drives to the basket, put-backs, and free throws. Recinos added a basket plus the free throw and senior center. Zaney Kayembe also made a free-throw, propelling the Patriots to a 28-25 edge heading into the locker room at halftime.
Revere continued its hot shooting to start the third quarter. Llanos hit another trey from the wing. Kayembe, Recinos, and Berry all made baskets, and junior forward Bryan David chipped in with a free throw and a three-pointer from the corner, giving Revere a 45-41 lead at the end of the third quarter.
The visiting Rams brought up their intensity on the defensive end, creating many turnovers in the final period. Classical scored the first six points of the quarter to move out to a 47-45 advantage, but Dobre drained a triple to put the Patriots up one, 48-47.
But other than two hoops and a free throw by Berry (21 points, seven rebounds), the rest of the Patriots’ offense went silent, and the Rams went on a huge run to close out the game, leaving the final score in Classical’s favor, 62-53.
“We kind of let that one slip away,” said RHS head coach David Leary. “But give Classical credit. They turned up their intensity in the fourth quarter and we did not respond well.
“I was proud of the way the kids battled,” Leary continued. “They beat us by over 20 points the first time we met, so the improvement is there. However, it has not resulted in wins as of late, but we’re hoping they’re coming. We just need to stay the course and continue to work hard.”
Two nights later, the Patriots hosted their other GBL rivals from Lynn, the Bulldogs of Lynn English. The Bulldogs also had defeated the Patriots in mid-December and it appeared as though the same result was on tap after a first period in which English moved out to a commanding 21-5 lead.
Leary responded by pulling out his five starters to try to get a spark from the bench and the second unit came out with a ton of energy defensively, allowing the Patriots to creep back into the game.
Sophomore guard Charles Dobre got the Patriots offense going with a few highlight-reel fast-break buckets. Juniors Chris Recinos and Nathan Brown each knocked down a three-pointer and junior Guard Wesley Nunez added a free throw, but Revere still trailed, 31-19, at the intermission.
The third quarter went well, especially on the defensive end, with the Patriots holding Lynn English to just nine points in the quarter. Dobre hit a few more baskets, including a fast-break dunk, to get the crowd going.
Senior tri-captain Devin Berry (13 points, eight rebounds) began to find his touch around the basket. Junior Bryan David (five points, 10 rebounds) sank a few free throws and junior forward Nathan Brown (seven points, 10 rebounds) kept a lot of balls alive for Revere with his relentless work on the offensive glass.
However, the Patriots were only able to knock off three points from the halftime deficit and still trailed, 40-31, heading into the final quarter.
Dobre (25 points five rebounds) turned in a monster fourth quarter with 10 points. Senior tri-captain Isaiah Llanos knocked down a huge three to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 41-40 with just a few minutes remaining in the game.
When Lynn English knocked down back-to-back triples to build a 47-40 advantage with just under three minutes remaining, the outcome looked bleak for the home Patriots.
However, Leary’s crew dug deep, making defensive stops that allowed them to narrow the deficit to 52-50 in the waning seconds. After Leary called a time-out, Revere ran an inbounds play for Berry, who was able to hit the game-tying shot with just under 10 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.
The first OT went back-and-forth as the teams exchanged baskets. Dobre and Berry sank free throws, but English found a way to match the Patriots’ high-scoring duo, leaving matters deadlocked once again at 57-57 at the buzzer and sending the teams into a second OT session.
Revere junior point guard Christopher Recinos (nine points, seven assists) had a huge drive to the basket plus the foul, Berry scored another tough basket in the lane, and with the Patriots running some clock to protect the lead, the Bulldogs were forced to foul to stop the clock. However, junior guard Wesley Nunez calmly sank all of his free throws down the stretch to enable the Patriots to come away with the 68-62 victory in double overtime.
”That was a fun game to be a part of,” said Leary. “We showed a lot tonight, fighting through the adversity and the very porous first quarter. There was no quit by these guys. They stayed with it and made all the big plays down the stretch to capture the victory. Hopefully, this turns things around for us and leads us in the right direction moving forward on the season.”
Coach David Leary and his crew, who were scheduled to play at Medford yesterday (Tuesday) and at Chelsea tomorrow (Thursday), will host GBL foe Malden this coming Tuesday. The opening tip-off is set for 7:00 in the Merullo Fieldhouse.
