Sports: Belmont Shares League Title After Rendering Reading Redundant, 57-51

February 18, 2017 By Franklin B. Tucker 1 Comment

Photo: The bench and players on the court cheer what would be the game-winning basket from Greta Propp.

When Reading High’s sophomore guard Isabella Zagami hit an off-balance 3 pointer to tie its game with Belmont at 51 with less than 40 seconds in the game, it could have been a knife to the heart to the host Marauders.

But rather than dwell on what just occurred, Belmont immediately took the ball inbounds and grabbed the game by the throat and a championship into their hands.

Taking the ball from half court, sophomore forward Jane Mahon turned and headed directly to the basket. With a pair of Reading players stepping up to cut off her path to the hoop, Mahon lifted a soft, floating pass to a wide open junior forward Greta Propp who hit the easy bucket while being fouled.

“I said, ‘please, Greta, grab the ball,” said Mahon after Belmont (14-3) defeated the red hot (a nine-game winning streak snapped) Reading Rocket team, 57-51, to secure a share of the Middlesex League Liberty title with Woburn on Seniors Night, Thursday, Feb. 16.

In a game close from the second quarter on, the chemistry between the players on the court gave Belmont the victory.

“Our starters and those coming off the bench just have a great feel for the game and especially here,” said Belmont’s Head Coach Melissa Hart. She particularly praised sophomore off guard Meghan Tan for her standup defense and timely hoops.

“The hands that she got on the ball and the rebounds, she just made a lot of stuff happen.”

As her policy, Hart started all her seniors – the Haight twins, Reagan and Riley, Mary Kate Egan and the injured Margaux d’Arbeloff who came off after the tip – along with captain point guard Carly Christofori and junior Jenny Call. While Belmont fell behind early, 11-5 midway through the first, Hart noted it had less to do with the skills of the seniors rather the unfamiliarity of whom they were playing.

Belmont seniors: Riley Haight, Mary Kate Egan, Margaux d’Arbeloff and Reagan Haight.

Reading entered the second up by a surprising 11, 18-5, led by its young trio of underclassmen, sophomore forward Alyssa Pryputniewicz, junior Kathryn Nestor and the Rockets’ stellar sophomore Haley Lightbody who is making her mark with her quickness and shooting ability.

Belmont soon cut the margin within two minutes with an eight-point run from 3s from Tan and Call along with a pair of free throws from Christofori “who is such a stabilizing force,” said Hart. Belmont’s 17-8 quarter – highlighted by Mahon’s pair of jumpers – allowed the slow starting Marauders to trail the Rockets by two, 26-24, at the half.

The second act was much as the first, with a paper-thin margin between the squads with Belmont’s sophomore center Jess Giorgio (4 points in the third) and Propp (7 third quarter points of her team-high 13 points) led the Marauders while Lightbody kept the Rockets in the game despite of Belmont defensive press.

The game’s big breakout came as the teams prepared for the final stanza tied at 36 as Belmont went the Stephen Curry route as Christofori and Call hit 3s from distance to take a six-point lead into the final quarter.

Belmont would keep the lead at half-a-dozen for six of the eight minutes with a basket Tan – who earlier in the quarter scored on a 3 and made two critical assists – giving the Marauders a five-point lead at the two-minute-to-go point, 51-46.

But Zagami made Belmont pay for a lazy pass with a steal with Lightbody making the hoop with 1:35 left, now 51-48. The Marauders were nearly a victim of a second steal, but Reading fumbled the ball out-of-bounds. But a Call layup on a quick pass break was stuffed by (that person) Lightbody which soon turn into Zagami’s fleeting highlight moment.

After Propp’s hoop and free throw, Reading took a timeout to map out a sure thing play, but a momentary bobble by a Reading guard was pounced on by Tan who secured the ball to Christofori who would sink three of four from the charity stripe to secure the game.

“This team has a real confidence, we don’t get down when we are behind,” said junior guard Alexa Sabatino.

Next up for Belmont is a tough stretch of post-season matchups beginning with two games at the 2017 Spartan Classic starting Sunday against an excellent Pentucket squad with the second game on Monday. Finally, a rematch against Lowell, the only team to defeat Belmont other than Woburn.

