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high school basketball

Blue Knights fend off Lancers to reach Final Four

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LUNENBURG — Survive and advance.

The Lunenburg High girls basketball team watched a big lead with under four minutes left in Friday night’s Div. 4 quarterfinal against Malden Catholic get whittled down to next to nothing with a barrage of shots from behind the 3-point line.

But when the final buzzer sounded, the comeback bid by the sixth-seeded Lancers came up just short, as the third-seeded Blue Knights advanced to the state’s Final Four with a 54-47 victory in front

Lunenburg (21-3) moves onto the semifinals, where it will face the winner of Saturday’s game between No. 10 Millbury and No. 15 Mashpee, with a date, time and location to be determined.

Up 50-33 with 3:44 left, the Blue Knights saw their guests close on a 14-4 run, cutting into the lead quickly as  Kylia Reynoso got the burst started with back-to-back 3-pointers. An old-fashioned three-point play by Kayla Jackson (six points) before a deep 3 by Jillian Perry (five points) cut the advantage to 50-44 with 1:25 left.

“They’re a good team. We knew (Reynoso) was a shooter and tried everything we could, ran everyone we could at her,” Lunenburg head coach Frank Greene said. “She was making shots. We were playing great defense, but it was better offense.”

And though a hoop and free throw from Luna Murray cut the lead to 52-47 with 59.1 left, the rally proved to be too little, too late.

Reynoso had a game-high 19 points for the Lancers, who end the season 21-3.

“I knew they were a tough, tough team. I was happy with our defense and knew our shooting would take a little time,” said Greene, whose team is the highest remaining seed in the Div. 4 tournament. “The second half has been our half all year.”

Tight throughout the opening half, the Blue Knights opened up a 14-point edge after three, closing the quarter on an 11-0 run sparked by five straight points from junior Elizabeth Boone on a 3 and short jumper.

“There were some good passes when the ball got kicked out and I was open,” said Boone, who had 10 points in the win. “I think we were able to settle down.”

By the time Bella Patricca (team-high 14 points) hit one of two free throws with 23.6 seconds left in the third, the cushion had ballooned to 41-27.

Boone’s 3 with 4:06 left gave Lunenburg its largest lead of the game at 50-33 before the guests began to storm back.

Neither team played well to start. The first quarter saw a a dozen turnovers between the programs and just six made field goals as the hosts got out to a 10-6 advantage.

The Blue Knights and Lancers went to halftime knotted at 19.

Miranda Boulay and Autumn Tibbetts each had eight points in the victory.

Sailors start hot, finish strong in win over Leominster

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LEOMINSTER — The warmups were nothing spectacular. There was no indication of what was to come.
But once the whistle blew to start Tuesday night’s Div. 2 second-round boys basketball game, the hoop must have looked like it was 10-feet wide for Scituate High.

The 13th-seeded Sailors were red-hot from distance early and held on late to upset No. 4 Leominster, 61-57.

The Sailors (17-5) will host No. 28 Wakefield on Friday in a quarterfinal, while Leominster’s season ends at 15-5.

“We’ve got 10 seniors on this team and we didn’t want it to be our last game,” said Scituate senior guard Keegan Sullivan. “(Leominster is) a good team and this is a hostile place to play, but we came out ready to go.”

Michael Porter led Scituate’s effort with 14 points, while Sullivan had 12 and Samuel Benning chipped in with 11.

Leominster was paced by Warren Acceus, who had a game-high 15 points. Alex Moison added 12, Justin Dadah had 10 and Kevin Viola scored nine.

Scituate led nearly from start to finish, hitting eight 3-pointers in the opening half to establish a 35-26 lead after 16 minutes of play.

“You have to give credit to Scituate; they had a two-hour bus ride and came out and shot like that,” Leominster head coach Kevin Grutchfield said. “The came out and hit some big shots and really set the tone.”

Brady Burns gave the Sailors the largest lead of the game late in the second quarter, draining a deep 3 to give the guests a 35-20 advantage before Leominster closed on a 6-0 run, with four points coming from Acceus.

“We knew we had to come out of the gates hot against a team like Leominster,” Scituate head coach Matthew Poirier said. “They’re a tough team and they’re well-coached, so we had to have a strong start.”

Leominster made things interesting in the second half, cutting the lead to 48-43 after three and pulling even closer in the final eight minutes. Down 56-48, Acceus drained a 3 and then drove to the basket, getting the hosts to within three with 2:11 left.

But Scituate had an answer, as John Kinsley hit a 3 of his own with 1:44 left on the clock.

“Tonight was one of those nights where we’d make a run and get close, but then we’d miss a big shot or they’d hit one,” Grutchfield said. “I’m proud of the effort. We just got beat by a team that was better tonight.”

Acceus again cut the lead to three, 60-57, with 10.6 seconds left, but it was too little too late as the Sailors knocked down one of four free throws in the final 10 seconds to close the game out.