The Revere High boys basketball team recorded its second straight victory last Monday with a 75-67 overtime triumph at Winchester in a non-league encounter.
The senior duo of Jason Seigal and Mike Ciambelli turned in career-high nights for the Patriots, with Seigal pouring in 30 points and Ciambelli tingling the twine for 29.
“Those two really carried us on their backs offensively,” said RHS head coach Adam Rizzo. “At halftime, we realized that none of their guards could keep Seigal in front of them, so we scrapped all offense and allowed our point guard to play 1-on-1 basketball. Jason’s one of the smartest players on the court with the ball in his hands and he repeatedly made the right decision all game long. Whether he was getting all the way to the rim, pulling up for a jumper or three, or drawing contact and getting to the rim, Jason was a problem all game long for his opponents.”
In addition to his game-high 30 points, Seigal turned in a solid, all-around performance with eight assists and six steals.
Rizzo also was high in his praise of the other half of his dynamic-duo. “Mike Ciambelli has been our best scorer all season long and he brought it again for us against Winchester,” added Rizzo. “Mike used a variety of upfakes and fade-aways to get his buckets as well as chipping in seven points from the line.” Ciambelli was a force all night inside at both ends of the floor, making it a double-double evening with 10 rebounds.
The contest was a tight 14-13 affair in favor of Winchester after one period, a lead Winchester lengthened to 27-21 by the half. However, with Seigal and Ciambelli leading the way, the Pats chipped away at the Winchester advantage, eventually taking a three point lead into the final minute. However, Winchester drained a three pointer with 15 seconds to go to knot matters at 60-60. Ciambelli almost won it for Revere in regulation, but his last-second shot bounced off the rim to send the contest into OT, from where the Pats soon took control and outscored their opponents 15-7 in the extra session to come away with the victory.
In addition to his offensive stars of the night, Rizzo had high words of praise for the defensive work of the trio of Mike Dreeszen, Ravi Ryland, and Dante Lauria.
“We came into the game knowing that Winchester, like us, had a bunch of seniors that had played together for quite some time,” said Rizzo. “We typically like to run a 2-3 trapping zone, but Winchester was getting too many open looks for their best scorers, so we scrapped that and went to straight man. I have to give it up to seniors Mike Dreeszen, Ravi Ryland and Dante Lauria. They took on the tall task of guarding Winchester’s best two scorers. All three of our guys were undersized compared to them, but what we lacked in physical stature we made up for in heart. Those three never once got down when they gave up a bucket; they were just ready to take up the task of locking them down next time down the floor.”
That threesome also chipped in with some key buckets, with Dreeszen and Lauria hitting for five points each and Ryland adding four. Camilo Gomez also got on the scoresheet with two points.
“This was a big victory for us, coming off our first win of the season at home against Bedford,” noted Rizzo. “I tell the kids we are in the business of winning basketball games and that’s what we are learning to do now. I’ve got 12 men on this team that are all very smart and are willing to work. We know we are capable of reaching our goals this season and need to continue to do so one game at a time.”
The Patriots’ home game with Beverly last Friday was snowed out with a make-up date yet to be determined. Revere was scheduled to take on Lynn English this past Monday and will host Marblehead tonight (Wednesday). They will travel to arch-rival Chelsea tomorrow night and entertain Gloucester next Tuesday. Tip-off time for all games is 7:00.
Girls track team wins second straight
The Revere High girls indoor track team raced to its second victory of the season with a 51-35 triumph over Lynn Classical last week.
Brenda Rudecindo once again paced the Lady Patriots with 11.25 points by capturing two individual events, the high jump and the 50 yard hurdles, and running a leg of the winning 4 x 400 relay team. Brenda equaled her personal record (PR) in the high jump, clearing the bar with a leap of  4-8. She then added another five points onto the Revere side of the scoresheet with a clocking of 8.6 in the hurdles.