“We want to play tough games because that will prepare us for the playoffs,” said Hart.

Giorgio, Quirk Named Boosters BHS Student-Athlete for January

February 15, 2017 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Jess Giorgio and Kevin Quirk.

Senior Kevin Quirk (Boys’ Ice Hockey) and sophomore Jess Giorgio (Girls’ Basketball) are the recipients of the Belmont Boosters BHS Student-Athlete-of-the-Month award for January.

Sponsored by the Boosters and in coordination, with the Belmont High School Athletic Department, each month a pair of varsity athletes are selected by an independent panel as a BHS Student-Athlete-of-the-Month.

Nominations are made at the end of every month by Belmont High varsity coaches.

Sports: Belmont Girls’ Hoops Swamp Watertown, 40-22, in Defensive Tour de Force [VIDEO]

February 13, 2017 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Belmont’s Alexia Sabatino (Center #5) on defense against Watertown.

Since her freshman season when she took over the role of on-court leader, Carly Christofori has had to walk away five times on the losing end of a game against archrivals Watertown.

In each of the previous two seasons, great playoff runs by the Marauders ended bitterly against Watertown including in a tightly fought Division 2 North Sectional finals last year.

So when the junior all-star point guard walked into the Watertown High School gym Saturday afternoon to play a rescheduled game against her all-too-familiar opponent – she knows many Watertown players through AAU club games – Christofori’s focus was primarily on redressing past disappointments.

“For me, it was mostly about revenge,” said Christofori.”Getting knocked out of the tournament by them two years in a row kinda stinks. So [the team] wanted to show them what we are really made of.”

And did they ever. In what was a clinic on shut-down defense, Belmont (12-3) put Watertown through 32 minutes of hell, frustrating the team ranked 19th in the Boston Globe poll with pressure up and down the court that limited Watertown (12-3) to 12 points in the first three-quarters, swamping the archrivals, 40-22.

“Credit it to the hard work every single one of them did. They were kind of relentless everywhere. Just really good team defense,” said Belmont Head Coach Melissa Hart.

Throughout the game, Belmont prevented Watertown from running its half-court offense as the Marauders’ defense – which used ten players rotating throughout the match – was too quick and tall for Watertown’s four-guard offense to break.

Senior center Shannon Murphy, Watertown’s go-to offensive player, was kept in check by Belmont’s sophomore center Jess Giorgio, who was the Holy Cross commit’s equal under the basket in rebounds and points.

“Our goal was not to for (Murphy) to get the ball … and that is why we had so much success this time,” said Giorgio.

While Giorgio and teammates sophomores Jane Mahon (3 points) and Ella Gagnon kept Murphy off the boards, Christofori (a quiet 4 points) – partnered with sophomore Megan Tan and junior Alexa Sabatino (4 points) – made life miserable for Watertown’s point guards seniors Jenna McMahon and Alexis Catsoulis, bird-dogging the pair away from setting up Watertown’s offense.

After Murphy had scored the first basket of the game, Belmont took a 3-2 lead on junior forward Jenny Call’s 3, part of her 7 point night. Junior forward Greta Propp and Mahon (3 points) each made baskets and free throws to build a 10-7 lead after the first quarter. Propp and Call contributed to the defensive cause by sacrificing themselves to hard charges

Watertown was down by three, 12-9, on senior Alexis Catsoulis’ basket two minutes into the second, but that was a close as the hosts would come to Belmont. Over the next nearly 16 minutes – half of the game – Watertown would score a total of 3 points as the Marauders’ defense kicked into gear.

“We really worked as a team, and …tried to keep up the intensity, just be in their face,” said Sabatino, who hit a 3 to up Belmont’s lead to 15-9. A Giorgio drive by Murphy for two gave Belmont a 20-10 halftime lead, just part of the Marauders’ center’s six consecutive points run that bled into the second half.

Despite a series of adjustments by Watertown to generate shots from the outside, Belmont’s defense allowed just a pair of Murphy free throws over the eight minutes of the third quarter. The Marauders’ went six for six from the charity stripe and hitting four hoops, two from senior Regan Haight (4 points) to give Belmont a 22 point lead (34-12) at the end of the third.

