Right from the jump, Masco (13-1) demolished Marblehead on Monday night, 64-53, completing the season sweep.
This contest wasn’t close from the get-go with Masco scoring the first 12 points of the game and ending the first quarter up by 15.
Masco shot 1/12 from three against Peabody, their worst shooting night of the year, but that was not the case on Monday, as they hit eight three-pointers.
Masco’s ace junior captain and point guard Jimmy Farrell led the charge, who scored all 21 of his points in the first half on extremely efficient shooting. Farrell is averaging 18.6 points this season and has scored over 21 in the last three games. He also recorded three blocks in this game.
Senior captain Devin O’Brien’s shot was on in this one, sinking two threes and some nice shots from mid-range, getting him 14 on the night. O’Brien has been a key contributor to the Chieftain offense, averaging 11.7 points per game and creating space in the paint due to the threat of his deadly trey ball.
“It was great to get three road wins against tough teams in a row. We now got to be ready for our game Thursday, giving us two days to prepare for Winthrop,” said O’Brien. “Win number 13 feels sweet and lately the boys have been rolling. Hopefully, down the stretch, we continue to win and get a week off before our first playoff game and even have a couple at home.”
A key contribution in this game was the defense of junior guards Cal Weidman, Ryan Richardson, and John Green, who all had the task of guarding skilled Marblehead sophomore Finn Baron, holding Baron to only six points.
“It all starts from the great minds in our coaching staff. Every day in practice they push us to our limit defensively, and keep us to a very high standard which clearly translates to the game,” said Green. “One thing our team says a lot is that it’s never one guy who gets scored on, it’s all 5. So, we’ve learned what it takes to fully defend as a team and how this helps us stop a team’s go-to-guy such as Finn [Baron].”
Green is a player who has seen a substantial rise in minutes from the beginning of the season due to his scrappy defense and hustle combined with his elite basketball IQ.
“For me, it’s been all about learning my role and fully embracing my strengths and weaknesses. This year, I feel I’ve proven my greatest strength is on the defensive side of the ball,” he said. “Every defensive possession I give maximum effort, and our coaches do a great job of giving us energy to defend in games as well as practices. I think this is what has allowed me to see more time on the floor as the season goes on.”
The glass was run by Masco all game long, led by junior big man Jamason Vella, who grabbed 12 rebounds in this game and is the leading rebounder in the North Shore with 10.4. Vella was a force inside on offense, contributing 13 points of his own.
6 foot-5 sophomore stretch-forward Thomas Denton also snatched 11 rebounds to go with his eight second-half points. With Vella and Denton combining for nearly 19 rebounds a game, the Chieftain bigs are nightmares on the glass.
One of the best shooters in the conference is junior guard Colin Doherty, and he turns heads as soon as he enters the game. Doherty, in limited minutes, has drained seven triples (fifth on the team), and always is looking for his shot, stroking it with confidence. Doherty checked into the game in the final minutes and drained two out of three from long range.
“We had a great first half, being able to put 40 points up on a hard defensive team like Marblehead is great,” said head coach Jaycob Morales. “The second half play wasn’t great, I felt like we allowed them to come in here and play harder than us. That is something we will not accept and we take pride in that, we will defend for 32 minutes, and we will play hard for 32 minutes. We have to relay that message from our first guy to our 16th because, for me, it’s a pride thing.”
The Chieftains have now won nine games in a row and hold a two-game lead over the NEC Dunn Division being undefeated in the league. They now look on to a heavy underdog in Winthrop, tonight at seven in their home gym for senior night.
Score by quarter:
1st: M 23 MAR 8
2nd: M 17 MAR: 9
3rd: M 11 MAR: 12
4th: M 13 MAR: 14
Masco leading scorers: Farrell 21 pts, Obrien 14 pts, Vella 13 pts, Denton 8 pts
Marblehead leading scorers: Thompson 12 pts, Fitzgerald 7 pts, Sherf 6 pts, Baron 6 pts