By Cary Shuman
Arlington Catholic eighth grader Jackson Hines hit a three-pointer as time expired in regulation and added four points in overtime to lift AC past Revere, 62-55, in the season opener for both times.
Playing in his first varsity game, Hines received a pass in the corner and drilled a three-point shot as the buzzer sounded. Hines scored a team-high 13-points for the visiting Cougars.
Revere had mounted a strong second half comeback, led by sophomore Charles Dobre, who scored a team-high 15 points. Dobre’s free throws with 16 seconds left gave Revere a 50-47. But Hines denied Revere the victory in regulation with his three-point field goal.
“We just made a mistake defensively by leaving him [open],” said Revere head coach David Leary. “We didn’t talk about fouling in the huddle because there were about 15 seconds left. I think that’s too much time to foul, up only three – in my philosophy anyway. It was heartbreaking.”
Leary said he was proud of “the compete level” of his young team and the way it regrouped in the third quarter. “There are definitely things to build on from it.”
Dobre also had the “block of the night” on an AC drive down the lane. “Charles is super athletic and seems to be able to get to the basket when he wants to,” said Leary. “He also had a big night on the boards. He’s someone the league going to have reckon with for the next three years.”
Also drawing high grades from Leary were senior center Zaney Kayembe (8 points, 12 rebounds), senior Jadrian Sanchez (5 points) and junior point guard Wesley Nunez (6 points). Junior guard Nico Cespedes scored 7 points. Revere was set for a two-game set in Lynn with games against Lynn Classical (Tuesday) and Lynn English (Thursday).