Watertown is the second team in the Boston Globe Top 20 Belmont has held to two points in a quarter, following Wakefield which the Marauders ran away, 24-2, in the first quarter.

There was no coming back for Watertown as Propp, (who the Boston Globe identified as “Grata Tropp” in a game review), with a game-high 10 points, sealed the deal.

While the Watertown head coach stated in press accounts that Belmont’s overwhelming victory was made bigger than it really was by the players and their fans – and laying down a marker that the actual “biggest” game will be in the tournament – Christofori said it doesn’t depend on who the team meets in the playoffs, including a rematch with Watertown, the emphasis will be on the defensive side of ball “because it translates to our offense.”

“It’s an awesome feeling knowing that [our defense can] keep a team so good and so talented who scores in the 50s to keep them down so low,” she said.

Sports: Girls’ Basketball Playoff Bound After Dunking SpyPonders, 42-26

February 5, 2017 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Sophomore Jane Mahon heading to the basket at Arlington. (Credit: Pete Giorgio)

Unlike last season, Belmont High Girls’ Basketball did not wait ’til the last minute to punch their ticket to the playoffs. This year, they got there early, securing its tenth win in only 12 games as the Marauders had to survive what Head Coach Melissa Hart dubbed “a grim first half” to defeat hosts Arlington High, 42-26, on Friday, Feb. 3.

“We’re in the tournament which is great,” said Hart.

Leading the Marauders was sophomore forward Jane Mahon who had a career night with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks.

“Usually I rush my shot but tonight I just took it a step slower, seeing where my defender was. If they were playing off me I was shooting jump shots but if they were on me I was driving the baseline,” said Mahon.

The first half was a rugged affair, with its share of missed shots and fouls as sophomore center Jess Giorgio (4 points) was in foul trouble early. Arlington, which won its first game of the season this week, led after the first, 7-6, and kept it close at the half. Belmont soon took the lead off of three Mahon hoops, which accounted for half of Belmont’s baskets.

Up 19-15 at the half, the third quarter sealed the game for Belmont as the Marauders’ defense checked the SpyPonders, allowing two free throws, while Mahon took care of the offense with a pair of baskets and a free throw to push the lead to 30-17. Junior forward Jenny Call finished with 10 points including a pair of 3s in the fourth quarter.

Hart said the team is going into the Division 2 North sectionals “fairly well-rounded group in its scoring.”

“One of the most dangerous things is that we’ve had six different high scorers in the past six games,” she said.

“I think we’ll be tough to guard, it’s hard to focus on one person to try and stop us.”

Sports: Girls’ Hoops Dismiss Wakefield With ‘Perfect’ First; Enters Top 25 [VIDEO]

January 30, 2017 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Belmont’s defense held Wakefield to a single basket in the first quarter.

For the final three-quarters, the 10-1 Wakefield Warriors played host Belmont just about even, scoring 33 points to the Marauders 32.

There was just one problem for Wakefield: a first quarter of perfection by the Marauders.

In the game’s initial eight minutes, Belmont (9-2, 9-1 in the league) played with the intensity and skill that would make the UConn Huskies proud, annihilating the 17th-ranked Warriors (10-2) 24-2 as Belmont dismissed Wakefield, 56-35 on Friday, Jan. 27.

“Wow,” said one of Belmont’s assistant coaches at the end of the first as the players came to the bench in wide-eyed astonishment, looking up at the scoreboard just to confirm what they had accomplished.

It was a quarter that Marauders’ suffocating defense stifled all but a single shot while its offense was nearly flawless, grabbing offense rebounds and making shots from in close and from a distance.

In a win in which each Marauder contributed to the victory, the night’s standout was sophomore center, Jess Giorgio. While a defensive stalwart since her freshman year – which came to the fore during last season’s playoff run – Giorgio offensive production has steadily increased through the season to where she has become a clear threat on both ends of the court.

Friday, Giorgio dominated the first quarter, hitting jumpers and free throws, grabbing rebounds, and making three assists on the first four Belmont baskets. In the final minute, she created a traveling offense, took a charge and made a driving layup with time running out to finish off the 24 point explosion. She finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds for her second double-double in three games.

“It was really, really fun to come out really hard … because we knew we had to come out to beat them. They’re one of the biggest competitors in the league … it was a really good team win,” said Giorgio to the Belmontonian.

