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Turnovers and trap game help Marblehead hammer Danvers

Friday, December, 14 By Nick Turczak
Staff writer

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.

The Magicians (2-0) used defensive pressure in forcing the hosts to commit 25 turnovers, turning many of those into points the other way.

On the flip side, the opportunistic Magicians got an amazing 29 deflections and also made a number of steals with a devastating press.

"Our press kind of wore them down a little bit," said Marblehead head coach Wayne Hanscom after his team's second straight Northeastern Conference win. "Those deflections and steals led to a lot of points for us."

On the flip side, Danvers (0-2) hurt itself with the turnovers, which led to sloppy play throughout the evening.

"Their press worked well, but we had to many mental errors to consistently break it and get into our offense," said Danvers head coach Mark Malley. "Overall, I just thought we put in a lackluster effort."

After a competitive (and foul-laden) 10-8 first quarter, the visiting Magicians took control of the game starting the second quarter by going on a 10-0 run.

The finish to the quarter was not much better for the Falcons as Marblehead junior point guard Pat Song made three consecutive 3-pointers in the last two minutes of the half, ballooning his team's lead to 15.

"I give them credit; they were playing a lot of good man-to-man defense before Pat came up with some big three's," said Hanscom. "Those three's are killer."

If not for Danvers senior captain Ben Wood, his team's halftime deficit might have been even greater. Wood drained a deep trifecta of his own just before the half, and wound up as his team's only double-digit scorer with 11 points.

But Marblehead was not to be denied. The Magicians carried that first half momentum into the second stanza and opened with a 13-0 run to make it 46-18. That torrid stretch was aided by an intentional foul and a technical foul call against the hosts.

"We built up a pretty good lead in the first half | and it just carried over into the second half. I thought our team came out of the break with a lot of energy and intensity," said Hanscom.

Song finished with a game-high 15 points for Marblehead while teammate Tom Powers added 10. The Magicians' suffocating defense held the Falcons to 33 percent shooting (13 of 39) for the night.

"It's a game of runs, and ending the first half the way we did and then starting the second half the same way, I think Danvers got down a little bit."

Malley said the two fouls hurt his team.

"We were down 13 at the half and then got an intentional foul and a technical foul almost back to back and the lead doubled just like that," explained Malley.

The fourth quarter saw both coaches showcase their benches for the remainder of the game, giving valuable playing time to the backups.

"We got a lot of guys the opportunity to play, which was good experience for them," said Hanscom. "We're going to need those guys to make big plays later in the season."