RallyNorth.net

Tue, Jan 15, 2008 07:00 PM @ Marblehead

Team	1	2	3	4	Final
Peabody	10	5	7	21	43
Marblehead	20	12	11	15	58

Marblehead's Allen, Abu too much for Peabody

Tuesday, January, 15 By Matt Williams
Staff writer

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 result was a convincing 58-43, wire-to-wire victory by the hosts, which snapped Peabody's four-game winning streak.

"It was a very disappointing effort on our part," said Tanner coach Chris Mastrangelo. "They took a lot from us | and we just kind of let them. We got out-toughed in the paint."

Peabody fell to 5-6, while Marblehead won its second straight to improve to 6-2 on the season.

Led by Taariq Allen (14 points, 11 rebounds) and Damola Abu (15 points, 7 rebounds), the Magicians were dominant inside. Allen and Abu combined to sink 13 of 20 shots from the floor and cleaned up on the glass. That allowed Marblehead to build a 9-1 lead which quickly ballooned to 18-6, courtesy of easy second-chance baskets.

"Our guys had the edge there," said Marblehead coach Wayne Hanscom. "Our goal was to pound it inside and be a terror on the glass, and that's what we accomplished."

Kevin Skop paced the visiting Tanners with 15 points | including his team's first six points.

Peabody's defense was better in the latter stages of the first half, but the Magicians relentless press defense didn't allow their offense to get going. In all, the hosts deflected 26 balls and recorded 14 steals.

"One of our keys (coming in) was good ball movement, but instead we stood around and watched," said Mastrangelo. "I think we got caught up in what was going on."

When the Magicians weren't able to score inside, their shooters were hot from the perimeter as well. Pat Song added 12 points as each of Marblehead's five starters recorded at least five points (Brandon Lee scored 7 and Tom Powers had 5).

"We stayed aggressive the whole game," said Hanscom. "We were telling the kids not to be timid or shy | just keep attacking and good things will happen."

Marblehead's defense was suffocating until the final quarter. Entering the fourth down 43-22, the Tanners nearly doubled their total output by scoring 21 in the final eight minutes. Vasilios Frangias keyed the run with nine points off the bench.

"He's a very good defender and he has a good nose for the basket," said Mastrangelo. "One of our goals in the last four minutes was to get it under 20 and we did so that's something we can build on. But overall it was a very disappointing performance."

With a 31-17 edge in total rebounds, the Magicians accomplished their goals. Powers grabbed six boards too add to the damage.

"The bottom line is that it was a good rebounding night for us," said Hanscom. "It was one of our better games."