It was a team win from the open tipoff as Belmont’s starters outpaced Wakefield. A Giorgio offensive rebound led to a jumper from sophomore guard Meghan Tan followed by a 3 from junior forward Jenny Call. Giorgio converted a pair of free throws, a jumper, and two big defensive rebounds as Tan pickpocketed Wakefield guards for a pair of steals and junior guard and two-time all-star Carly Christofori hitting a three and free throws. By the time Wakefield called its first timeout at 3:24 remaining in the first, Belmont was up 18-2.

But the reprieve did not cool off Belmont as junior guard Alexa Sabatino 3-pointer and Giorgio’s final scoring spurt ended the quarter. While there were 24 minutes remaining in the game, the contest was essentially over.

Belmont kept the lead above 20 until midway through the fourth quarter when a Wakefield 3 cut the lead to 17 (50-33). But baskets by Giorgio (outrebounding a pair of Warrior defenders), sophomore Jane Mahon and Riley Haight gave Belmont its final margin of victory.

Next up for Belmont is a trip to meet the SpyPonders at Arlington on Friday, Feb. 3.

Sports: Record Breaking Seniors Night As Boys’ Swimming Takes Winning Record to Leagues

January 27, 2017 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Belmont’s record-breaking relay team; Owen Luo, Sam Thompson, Will Findlay and Rickey Ye.

It was a special Seniors Night at the Higginbottom Pool on Wednesday, Jan 25. The Belmont High Boys’ Swim squad praised their graduating teammates for their dedication and leadership with words, balloons and a few tears.

But it wasn’t simply the heartfelt feelings that perirated the pool which made the event significant. The final dual meet of the 2016-17 season saw the boys’ set a new standard for success for the program. Under first-year head coach James Saidnawey, the team finished with a 6-3 record, a marker that hasn’t been matched for a good number of years.

“A great first year. I had a lot of fun. We grew a lot as a team from the beginning to now,” said Head Coach James Saidnawey.

And it was the team’s outstanding 200-yard freestyle relay that put an exclamation mark on the night as the quartet of sophomores Rickey Ye and Sam Thompson, junior Will Findlay and senior Owen Luo broke the 13-year-old pool record by two seconds and the varsity best by a tenth of a second.

“Speaking for myself and my teammates, I grew up swimming in this pool and I looked at the [record] board. It’s a really great thing to be on that board,” said Findlay who anchored the team home in 1 minute, 35.25 seconds.

The 200 relay along with the medley relay and two individual swimmer – Thompson in the 50 free style sprint and junior Luc Durand in the 100 butterfly – have qualified on time for the Division 2 state meet in February and will be leading the team into next week’s Middlesex League meeting with a solid chance of capturing the league championship flag for the first time since … well, let’s just say a long time.

Wednesday meet against Burlington was a run away as the Marauders’ experience and power bested the visitors. Belmont started off the blocks in fine fashion going 1-2-3 in the initial three events; the medley relay, 200 free (Damien Autissier, 2:02.44) and 200 individual medley (Ye, 2:18.60). Ye would come back for the 100 breast victory in 1:11.03.

Both Thompson and Findlay dipped under 24 seconds in the 50 and Durand broke a minute in his speciality, the 100 fly (59.75) while taking the 100 back in 1:01.32. Autissier powered to the 500 free victory, nearly lapping the field in 5.23.43.

Belmont will head off to the league meet at Bentley University next Thursday looking to keep their hot streak going and hoping that powerhouse Lexington will lose a few points here and there to good swimmers on weaker teams.

“If we work hard, we have the boys who can bring home the title,” said Findlay.

It was a special Seniors Night at the Higginbottom Pool on Wednesday, Jan 25. The Belmont High Boys’ Swim Squad praised their graduating teammates for their dedication and leadership with words, balloons and a few tears.

But it wasn’t simply the genuine feelings that filled the pool which made the event significant. The final dual meet of the 2016-17 season saw the Boys’ set a new standard for success for the program. Under first-year head coach James Saidnawey, the team finished with a 6-3 record, a marker that hasn’t been matched by a good number of years.

