Sports

Poor Second Half Buries Pioneers Against North Reading

Despite A Good Start, Pioneers Can't Keep Up With Rivals At Home

One of the best rivalries in Massachusetts high school sports lived up to its billing on Friday night as the Lynnfield Pioneers boys varsity team lost to the visiting North Reading Hornets  52-44.

Lynnfield got out to a fast start thanks to an aggressive full court press that created opportunities for the Pioneers and kept the game neck and neck, with North Reading barely coming back to take a one point lead into the half.

LHS Started Game On Strong Note

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"I thought Lynnfield's athleticism really bothered us, it seemed like we were a half step slow, especially in the beginning," said North Reading head coach Joe Casey. "They really controlled the pace of the game in the first half, and I think that took us off guard a bit."

But that's when the wheels fell off for the Pioneers, as the North Reading boys went on a run thanks primarily thanks to ten points from sophomore center Kyle Lentini's scoring run, and two three pointers from co-captain Nick Rosano. While the Hornets came back to Earth in the fourth, Lynnfield couldn't counter with a comparable run of their own to finish out the game.

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North Reading Took Momentum In Third

While both coaches agreed that North Reading's run in the third was the decisive factor in the game, opinions differed between the two benches whether it was truly indicative of the Hornets' entire evening.

"(The run) settled us down a little bit, it seemed to balance us out a little bit more, it seemed like we had things in control," said Casey. "But we're young, we're inexperienced, and it's sort of a yo-yo: there's three good minutes accompanied by two bad minutes."

Tough Opponent Showed Consistency

"North Reading always works hard, it wasn't like they turned it up and turned it off, I think they executed a bit better in the third quarter, their performance was incredibly consistent," said Lynnfield head coach Scott MacKenzie. "I think the issue with us was that our energy dipped a bit for three or four minutes and we gave them what have been a nine point run, and we're not good enough to go six or seven possessions without a bucket while giving up six or seven possessions with either buckets or really good looks."

Despite the loss, the Pioneers showed a renewed energy in comparison to their poor performance earlier in the week against the Hamilton/Wenham Generals. the change can be attributed to a return to the team's blue collar work ethic after the Hamilton/Wenham loss.

"I think all of us got together on Wednesday and we all agreed, it was unacceptable the product we put on the floor on Tuesday (against Hamilton/Wenham), and it wasn't just the kids, we all took the blame from the top on down," said MacKenzie. "We made a commitment to do the things that we tend to do well: pressure defense, getting up and down the floor, dictating tempo, and I'm happy in that regard.

Two Home Games Next Week For Lynnfield

Lentini and Rosano led all Hornets in scoring with 19 and 11 points respectively, while Stephen Carangelo was the only Pioneer in double digits with 12 points.

North Reading will continue towards the Austin Prep Christmas Tourney as they travel to Hamilton/Wenham on Tuesday, followed by a home game against Manchester/Essex two days later. Meanwhile, Lynnfield hopes to bounce back from its opening slide with two home games next week against Ipswich and Georgetown. 


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