RHS girls basketball splits two contests
The Revere High girls basketball team rebounded from a 45-36 loss last Tuesday to Lynn Classical, the second-place team in the Greater Boston League (GBL), to post a 36-30 triumph over GBL foe Lynn English this past Thursday.
Coach Ariana Rivera and her crew are scheduled to host GBL rival Chelsea tomorrow (Thursday) evening at 6:00 and non-league opponent Danvers Friday, also at 6:00.
They will travel to non-league opponent Whittier on Sunday and to GBL rival Malden next Tuesday.
RHS boys track falls to Somerville
Although the Revere High boys indoor track and field team dropped its first contest of the season, 53-43 to Someville, which also entered the meet with an undefeated record, a number of Patriots turned in outstanding performances.
Jeremy X was a double-winner, taking the 55 dash in 6.72 and the 300 dash in 36.83. Notably, both of Jeremy’s performances were the fastest times of the night at the Reggie among all of the GBL competitors. (All of the GBL schools compete at the Reggie on Friday nights in dual and tri-meets.)
Teammate Oliver Escobar won the high jump with a leap of 5′-10″, also the best performance of the night at the Reggie, and took second in the 55 dash in 6.8.
Bryan Maia took first in the shot-put with a throw of 45′-3.5″, the top throw of the night among the GBL competition.
Scoring three points with second-place finishes were: Kepler Celamy in the long jump; Edwin Alarcon in the 1-mile; Diogo Yogi in the 2-mile; and Fajr Razi in the 55 hurdles. Joey Angiulo added a point with a third-place in the 300.
Revere won both relay events. The quartet of Kepler Celamy, Emmanual Lopera, Kwlebe Melendes, and Sergio Peguiero won the 4 x 200 relay in 1:39.47.
The Revere foursome of Amari Miller-Tobey, Sean Colleton, Jacob Cantarero, and Joey Angiulo won the 4 x 400 in 3:47.98, which was the fastest time of the night among all of the GBL’s 4 x 400 teams.
The Patriots will conclude their 2026 dual meet season this Friday at the Reggie with a tri-meet vs. Medford and Everett.
First loss for RHS girls indoor track since 2023
The Revere High girls indoor track and field team dropped its first dual meet in almost three years, falling to undefeated Somerville, 60-35, in a battle for first-place in the Greater Boston League.
“Despite the loss, we still saw some strong performances and we had a lot of girls step up for the team when we were lacking due to sickness and other team issues,” said RHS head coach Racquel MacDonald-Ciambelli.
Senior Gemma Stamatopoulos led the Lady Patriots with 11 points, winning the 600 with a clocking of 1:54.34 (which was the fastest time of the night at the Reggie among all of the GBL teams) and taking second places in the mile (with a personal record time of 5:52.39) and the high jump.
Olivia Rupp scored six points with a first in the 2-mile run in 13:26.60 and a third in the 1000 with a clocking of 3:28.95.
Dayana Orega scored seven points with a second place in the 55 hurdles (with a PR of 10.22), a second in the long jump (13′-10″), and a third in the 55 dash.
Three points for a second-place effort came from Rania Hamdani in the 300 dash. Rania also anchored Revere’s winning 4 x 400 relay quartet that included Zizi Kalliavas, Jaliayh Manigo, and Lesly Mendoza, who edged their Lady Highlander counterparts by 1.93 seconds with a time of 4:52.02.
Adding single points to the Revere side of the scoresheet with third-place finishes were Adiah Louaddi in the shot-put, Isabella Alfonso in the 55 hurdles, and Ina Tamizi in the long jump.
“Ina also cleared 4′-4″ in the high jump after having only practiced it for two days,” noted MacDonald-Ciambelli. “I’m so proud of her for stepping up in a new event.
“It was a tough loss, but the girls worked really hard and I am very proud of them for the support they gave one another all meet,” said MacDonald-Ciambelli.
On Saturday, Gemma Stamatopoulos and Olivia Rupp competed in the MSTCA State Coaches Invitational as the only two qualifiers from the RHS team.
“Both showed extremely impressive performances, especially considering they had back-to-back meet days,” said MacDonald-Ciambelli. “Gemma ran a season-best 1:44.95 in the 600m. Olivia ran a 5:51.69 in the 1-mile, tallying over three miles of racing in less than 20 hours.”
The Lady Patriots will wrap up their 2026 dual-meet campaign this Friday with a tri-meet vs. GBL foes Medford and Everett at the Reggie.