“A great first year. I had a lot of fun. We grew a lot as a team from the beginning to now,” said Head Coach James Saidnawey.

The 200 relay along with the medley relay and two individual swimmer – Thompson in the 50 freestyle sprint and junior Luc Durand in the 100 butterfly – have qualified for time for the Division 2 state meet in February and will be leading the team into next week’s Middlesex League meeting with a solid chance of capturing the league championship flag for the first time since … well, let’s just say a long time.

Both Thompson and Findlay dipped under 24 seconds in the 50 and Durand broke a minute in his specialty, the 100 fly (59.75) while taking the 100 back in 1:01.32. Autissier powered to the 500 free victory, nearly lapping the field in 5.23.43.

“If we work hard, we have the boys who can bring home the title,” said Findlay.

Sports: Boys’, Girls’ Hoops Push To Playoffs By Rocketing By Reading

January 22, 2017 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Sophomore guard Daniel Yardemian scoring against Reading.

After a brief respite for midterms from Middlesex League play, Belmont High Basketball teams got back on the court Friday, Jan. 20, to continue their march towards the playoffs with dual victories over Reading Memorial High.

Boys batter Charlestown, out work a physical Rocket squad

Belmont Head Coach Adam Pritchard said when he looks to out-of-league games to play, he tries to schedule the toughest teams he can.

“I have to play the best to be the best,” he said targeting “city” teams the squad would be punching-up in games.

Earlier in the season, the Marauders took on Everett (83-67 loss) and New Bedford (55-52 win) before heading to Boston’s Cathedral High School for a match on Sunday, Jan. 15, against an 8-3 Charlestown team. In the pregame warm-ups, the Townies had three players demonstrating various dunk shots in front of a Belmont team that might have a single player who could slam the ball on the rare occasion.

But the BABC Winter Classic matchup proved to be a showcase for Belmont’s captain and senior center Paul Ramsey who scored 19 points in the first quarter, hitting five baskets and nine free throws in just eight minutes as Belmont took a 28-19 lead over the Division 1 powerhouse.

But equally as important was Ramsey play against Charlestown’s big men putting them in foul trouble and forcing them to sit for long stretches.

“[Ramsey] is a special player because he plays both ends of the court,” said Pritchard.

Ramsey stayed hot in the second with nine more points (of a game-high 34 points) followed by eight from junior forward Tomas Donoyan (19 points) and exciting sophomore Daniel Yardemian (12 points) with six as the Marauders built its lead to 15, 52-37, at the half.

Belmont bombed away with three 3s from Donoyan, senior Cal Christofori (4 points) and senior guard Nick Volante (3 points) while its swarming defense left Charlestown with only 12 points in the third quarter giving Belmont a big cushion of 22 points entering the fourth.

“It was a satisfying win against a class team,” said Pritchard.

Belmont came home on Friday and dealt a physical and tall Reading squad an 11 point loss, 71-60, in a tight game until the final four minutes of the fourth quarter.

Belmont relied on Christofori who scored 14 points that included several spinning drives and one long range 3 to give the Marauders an 11 point margin at the half. Belmont outscored Reading 9-1 in the final 2:17 of the second as senior guard Bryan Goodwin (3 points) drained an NBA-range 3 pointer and junior forward Will Ellet (7 points, 4 in the second) came off the bench to spark the offense.

Reading came out for the third going to their big man, 6’4″ senior center Corey DiLoreto (who like Christofori plays football, hoops and baseball) who scored four of his 10 points in the third, which allowed guard junior guard Matt Panacopoulus (14 points) to slash to the basket, scoring twice and going to the free throw line twice going 4-4. Reading cut the lead to 2, 49-47, with 10.5 seconds remaining, which was 10.4 seconds enough for Yardemian to hit a 15 footer with no time on the clock.

The rough and tumble game resulted in a confrontation for the ball midway through the quarter in which Chistofori and senior Joe Bradley got a bit too physical resulting in Bradley being assessed a technical foul.

Reading cut the lead to 2, 49-47, with 10.5 seconds remaining, which was 10.4 seconds enough for Yardemian to hit a 15 footer with no time on the clock.

“We were playing one-on-one basketball which allowed [Reading] which is a very good team to come back,” said Pritchard. “But this team has shown they can regroup without panicking.”

