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Chris Mastrangelo, who guided the Peabody High boys basketball team for the past 11 years, resigned from his post yesterday.

Citing a combination of reasons that factored into his decision, Mastrangelo told Peabody High athletic director Phil Sheridan about his intentions recently, and informed his players of his decision yesterday.

There are late-game dramatics, and there are fantastic finishes.

Then there are those ultra rare, simply unbelievable scenarios that seem hard to believe if you weren't there to witness it yourself.

Beverly High boys basketball coach Scott Lewis can't complain about the way his team closes out a game. In fact, he can't complain about too much these days.

With the issue in doubt late in the game, Beverly went on a 12-2 run to finish off Peabody, 50-41, in the Northeastern Conference.

Danny Mello's favorite sport at Peabody High is baseball. Everybody knows it, including Tanners basketball coach Chris Mastrangelo.

So when the 5-foot-9 point guard tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in a hoop game against Waltham last winter, it was a devastating blow. Mello was out for the second half of the basketball season and lost his entire baseball season.

MARBLEHEAD | A pair of vastly different squads took to the floor at Marblehead High last night | and it wasn't just the uniform colors that distinguished the combatants.

On one side was a host Marblehead Magicians squad infused with energy and ready to rock, while on the other was a visiting Peabody Tanners club that slightly resembled Rip Van Winkle.

It obviously wasn't the case, but it still seemed as though neither Gloucester or Peabody really wanted to win last night's boys basketball game at Gloucester High School. For close to 31 minutes of play, both teams couldn't have thrown the ball in the ocean if they were standing in the sand at Good Harbor Beach. The result was a 44-44 tie with 1:12 left in the contest.

Despite a strong performance against an unbeaten team, Peabody suffered another frustrating loss. At the end the breaks didn't go the Tanners way, and they fell to Lynn Classical, 63-62

After losing to English by 40 points three nights ago and not being able to practice Thursday because of the snowstorm, Peabody gave the Rams all they could handle and nearly stole the game at the end.

The Tanners outlasted Salem last night 56-53 in overtime to send their fans home happy from the Veterans Memorial fieldhouse.

Peabody controlled last nights action for the first three quarters, 39-25, without much resistance from Salem as both teams looked to pick up their first win of the young season. "We played great defensively in the first half. Anytime you hold a talented team like that to 11 points for a half that's great," said Peabody's head coach Chris Mastrangelo.

Had Beverly junior basketball captain Nate Knudson asked out of last night's game after picking up his fourth offensive foul in the fourth quarter, no one would have questioned him.

Knudson seemed to be the whipping boy for the home fans in Peabody's Northeastern Conference debut, and the Tanner defense didn't take it any easier on him. The Panthers' starting off-guard couldn't get any space on the perimeter and virtually every time he lowered his shoulder to go to the hole, he was whistled for charging.

Last year's record: 9-9

Coach: Chris Mastrangelo (11th season)

Key returnees: Danny Mello, 5-9, Sr., G; Gary Girolamo, 5-9, Sr., G; Brian Fleming, 6-0, Sr., F; Mark Linehan, 6-1, Jr., F; Matt Marquis, 5-10, Sr., G; Brad Piza, 6-1, Jr., F; Kevin Skop, 6-1, Sr., F.