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MARBLEHEAD | Marblehead High's boys basketball team made a living with its suffocating defense this season. But it expired in the Division 2 North Tournament due to its lack of offense.

The top-seeded Magicians were about as sound as they've been all season against Wakefield, but they were held under double digits in two of the four quarters in a 50-43 loss before a near capacity crowd here Saturday night.

The old adage that defense wins games was certainly true last night at packed Swampscott High School.

The Marblehead boys basketball team's pressure defense found a way to quiet the explosive offense of the host Big Blue as the visiting Magicians pulled out a 54-50 thriller over their rivals in the game's final minute. In doing so, Marblehead nailed down the Northeastern Conference South title.

The Salem High boys basketball team's seven-game winning streak came to a halt last night. Not surprisingly, it took a great defensive team to slow them down.

The two teams came into the contest with identical 7-3 records, but the Witches could not handle the much taller Magicians, who owned the boards at both ends in a 61-49 decision.

The Beverly High boys basketball team would've been kicking itself if it lost to Marblehead last night. Instead, the Panthers may look back at this one as a turning point in the season.

In a game that might've been as wild as anything that's been seen in the Northeastern Conference so far this year, Beverly squandered a 14-point first half lead and trailed by nine in the fourth quarter, but the Panthers had all the right answers in the final minute and pulled out a 60-57 win.

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.

The Marblehead boys basketball coach, Wayne Hanscom, was naturally worried. His Magicians hadn't played in two weeks. He was concerned about the "rust" factor.

"It's hard to get into a groove when you're idle that long. Our defense got after it and that was the big factor," Hanscom said last night after his virtual Kiddie Korps (one senior, Damalo Abu, who had six points and 15 rebounds) made a stunning stand in prime time to post a 53-50 victory over host Swampscott before a crowd of about 1200.

The Marblehead High boys basketball team doesn't have a single player averaging 10 points this season and it had one game when it scored just 40 points.

With numbers like that, you'd assume the Magicians could be winless, but you'd be wrong. Instead, coach Wayne Hanscom's team is 3-1 with a major challenge coming up Friday night against 5-1 Swampscott.

DANVERS | Trapping and turnovers.

The Marblehead High boys basketball team used those two key components to force the host Danvers Falcons into submission last night, jumping out to an early lead and never looking back to take a 59-31 road victory at Danvers High.

Last year's record: 14-6

Coach: Wayne Hanscom (3rd season)

Key returnees: Damola Abu, 6-2, Sr., F; Pat Song, 5-9, Jr., G; Brandon Lee, 5-9, Jr., G; Tom Powers, 6-3, Jr., F.

Strengths: Abu is a returning NEC All-Star who was good for 16 points and 10 rebounds a game and Song, who averaged 6 assists, is in his third year at point guard. Justin Dana, who is 6-5, is up from the JV team and Hanscom likes the potential of junior guard Eric Stein and the athleticism of Taariq Allen. Ian McKinley and Anthony Corbin should also help. Tom Powers returned from an elbow injury earlier than expected and is a scoring threat.