The fourth quarter was a tightly fought affair until midway through when a Yardemian stop and pop, a Hamparian 3 pointer, one of two from the line by Ellet and a pair of free throws from Christofori basically put the game on ice, 64-57, with two minutes to go.

“It’s great to have a sophomore [Yardemian] who can come off the bench as a point guard and wants to drive to the basket,” said Pritchard.

Next up for Belmont is a home game vs. Burlington on Tuesday, Jan. 24 at 6 p.m.

Another game, another player steps up for Marauders as Girls’ push back Rockets

Someone should tell junior captain and all-star point guard Carly Christofori about the concept of “bulletin-board material.”

It all started when the Belmont High Girls’ basketball team won a contest – the High School Hoops Challenge – to appear on a Boston radio station 103.3 AMP Radio. While there, which included Jenny Call beating the DJ (that would be “JD” the DJ) in a free-throw contest, Christofori was asked to predict the score of the upcoming match with Reading.

“170,000 to 3,” said Christofori.

“I thought, ‘Let’s hope Reading’s not listening,'” said Belmont Head Coach Melissa Hart.

This edition of Reading is nothing like the team Belmont met two years ago when the Marauders nearly shut out the Rockets, allowing a single three-pointer to lead 23-3 at the half and then stretching it to 37-3 advantage midway through the third quarter in the 2015 game.

This season Reading found a shooter in sophomore forward Haley Lightbody and plays a very physical game on both ends of the court, bringing in a 5-3 record as it hosted Belmont Friday.

Belmont ran off to a slim 17-15 lead after one quarter before Lightbody (with a game high 18 points) started scoring as it looked that Reading would take a three point lead into the half before junior forward Greta Propp scored to keep the game within one.

It was Propp on the inside (who finished with a team-high 14 points) and sophomore center Jess Giorgio (12 points and numerous rebounds) dominating the key that brought back Belmont to retake the lead by four points entering the fourth, 43-39, before pulling away through Christofori going to the free throw line, winning by 11, 56-45.

Propp’s breakout performance – after having been sick for a few weeks – was the second time in two games in which player came off the bench to top the team in scoring; senior guard Riley Haight scored a game-high 13 (including a trio of 3s) in Belmont’s doubling up of Winchester, 68-34, last Friday.

Belmont will be away at Burlington on Tuesday before come home for a homecoming Friday night against 9-1 Wakefield.

Sports: Boys’ Hockey Focusing On First Playoff Berth in Six Years

January 18, 2017 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Junior goaltender Kevin Dacey has a .951 save percentage at the midpoint of the season.

By William Findlay

Belmont High School Boys’ Ice Hockey Head Coach Fred Allard had a few words for his team as it takes aim for a playoff spot at the midpoint of the season.

“We just need to stay focused on what we do well and keep pushing towards our [tournament] goal, and to not take anything for granted,” said Allard, as the Marauders seeks its first playoff berth since 2011.

Entering a de-facto bye-week (Jan. 16-20), the Marauders (6-2-2 overall, 4-2-0 in the league) will look to hone its skills on the practice ice before a tough stretch of games; facing perennial league leaders Reading High (5-3-0, 5-0-0 in the league) league twice in a week and playing away to a strong Burlington High team (3-4-1 overall)

“The Middlesex League is the toughest public school league in the state year in and year out so the strength of schedule is no surprise to us.” said the second-year coach on the difficulty of the upcoming games.

Despite a rigorous upcoming game schedule for the Marauders, efforts to meet their season goal of making the tournament have become significantly easier following a 4-1 win over Middlesex League opponent Winchester. Although a physical game throughout, the Marauders used their overwhelming speed and skill to outplay the Sachems last Saturday, Jan. 14 at Skip Viglirolo Rink.

“We knew they would be physical but also that [we] would be able to match the physicality and felt we had a slight advantage in team speed.” said Allard on the brand of hockey played by the Marauders.

The Marauders totaled 103 hits in the game, with the hard-nosed Junior defenseman Dennis Crowley leading the team with 12, followed closely by Sophomore blueliner James Nally, who tallied 11. Crowley also leads the team in total hits with a solid 70.

