Somerville D-lightful
H.S. BASKETBALL
Craig Thomson is proof that at this time of year defense trumps offense.
The 6-foot-5 senior finished with a staggering eight blocks (along with nine points and seven rebounds) to power 10thseeded Somerville past No. 7 Malden, 43-35, last night in a Division 1 North first-round game between Greater Boston League rivals.
“We always tell the kids that our defense fuels our offense,” Somerville coach Mark Antonelli said after his team’s road victory. “We struggled offensively, but (Thomson) stayed on his feet and was able to get those blocks using his long arms and that was the difference.”
The Highlanders (14-7) held a 13-8 lead after the first quarter and led 17-13 at halftime as both teams struggled to get into rhythm offensively. But at the start of the third quarter, Malden’s Bernard Taylor (15 points) buried two 3-pointers, the second giving the Golden Tornados their first lead at 21-20 before Somerville regained the advantage at 26-25 after three.
A Lucas Saint-Jean 3-pointer kicked off a 5-0 run for Somerville to open the fourth as the Highlanders expanded the margin to 31-25, and with 4:16 left a three-point play by Tyler Whitney-Sidney pushed the lead to 36-27.
Malden (14-7) clawed within 39-33 with 1:06 remaining on a drive from Marlon Cook, but two late blocks by Thomson and clutch free throws from Whitney-Sidney (eight points) and Shaquille Joseph salted away the win.
“This felt real good to come in to their gym and win,” said Thomson. “Our defense got us going and I knew I had to be there tonight to help my guys out.”
Elsewhere in Div. 1 North, Nate Hobbs’ 24 points paced No. 5 St. John’s Prep (16-5) to a 70-46 win over No. 12 Revere, 70-46. . . . All-Scholastic Ghared Boyce scored 18 points as No. 2 Everett (18-2) beat No. 15 Billerica, 67-43.
Brennan Clarke scored 18 points in the fourth quarter as No. 13 Winchester (13-8) upset No. 4 Latin Academy, 61-58, in Div. 2 North.
In Div. 4 North, Devin Pulsifer tallied 23 points as No. 11 Winthrop (9-12) defeated No. 6 Maimonides, 73-44. . . . David Richard had 30 points and 12 rebounds as No. 9 Austin Prep (12-9) defeated No. 8 St. Clement, 68-61.
Girls
Sixth-seeded Newton South shot a staggering 44 percent (16-of-36) from beyond the 3-point arc to throttle the No. 11 Brookline 73-45 in a Div. 1 South first-round matchup in Newton.
“Tonight was definitely a great night of shooting for us,” said guard Veronica Burton, who had 27 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists. “Usually we’re pretty good shooters, but tonight especially was pretty impressive.”
Newton South (17-4) closed out the third quarter on a 19-6 run thanks to five 3-pointers to open up a 54-36 advantage.
“We challenged them at halftime and that didn’t seem to work,” said Newton South coach Joe Rogers, “so we called a timeout and rechallenged them with the same stuff and it clicked that time. We just locked in.”
Also in Div. 1 South, Keelah Dixon dropped in 13 points and Maddy Fay added 10 to pace No. 7 Braintree (17-5) to a 73-30 rout of No. 10 Bridgewater(11-10).
Marissa Gattuso poured in 25 points as No. 3 Woburn (18-3) pulled away from No. 14 Cambridge, 60-39, in a Div. 1 North first-rounder. . . . Melissa Gray had 26 points as No. 11 Peabody (14-7) edged No. 6 Waltham 67-62.
Tessa LaFrance scored 30 points and grabbed 15 rebounds as No. 8 Triton (13-8) held off No. 9 Melrose, 53-50, in Div. 2 North.