After what looked like it may come down to the wire, Masco’s valiant second-half effort propelled them past the Tanners in their home opener.
Masco came into this game looking to improve defensively from their first game as well as stay hot offensively, and to start the first quarter, that’s exactly what they did.
Senior guard captain Devin O’Brien led the first-quarter charge with seven points and finished with eight points for the game.
After calling a timeout when Masco had a good-sized lead early, Peabody senior Joriel Tolentino came out and hit three three-pointers in the first half. This completely changed the momentum and left the game tied going into the half, after the Tanner defense only allowed six points in the second quarter.
Masco head coach Jacob Morales preaches about outworking the other team and elevating from being an average team to a great team. He stuck by these principles in the locker room at halftime and made sure his boys would not be outworked in the next 16 minutes of basketball.
“Defensively is what gave us that second-half spark. We were engaged, our hands were up, we understood personnel, we were getting in passing lanes, and ensuring they only got one shot in every offensive opportunity. For them to get 10 offensive rebounds in the first half and for us to limit them to maybe one in the second half is a testament to the way the boys came out ready to play in that second half,” said Morales.
Sophomore forward Thomas Denton flourished early in the third quarter, scoring six straight points on a few nice takes and cuts without the ball.
The Chieftains outscored the Tanners 22-9 in the third quarter, thanks to an offensive explosion from junior big man Jamason Vella. Vella scored 14 points in the third and 25 overall, including an awesome two-hand slam in the fourth quarter for his first dunk in the early-comings of the season.
“In the first half we were pretty slow and weren’t on point defensively, but in the second half we locked in on defense which led us to easy buckets on offense,” said Vella. “That dunk felt good; it was a great way to get the student section going and hopefully all the fans keep coming to our games.”
At one point in the game, the Masco defense held Peabody scoreless for over 10 straight minutes. Junior guard Ryan “The Bulldog” Richardson earned that nickname last season for his relentless defense, and was the Chieftains’ best defensive player in this game. He came in off the bench and was put on Tolentino, who had lit up Masco early on and made him a non-factor the rest of the game.
“Coming off the bench, my mindset is to bring energy on the court that maybe those starting guys can’t,” said Richardson. “I’m not looking to do things for myself, I’m just looking to put myself in the best position to help the team. I want to go out there, make the other team rattled, get into their heads, and make an impact.”
Combining for 138 points through the first two games proves just how special this offense can be and Masco has a great chance to showcase these athletes and tap into their full defensive potential moving forward. With the size of this team, Masco should be out-rebounding almost every team they play and that is something the coaches will continue to instill in practice.
“There are three key things we will work on this week. We are going to be boxing out, we are going to be working on our defense to solidify that because that’ll be our key principle for the rest of the year, and more importantly, we are going to make sure we are ready to go for Gloucester come Friday,” said Morales. “We are turning the page and ready to play away Friday, hopefully going into this holiday break 3-0.”
The Fishermen are 1-1 on the season, coming off of a win over Saugus, and are looking to get redemption for Masco crushing them last season. But does Gloucester have what it takes to stop this new Northeast Conference (NEC) juggernaut? Tipoff begins at 7 o’clock at Gloucester High School.