At times during the contest, the chippiness of this Middlesex League clash got out of hand, starting with a big scrum in front of the Winchester net at the end of the second period resulting in Winchester’s Chris Wilson receiving a game misconduct penalty.

“For the most part we did a good, job restraining ourselves in order to take advantage of power-plays,” Allard commented on his team’s overall grittiness in the game.

At the start of the third period, the Marauders found themselves a man up. Unfortunately, Connor Dacey and Kevin Quirk, members of the Marauders first power play unit, were themselves in the penalty box. Allard decided to add Austin Cole and Junior Asst. Captain Ben Brody to the power-play unit.

“For the boys to respond with a power-play goal [by Junior winger Will Domeniconi] so early in the third [period] was just awesome,” said Allard.

“We are pretty deep at forward and Alec Morin stepped in for Connor [and moved Domeniconi to center] and gave us some quality minutes!”

The Marauders power-play goal was one of two they scored in the final frame, and the second of a two-goal performance by Domeniconi. Domeniconi also chipped in with an assist, placing him second on the team point totals behind his linemate Connor Dacey, who also scored and had an assist versus Winchester. Domeniconi played a hard-working, two-way game, finishing with nine hits for the Marauders. Junior Stevie Rizzuto used his speed and size to score a goal and assist for one, putting him at seven points on the year.

Junior goaltender Kevin Dacey played a stellar game between the pipes, facing 40 shots with 39 saves, bringing his season save percentage up to a .951. A key moment for Dacey was a kick save in the second, pushing left to right to rob Winchester of what could have been a momentum-shifting goal.

“Kevin has always been a great goalie but the extra, time he spent in the gym during [the] off-season has allowed him to be even stronger. He is our backbone.” noted Allard.

The win against Winchester has been particularly momentous for players of this year’s graduating class.

“We awarded [the player of the game] to our seniors Cam Jefferson, Adam Cronin, Austin Cole, Kevin Quirk Mike Pergamo, Kevin Martin and Curtis Marusiak. This is their first win vs. Winchester in their careers, with a low-light of 10-0 loss at home to close out their freshman year. The senior leadership is a big reason for our early success.” commented Allard.

The seniors were big factors in the win over the Sachems, with blue-liners Kevin Quirk and Adam Cronin making their presence felt on offense. Quirk had two assists and eight hits, bringing his total to 59, while Cronin assisted on a goal and bruised the Winchester wingers for nine hits.

The Marauders 4-1 win over the Sachems moves them to just six points out of the playoffs, and Allard looks poised to take the Marauders there for the first time in his career.

The Marauders play next at “The Skip” on Monday, Jan. 23 against Reading, another powerful Middlesex League foe.

Girls’ Hoops: 5 Days, 3 Games and 1 Garden Party

January 12, 2017 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Sophomore center Jess Giorgio skies for a basket at the Boston TD Garden.

When told that her team is 2-0 at the Boston TD Garden after Belmont beat Arlington, 40-21, on Sunday, Jan. 9, Head Coach Melissa Hart quipped that “I’d like to be 3-0 when the season ends,” a not so subtle reference to coming back to the Garden for an Eastern Massachusetts championship game.

Belmont High Girls’ Basketball’s consecutive win at the Garden – it defeated Chelmsford a year ago in the Good Sports Invitational – marked the middle of a three-game stretch played over a five-day span which saw the Marauders bounce back from its second loss of the season, 47-33, to top-ten ranked Woburn to cruise by Arlington and Lexington, 54-35, (on Tuesday, Jan. 11) to reach the five-win mark (5-2).

The game at Division 1 Woburn High Friday, Jan 7, was a frustrating affair as the Marauders allowed Middlesex All-Star guard Marissa Gattuso to run the show, scoring 11 points in the first half, the same number of points the Marauders scored in the half as the Tanners led 25-11.

Belmont closed the gap to seven points twice in the third and fourth quarters behind junior Greta Propp’s 6 points in the third and sophomore Megan Tan’s 6 points (a game-high 9 points for the Marauders) in the fourth as well as a strong defensive stance.

But the combination Woburn keying on Belmont’s point guard Carly Christofori and Gattuso’s scoring touch allowed the hosts to move the lead back into double digits.

