Malden Manhandles Cambridge

Before Don "Gipper" Nally took over the Malden High School boys' basketball program, the team had never won a game at Cambridge High School. Following Tuesday night's 62-49 victory at Cambridge's newly refurbished War Memorial Gymnasium, the Tornadoes have now taken 3 out of their last 4 games at Cambridge.

The Tornadoes were able to improve to 6-0 on the season on the strength of their senior tri-captains. Travis Nally dominated the vaunted Cambridge press, dishing out a game-high 10 assists while knocking down two huge 3-pointers in the second half when the Falcons threatened to make a run. Fellow guard Steve Siuda added 12 points and 5 assists of his own while playing stellar defense against the quick Cambridge guards. Forward and tri-captain Marcus Armstrong put together the best two-way game of his career. The senior had 16 points to go along with 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals.

"That is exactly what we expect from our senior captains." Nally said. "They were here as sophomores getting run off the floor at Cambridge and now they've come back and can proudly say they were the key contributors on the only team that has won games at Cambridge in consecutive seasons."

The game was tight throughout the first half and stood at 12-10 before a thunderous dunk from sophomore Egi Gjikondi sent the Tornadoes on a 17-2 run to close the first half with a 29-14 edge. The team never looked back, following their captains to the team's first 6-0 start in over 20 years. The Tornadoes continue their G.B.L. schedule with a tough matchup against Everett at the Finn Gym on Friday night. Game time is at 7pm.

Everett hands Malden first loss of season

 DiPanfilo, Clifford drive win

PEABODY — The Bishop Fenwick boys basketball team is Mike Clifford and Nolan DiPanfilo. It's also a whole lot more. Clifford scored a game-high 25 points and pulled down a career-high 27 rebounds, DiPanfilo added 14 points, and a couple other less-heralded players did major damage as the Crusaders ran away from St. Mary's of Lynn, 73-57, last night.Meanwhile, Brett DiPanfilo, Nolan's little brother, made the most of his first starting opportunity, frustrating St. Mary's super guard Tyler Grillo on the defensive end, and contributing seven points.Early on Nolan DiPanfilo was burning the Spartans from the outside when they pinched down low on Clifford. Then Eagan shook loose for a few baskets of his own to help the Crusaders build a 10-point halftime cushion. All the while, Brett DiPanfilo was going toe-to-toe with Grillo on defense.Sophomore wing Ronseto Campbell added 11 points and senior forward John Bakopolous chipped in 10 in the defeat for St. Mary's.

By Joyce Erekson / The Daily Item

SWAMPSCOTT -- You can only put out so many fires on a given night.

Classical has plenty of firepower with Jarell Byrd, Jasper Grassa and Cam Smith wreaking havoc on a nightly basis, but prior to the Rams' 67-42 win over Swampscott Friday at Swampscott, sophomore guard Nick Grassa had managed to fly under the radar. Not any more.

The younger Grassa led all scorers with 17 points, doing the bulk of the damage in the first half when he buried four of his five threes to keep the Rams just ahead of the posse. Classical only led by three at the half.

"Nick made some great shots," Swampscott coach Paul Moran said. "Classical's a very good team. They're very balanced."

"The as the best first half we've had in a long time," Moran said. "They're tough, with Byrd, Grass and Smith ... To hang with them for a half was good. We just have to put it together for two halfs." Classical was deadly from three-point range all night, hitting an impressive 45 percent of its shots (13-for-29. Byrd, who finished with 16 points, had four treys. Jasper Grassa and Smith were also a force with Grassa doing something he had never done in his high school career and that's record a triple double. He had 10 assists and 10 rebounds to go with his 11 points. Smith also had 11 points.

Winthrop 67, Salem 65

At Winthrop, the Vikings improved to 9-2 and enjoyed their fist victory over Salem in David Brown's seven-year tenure as Winthrop's head coach.

Dino Mallios scored a game-high 31, Gavin Mahoney scored 14 and dished out 10 assists, and Anthony Hatzisavaz grabbed 11 rebounds and scored eight in the win.

Beverly 64, Gloucester 62

At Gloucester, Panther senior Nate Knudson scored 14 in his team's fourth quarter comeback that was capped off with Felix Zamot's game-winner at the buzzer.

"We played poorly for three quarters," said Beverly (4-4) coach Scott Lewis. "Nate took over in the fourth which is what we expect him to do as a senior."

Knudson and Curtis Manuel each scored a team-high 19. Justin Reese didn't score for the Panthers, but did make his presence felt on the defensive end with nine blocks.

CMass Boys Basketball: Maynard lives by the 3

The MetroWest Daily News, Posted Jan 09, 2009 @ 11:53 PM

Jon Chow hit seven 3-pointers to lead Maynard over visiting Littleton, 73-60, in Mid-Wach D action.Chow had 27 points overall, and Mike Fowler had 28 points for the Tigers (6-0, 2-0 MWD) on six three-pointers. Forty-five of Maynard's 73 points were attributed to 3-pointers. Jake Tyler added 10 points and eight boards in the win for the Tigers.

HOPKINTON 68, DOVER-SHERBORN 51: Senior forward Mark Masucci had 19 points and six rebounds as host Hopkinton took down Dover-Sherborn in a TVL matchup.Senior forward Andrew Park had 15 points and seven rebounds for the Hillers while senior center John Leteria chipped in with eight points and eight rebounds. Senior center Ted Ouellet led the Raiders with 17 points.

BEDFORD 70, LINCOLN-SUDBURY 61: Sophomore guard Danny Cakert had 13 points, six assists and five steals, but host Lincoln-Sudbury couldn't overcome Bedford in Dual County League play.Senior captain and forward Mike Antonellis had 10 points and six boards for the Warriors (4-5, 1-0 DCL Large), who fought back from a 17-point deficit but couldn't take the lead.

WELLESLEY 52, WEYMOUTH 45: Junior guard Evan Kulak had 14 points as visiting Wellesley topped Weymouth in Bay State Conference action. Senior guard Joel Pollick added 10 points in the win for the Raiders (4-4, 2-4 BSC).

Westford 64 Weston 52: Fifteen players saw floor time for the Grey Ghosts and it was again the 'Big Three' that led the way, keeping their team perfect (6-0, 1-0 DCL Large) with this Dual County League crossover home court win. TJ Jann tossed in 16 points, Peter Lynch had 12 and Alex Haines's latest double-double was 12 points, 11 rebounds.

Arlington Catholic 51 Austin Prep 46: After leading most of the way, including 27-21 at the half, Austin (4-4, 1-4 CCL Large) had some bad luck down the stretch as the visiting AC Cougars rallied for the Catholic Central League Large School victory in Reading. Dan Higgins was tops for AP with 20 points and 7 rebounds, while Andrew Mayer of Billerica added 13 points, 5 boards.

Woburn 65 Burlington 61: Ten 3-point baskets sparked a Woburn rally in this Middlesex League showdown. Burlington had a chance to tie the game but couldn't convert on the hoop with 11 seconds left. The Red Devils drop to 6-2 and 4-2, while the Tanners are now 6-3 and 4-2 in the league. Sophomore guard Zach Hurynowicz led Burlington with 21 points and 7 assists, and senior forward Matt Trahan had 20 points and 9 rebounds. Senior Brendan Farley added 12 points and 12 rebounds for Burlington.

Westford 70 Tyngsboro 37:Senior forward Peter Lynch led all scorers with 22 points for Westford (6-0). Lynch added 8 rebounds, and Grey Ghosts' senior center Alex Haines grabbed 13 rebounds to go with 9 points. Junior forward TJ Jann added 11 points, and 10 players got in the scoring column for Westford.