Revere Boys Top Malden in Tourney
The Revere High boys and girls basketball team hosted the Patriot Holiday Basketball Tournament last Wednesday and Thursday at Revere High School. Coach David Leary and his boys’ squad opened their play with a first-round matchup against Lynnfield, looking to play against East Boston (which had defeated Malden in the other first-round contest) in the tournament finals on Thursday.
The Patriots were hoping to jump on the Pioneers right from the start, but the low-scoring game, and the pace of the contest, favored Lynnfield. Revere junior guard Josh Mercado (three points, five assists, five steals) got the scoring going for Revere with a three-pointer and senior co-captain Andrew Leone (eight points, eight rebounds) also sank a trey from the wing. Junior guard Ethan Day made a nice floater on the baseline, but Lynnfield still led 11-10 to close out the first quarter.
The second period was a struggle to score for both teams, as the defense for both squads was solid. Revere junior forward Erick Mayorga (six points, four rebounds) scored all six points for the Patriots in the quarter, but that was all they could muster in eight minutes and Revere trailed 17-16 at the half.
The Patriots made a few adjustments on offense to start the second half and that opened things up for senior center Amir Yamani (10 points, 12 rebounds), who made some tough baskets in traffic against the tall and long Pioneer zone defense. Senior co-captain Luke Ellis made a jump shot and Leone had a nice putback. The Patriots were up by four points, but after a turnover, Lynnfield inbounded the ball and banked in a half court shot at the buzzer to leave the score at 28-27 in favor of Revere at the three-quarter mark.
The fourth period proved more of the same, as both teams really struggled to put the ball in the basket. Lynnfield made a three pointer move out front midway through the quarter, but Leone answered with a trey for Revere to retake the lead. But other than a put-back basket by sophomore forward Sean Burnett, the Patriots’ offense went completely dry and they could only score five points in the final frame to lose 38-33.
Leary expressed the frustration his young team had after the game, “We give Lynnfield credit, they are a really good-sized team and their zone gave us a tough time,” Leary said. “We were unable to set up our pressure defense because we were not scoring and I feel like that was the key to the game. They also did a nice job taking away our main scorers. We missed some open shots and free throws that could have swung the momentum a few times throughout the game, but that’s basketball. Hopefully we can learn from this.”
The consolation game between GBL rivals Malden and Revere was played on Thursday morning. The non-league game between the squads started off evenly, as both teams traded baskets early. Senior co-captain Luke Ellis (11 points, three three-pointers) drained a three-pointer from the wing. Junior guard Ethan Day (17 points, 7-10 FT) made a nice floater in the lane and an elbow jump shot, while junior guard Josh Mercado had a nice fast break layup and Revere led 13-5 to end the first quarter.
The second quarter was all about the Revere bench. Junior point guard Avi Lung (four points, four steals) made a really nice left-handed layup off a euro-step in transition. Sophomore forward Sean Burnett had a tough offensive rebound and put-back in traffic and senior center Ryan El Babor had a basket plus the free throw and the Patriots took a 22-16 lead into the intermission.
The third quarter was completely different than the first two quarters. Both teams found their touch on offense, starting with Revere senior center Amir Yamani (six points, six rebounds), who had a nice drive to the basket and a post-up move for two. Senior co-captain Andrew Leone (three points, seven rebounds) made a free throw and an elbow jump shot. Ethan Day got to the hoop a few times and made a few free throws and Ellis drained two more deep three-pointers to help extend the Patriots lead, and Yamani hit a jump shot to beat the buzzer from a nice pass from junior guard Sami Mghizou to push the Revere advantage to 44-33 heading into the final eight minutes.
The fourth period reverted back to the style of the first two quarters, as both defenses made it tough to score. Revere got a nice reverse layup from Mghizou, but other than some free throws from Day, Lung, and Mercado the Patriots went quiet. The Revere defense however, did its job and helped the Patriots hold onto a 51-40 victory.
“We are starting to figure some things out,” said Leary, commenting on his team’s performance in the game and for the month of December. “I thought we played with much better pace on offense against Malden and really moved the ball well on offense. Our defense won us the game in the final quarter when we needed it most. We had a few tough and close losses this first month and I think we are doing a better job of correcting mistakes. Hopefully we can continue to grow as a team and improve our chemistry on offense and defense.”
Leary and his crew were scheduled to travel to Malden yesterday (Tuesday) and will host Everett this Friday evening at 7:00 at the Merullo Fieldhouse. They will trek to Somerville next Tuesday.
RHS Girls Win Tourney Opener
The Revere High girls basketball team split its two contests in the Patriot Holiday Basketball Tournament last Wednesday and Thursday at Revere High School.
Coach Ariana Rivera’s squad won its opening-round contest over Boston United, 69-12. Belma Velic led the Lady Patriots in scoring with 18 points. Ikram Bichou pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.
“This was a very high-scoring game for us, and strong defensively as well, holding Boston United to under 15 points,” said Rivera, who lauded the effort of her bench players, who contributed 27 points to the victory.
In the championship game with Milton on Thursday, Revere came up short by a score of 40-25. Haley Belloise topped the Revere scoresheet with 13 points and Shayna Smith pulled down with seven rebounds.
“We had 28 turnovers as a team and managed to stay in the game, but couldn’t chip away in time,” notd Rivera. “We struggled with man-to-man pressure and executing our offense.”
The Lady Patriots hosted Malden yesterday (Tuesday) and will travel to Everett this evening (Thursday). They will go to Someville next Tuesday.