Against Lexington, junior co-captain forward Jenny Call had 6 three-pointers and a game-high 23 points as the Marauders took out several years of frustration on the Minutemen who had dominated Belmont for the past three years, mostly at the hands of Lexington’s star Anna Kelly who once scored 54 points at Belmont and generally manhandled Belmont.

But it was the Sunday morning game against the SpyPonders that was special for the team. Hart emptied the bench and allowed the entire some time on the historic parquet court which the NBA’s Boston Celtics play.

Against a young Arlington team, the Marauders’ active zone defense saw a slew of turnovers for Belmont as Christofori (who scored her game-high 9 points in the first half) led the team offensively to a 26-8 halftime lead.

As Arlington struggled from the field – only scoring four baskets in the game – Belmont had its role players out for extended periods of time on the court. Propp had 8 points in the fourth quarter and junior guards Alexa Sabatino, and Ally Shapazian collected a couple of baskets.

When the buzzer sounded to end the game, both teams wanted one last photo with the leprechaun logo at center court.

Sports: Belmont Boys’ Hoops Left Out In The Rain By SpyPonders

January 4, 2017 By Franklin B. Tucker Leave a Comment

Photo: Sophomore guard Daniel Yardemian vs. Arlington.

Why when the Belmont High School Boys’ Basketball team crosses Route 2 to visit its neighbors Arlington High, it’s always raining? Tuesday’s game, Jan. 3, marked the fourth time in five years that the Marauders have been met with a downpour entering the Arlington High gym.

And for the third time in four years, the outcome of the match was a dreary as the weather.

Playing catch-up throughout the game that saw Arlington make the last shot in the first three-quarters – including a 3-point prayer by junior Adrian Black at the end of the critical third quarter – the Marauders could not put together a consistent offense against the SpyPonders, falling 64-57.

It was not the game Belmont (4-3, 2-2 in the Middlesex League) was expecting to play after defeating a top-ranked Division 1 New Bedford team during the holiday break. Arlington remains undefeated at 5-0.

Belmont’s only lead came with the game’s opening basket from game-high scorer senior captain Paul Ramsey (25 points) before two consecutive three-point bombs from Nick Karalis (8 points) and all-star senior Colin McNamara (with an all-around great game with 22 points, 6 assists, and 6 rebounds) had Belmont Head Coach Adam Pritchard calling a timeout just a minute into the match.

While Ramsay kept Belmont in the game, the team just wasn’t clicking on any of their shots, ending the first quarter with an anemic 5 points and down by 10.

The second eight minutes saw a more familiar Marauder team – up tempo sparked by senior forward Cal Christofori (8 points, all in the second quarter) who used his athleticism to start the comeback.

Sophomore guard Daniel Yardemian (2 points) was quite effective driving to the basket then dishing the ball to Ramsey and Christofori. A Christofori putback of a Yardemian miss ended a 12-2 run to tie the score at 17 with 4:30 to play.

But the Marauder momentum was short-circuited by consecutive traveling calls, one not called on the SpyPonders and the other a phantom infraction on Belmont. The subsequent 3 by Karalis and a jumper by Dominic Black upped the lead to seven at 26-19.

For the second time in the quarter, Belmont race back behind a 360 spinning layup by Christofori, Yardemain’s drive in the lane and a Ben Jones 3 pointer to tie it up at 27 with Belmont in possession with 20 seconds left in the quarter. But an unforced error on the inbounds gave the ball right back to the hosts which McNamara scored as the buzzer went off.

After tying the game for the third (and final time) at 29, it was Arlington which forced the issue. While Belmont missed several chances in close, the SpyPonder went inside to sophomore big man James Gascoigne (8 of his 14 points in the third) and outside to the Black brothers (juniors Dominic and Adrian) who scored a couple of long range 3s as Arlington raced to a double-digit advantage at 42-31 with 3:10 left.

Despite senior Bryan Goodwin (11 points with three 3s) hitting a three in transition and a hoop on the drive inside, Belmont could not mount a run they had in the second quarter. Down 9 with a second left, Dominic Black’s buzzer beater sent Arlington into the fourth up by a dozen.

Arlington kept up the pressure and extended the lead to 16 after two minutes and cruised to the victory.

Belmont will be on the road in Woburn on Friday.