RallyNorth.net

North Reading falls

WAYLAND — Despite a subpar offensive effort, North Reading was positioned for an upset.

Behind some staunch defense and the inside dominance of senior center Jeff Tyner, the seventh-seeded Hornets gave No. 2 Wayland all it could handle last night before the hosts pulled themselves together and pulled away for a 62-45 Division 3 North quarterfinal victory.

"The score's not indicative of how things went," said North Reading head coach Joe Casey. "We were only down two in the middle of the third quarter and down five early in the fourth. Jeff (with seven blocks on the night) really kept us in the game and P.J. Dionne (game-high 22 points) had a terrific game and really carried us."

However, the tough shooting night the Hornets (12-9) suffered hurt in the final period, especially when top-scorer Adam Lewin (20 points) heated up. Lewin sank a pair of 3-pointers to give Wayland a double-digit lead, then quality free-throw shooting took over when North Reading was forced to foul in the late stages.

"We put a scare in the No. 2 seed through three quarters," Casey concluded. "We had an absolutely satisfying season where we pulled it together in the last two weeks and finished strong. This was our fifth straight tourney appearance and third time in the quarterfinals. This was a very good year."