The Marblehead boys basketball team had some early-game jitters at the beginning of its showdown against Danvers last Friday.
But once those nerves eased, the Magicians put on an impressive shooting display on Senior Night with 12 threes en route to an 81-47 victory.
Marblehead came out of the gates slow, trailing 4-0 just two minutes in. The Magicians, however, answered with a 5-0 run. Junior Nick Lemmond swished a three-pointer and senior Isaiah Makor corralled a rebound, sprinted up the floor, and euro-stepped around a Falcon before laying in the ball with his left hand.
Marblehead and Danvers traded baskets the rest of the first quarter — one that ended 13-12 in favor of the hosts.
Marblehead coach Mike Giardi started his backup unit to begin the second quarter. As a result, that unit went on a 15-2 run in the first four minutes of second. Key plays were three-point makes from seniors Magnus McCarthy and Aven Denbow, and another from sophomore Matthew Sherf.
“Our second unit played with a lot of energy, which is what Danvers does as well,” Giardi said. “Danvers runs a lot of the same stuff and sets that we run, and our first unit was a little sluggish to start and was just going through the motions. Our second unit gave us a big lift and was able to stretch our lead out.”
After Marblehead went into halftime ahead 36-23, it was a case of déjà vu’ as Danvers started the third quarter on a 4-0 run to cut Marblehead’s lead to nine (36-27).
Giardi called a timeout with 6:39 on the clock, and that’s when his team went on a 26-14 run.
“During the timeout, we made a point to get out and run, and we started doing that much more,” Giardi said. “Once we were able to make them run, we just tired them out in the second half.”
The three-point line was, again, another difference-maker as Ty Countrymon,
Lemmond, and McCarthy each connected during this stretch. Marblehead held a commanding 62-
41 lead at the end of the third.
In the fourth, Marblehead showed off its well-balanced scoring, and the lead was too much for Danvers to overcome.
Leading the way for the Magicians were Lemmond (12 points and three assists), Countrymon (nine points and seven assists), Makor (12 points and six rebounds), and junior Miles O’Neill (nine points and eight rebounds).