Other Revere girls who took home first place finishes were: Janet DeStefano with a shotput toss of 30-6., a distance Janet achieved on her final throw; Comfort Toglan in the 300 dash with a clocking of 45.2; captain Nikki Nelson in the 1000 with a run of 3:30.7, which was 24 seconds faster than her nearest competitor (and the first time Nikki, who typically runs the mile, had competed in the 1000); Jaclynne Dion in the mile in 6:36.2; Suellen Guerreiro with two mile run of 14:40.7; and the 4 x 400 relay quartet of Jessica Cambria, Toglan, Rudecindo, and Nelson in 4:45, which was three seconds faster than Classical’s crew.
Second place finishers for Revere were: Angelica Nguyen in the 50 yard dash in a time of 7.1, which marked the first time that Angelica, a sophomore, had placed in a varsity meet; Danielle Fortuna in the 600 in 2:01.7; and Taylor O’Neill in the mile in 6:37.4.
Lady Patriots who scored a point for their third place efforts were Lauren Hayes with a shotput throw of 25-6 and Jackie Pisano in the hurdles in 9.5.
Coach Antonio LaBruna and his squad were set to host Beverly this evening (Wednesday).
Boys track team races past Classical
The Revere High boys track team improved to 2-1 on the season with a 57-29 triumph over Lynn Classical last Monday.
Tarik Maddrey was a double-winner for coach Sam Ros’s squad with victories in the high jump with a bar-clearing leap of 5-10 and the 50 yard hurdles in a time of 7.3 seconds.
Anthony DeStefano topped the field in the shotput with his heave of 37-10 to pace a Revere sweep of that event. Teammates Brett Deukmejian (a toss of 37-3) and Mirza Lizkovica (37-1) went 2-3.
The Patriots also swept the 1000 run, led by Sebastian Mejia’s clocking of 3:09, followed by teammates Carl Bendeck in 3:12 and John Simonini in 3:30.
Other first-place finishers for Revere were: Younes Hartout in the 300 dash in 40.9; Bounlaing Chea in the 600 in 1:46.1; Frank Davidson in the mile in 5:23.7; and John DellaRusso in the two mile in 11:10.
Additional second place point-scorers for Revere were David Murphy in the 50 dash in 6.3 and Richard Damiano in the 600 in 1:48.2.
Earning third place points for Revere were Jay Mistri in the mile in 5:39; Lionel Forbes with a high jump of 5-0; and Salah Barhoum in the two-mile run in 11:24.
Ros and his squad, who now are 2-1 on the season, will entertain Beverly tomorrow evening (Thursday) at the Merullo Fieldhouse.
RHS hockey team defeats Somerville, 4-1
The Revere High hockey team turned in an impressive all-around performance to take the measure of former Greater Boston League rival Somerville, 4-1, last Tuesday at Cronin Rink.
After the teams battled through a scoreless first frame, the Patriots took charge over the final two periods. Goal-scorers for Revere were Cam Whalen, who lit the lamp twice, Steve Noel, and Mike Martorelli.
“We played a solid game at both ends of the ice,” said RHS head coach Joe Ciccarello, whose squad got back on the winning track after suffering their first loss of the season two days earlier to Lowell. “We skated hard and it showed in the final result.”
However, four days later, the Patriots displayed nowhere near the same degree of drive and absorbed a 3-0 loss to Salem Saturday afternoon at Salem State College.
“Admittedly, we had come off a three day layoff with the New Year’s Day holiday and then the snowstorm,” said Cicarello. “We’d expected to have a couple of good practices prior to the Salem game, so with three days of no practice, our legs were slow.
“But that’s still no excuse,” Ciccarello continued. “We didn’t play with the sort of energy we need if we’re going to be successful. We had fairly-easily handled Salem the first time we met them (a 4-0 Revere win), so losing the way we did was very disappointing.”
Cicarello and his crew will stay on the road for their next three contests. The Pats play Swampscott tonight (Wednesday) at Salem State College; trek northward to Gloucester Saturday; and take the short bus ride over the General Edwards Bridge to Connery Memorial Arena in Lynn next Wednesday to face Lynn.
