Lithgow Pours in 31 to Lead RHS Boys Basketball to 53-49 Win at Wakefield
Junior guard Crisrael Lithgow poured in 31 points to lead the Revere High boys basketball team to an exciting 53-49 triumph at Wakefield this past Friday evening.
Lithgow, who in addition to his scoring exploits turned in a solid, two-way effort with five rebounds, four assists, and three steals for the night, gave an early indication of things to come when he drained a trio of three-pointers in the opening period to push the Pats into a 14-12 advantage at the first buzzer.
Junior forward Dillan Day (five points, four rebounds, and three assists on the night) and sophomore forward John Capozzi (three points) also hit for baskets in the early going.
Lithgow continued his torrid shooting pace in the second quarter, tingling the twine for 12 points in the eight-minute period. Senior guard and tri-captain Amara Bockarie (six points, six steals on the night) drained a three-pointer as time expired to help Revere extended its lead to eight at the half, 32-24, .
The Patriots’ pressure defense (10 team steals) also played a key role in the second-period surge, with senior forward Bobby Kjersgard and senior guard Derek Avery coming off the bench to supply some solid defensive work.
“We talked about getting out to a faster start heading into this game,” said RHS head coach David Leary. “We fell way behind early against Everett and Woburn because we were not aggressive. But against Wakefield, our defense and obviously Crisrael’s hot shooting got us going and allowed us to extend our lead.â€
The Patriot defense continued to keep the home team Warriors from getting going after the intermission and Revere was able to widen its advantage to 39-26 midway through the third quarter.
Following a Wakefield timeout, the Warriors came out with their own wrinkle on defense, employing a box-and-one on Lithgow in an effort to slow him down. The Wakefield strategy worked. Revere did not score again in the quarter, allowing the Warriors to slice what had been a double-digit Revere lead to three, 39-36, heading into the final eight minutes of play.
Revere started the final period quickly, thanks to another Lithgow bucket from three-point land, followed by a put-back from senior tri-captain Scott Toglan, to boost the Patriots into a 44-36 lead with 6:03 remaining in the game.
Although Bockarie committed his fourth personal foul and was forced to the bench, Leary and his staff turned to senior guard Michael Hayes to guard Wakefield’s leading scorer Marcus Masterson (14 points), a challenge Hayes accepted — and performed — with zeal, even though he was giving up several inches in height in the matchup.
However, Wakefield continued to battle back and, thanks to the Warriors’ height advantage, earned second-chance shots on the offensive boards, eventually tying the game at 46-46 with less than one minute to play.
The Patriot defense forced a key stop and pushed the ball upcourt. Junior forward Calvin Boudreau (six points, six rebounds) then calmly nailed an open three-pointer from the corner to give Revere a 49-46 lead with 40 seconds remaining.
Day pulled down a big defensive rebound on Wakefield’s next possession and took off, dribbling the ball the length of the court for a lay-up to make it 51-46.
Wakefield came right back and sank a trey to draw within 51-49 with 14 seconds remaining, setting the stage for a hectic finish.
However, the Patriots set up an inbounds press-breaker and were able to get the ball to Lithgow, who fittingly made two free throws to clinch Revere’s first victory of the year.
“We started slowly in our first two games, so our goal was to get off to a fast start against Wakefield,” said Leary. “The team showed a lot of character. I thought when we gave up the big lead we were in trouble, but the kids fought through adversity as a group and would not accept anything but a win.
“It’s a big stepping stone for us to win on the road against a good team,” Leary added. “Now we need to build on this.â€
The Patriots, who are 1-2 on the season, were set to host Chelsea this past Monday evening and will travel to Bunker Hill Community College next Monday (Jan. 6) to face Greater Boston League foe Somerville.
Leary and his crew will return home next Wednesday (January 8) to entertain Peabody at 7 p.m.
RHS Hockey Team Earns Two Ties
The Revere High hockey team skated to a pair of ties in both of its contests in the First Responders Tournament that was played last Thursday and Friday at the Gallo Ice Arena in Cambridge.
The Patriots earned a 2-2 deadlock with Methuen in the tourney opener, but Methuen moved on to the tourney final with a win in a shootout after a scoreless overtime period. However, for purposes of the teams’ records, the contest is considered a tie.
The Patriots then took on Greater Boston League rival Somerville, a team that had defeated Revere last week by a score of 5-3, in the consolation game. However, this time around Revere batted the Highlanders to a 1-1 draw, which included an unofficial five minutes of OT in which the teams played in a 4 v. 4 format.
Gerry Visconti and Eric Platcow scored the goals for Revere in the Methuen tilt and Matt Dannolfo lit the lamp against Somerville.
Revere battled from behind in both games, trailing 2-0 after the first period to Methuen and 1-0 after the first 15 minutes to Somerville.
“Getting off to a slow start has been a recurring theme for us this season,” said RHS head coach Joe Ciccarello. “However, in both games we were able to come back effectively to earn the ties.”
Ciccarello praised freshman goalie Cam Wickens, who was impenetrable after the opening frame in both contests and ended up with about 30 saves in each of the games. “Cam was solid after the first period and that allowed us to come back,” said Ciccarello. “He is only a freshman, but he is fundamentally very sound and works very hard. We also are fortunate to have two other excellent goalies this season, juniors J.T. Bowdridge and Nick Fabrizio.”
Ciccarello and his crew, who now stand at 1-3-2 on the season (1-1 in the GBL) will play Northeast Regional this Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Malden Valley Forum and will return home to host East Boston next Wednesday (Jan. 8) at Cronin Rink at 7:30 p.m.
RHS Girls Hoop Team Drops Non-League Tilts
The Revere High girls basketball team came up on the short end of both of its contests this past week against a pair of strong, non-league opponents,
Newburyport and Billerica.
Freshmen Elaysia Lung and Amaya Leydon led the Revere scoring in the encounter with Newburyport, while Alanna Nelson and Skyla DeSimone topped the scoring chart against Billerica.
RHS head coach Matt Willis also lauded the defensive performance of Katie O’Donnell in the Billerica game.
The Lady Patriots were scheduled to face Chelsea this past Monday afternoon. They will entertain Pentucket this coming Monday (Jan. 6) with the opening tip set for 6:30 p.m. and then will travel to Lynn English on Wednesday (Jan. 8).
Barbosa Takes 4th place at Speed Classic
Revere High track star Lucas Barbosa finished in fourth place with a leap of 19′-9″ among a field of 60 competitors in the long jump event of the Speed Classic that was held at the Reggie Lewis Center recently.
Lucas also turned in a strong performance in the 55 meter dash with a sprint of 6.84 seconds, placing him in 11th place among the large field of 218 competitors.
Teammate Antony Arias also performed well at the meet, finishing in seventh place in the long jump with a leap of 19′-4.5″.
Ricardo Goncalves came through with a strong performance in the 55 hurdles with a clocking of 8.64 that placed him 13th in that event.
Victor Pelatere ran a strong race in the 600-meter dash with a time of 1:30.67, placing him in 17th spot.
On the girls’ side, Luana Barbosa turned in a fine, all-around effort at the meet. Luana sped to a seventh place finish in the 55 hurdles in 9.76 and then finished in 15th position in the long jump with a distance of 14′-7″.
The next dual meet of the season for both the boys and girls indoor track and field teams is set for this Monday (Jan. 6) when they will host Somerville at the Merullo Fieldhouse.