THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, JAnUAry 13, 2023 Page 9 Comeback Effort at Gloucester Falls Short for Sachem Boys By Greg Phipps T he Saugus High School boys’ basketball team was looking to get back on the winning track at Gloucester Tuesday night after suffering a 19-point loss to Marblehead last Friday at home. The host Fishermen dashed out to a 10-point first-half lead before Saugus climbed back to within two by halftime. The Sachems were still very much in the contest after three quarters, only trailing by three. But they got outscored by seven points in the final eight minutes and came up short by a 5444 margin. The defeat left Saugus at 5-3 on the season entering Wednesday night’s home game against Triton. Chris Flynn helped keep Saugus close in the first half by canning two three-pointers and netting two free throws for eight points. Isaiah Rodriguez took over in the second half when he erupted from the perimeter, sinking four three-pointers. He also added a layup to account for 14 points. With the momentum of their tournament championship win two weeks ago at the David Green Holiday event in Winthrop having dissipated a bit, the Sachems are looking to reestablish that energy as they take on Masconomet on the road on Friday and return home for a tilt against Danvers next Tuesday night. Saugus’s Isaiah Rodriguez drilled four three-pointers in the second half of Tuesday’s loss at Gloucester. Saugus Girls Earn Back-To-Back Home Wins By Greg Phipps C oming off consecutive losses that dropped their record to .500, the Saugus High School girls’ basketball team climbed back over the even mark by earning back-to-back victories at home earlier this week. The Sachems collected double-digit wins over Arlington Catholic on Monday and Gloucester on Tuesday. Against Gloucester, Saugus raced out to an early 14-3 lead and held a 2110 advantage after one period. The Sachems led 2719 at halftime and went on to outscore Gloucester 26-21 in the second half to come away with a 53-40 win. Contributing to the offensive side were Ana Silva with three baskets from beyond the arc, Taylor Deleidi with two three-pointers and Ashleen Escobar with seven points. Freshman guard Peyton DiBiasio, who netted a team-high 24 points, did her damage from all areas of the floor, hitting from the outside and penetrating successfully to the basket. “[DiBiasio] did a great job of probing the defense and getting into the paint and then making plays off of that,” Head Coach Mark Schruender said. “When girls are making shots it puts pressure on the [opposing] defense to make a choice about helping against drives or stopping the shot.” Schruender said that there were many contributors to the victory. “Defensively, DiBiasio, Escobar, Silva and Deleidi played well on that end, but we also got great contributions from Madison Botta and Devaney Millerick as well,” he said. Against Arlington, Saugus pulled ahead by a wide margin early before the visitors battled back with a 14-2 surge late in the first half. A 9-3 run to open the third quarter revived the Sachems, who went on to take control of the contest. A strong shooting performance was one of the keys for the hosts, as DiBiasio exploded for 25 points in an eventual 59-43 triumph. Escobar finished with 17 points, and Jessica BremSaugus’s Ashleigh Moore contributed a strong game with six points in Monday’s win over Arlington Catholic. berg and Ashleigh Moore (six points on two three-pointers) did much of the dirty work with rebounds and controlling the paint, according to Schruender. Juliana Powers completed a key basket on a drive to the hoop that Schruender said “essentially put the game away for us.” The coach also cited Amelia Pappagallo for her effort off the bench against Arlington. The two victories imFreshman guard Peyton DiBiasio drained 25 points to help lead the Saugus girls to a home win over Arlington Catholic on Monday night. proved Saugus to 5-3 overall on the season (2-2 in the Northeastern Conference) – with a contest at home against Masconomet Friday night (Jan. 13). The Sachems then travel to take on Danvers next Tuesday night. The COVID-19 Update Town reports 47 newly confirmed cases; one new death was a decrease of 10 over By Mark E. Vogler T here were 47 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases in Saugus over the past week through Wednesday (Jan. 11). The new cases reported by the state Department of Public Health (DPH) over the past week increased the overall total to 10,402 confirmed cases since the outbreak of the global pandemic in March of 2020, according to Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree. This week’s total the number of newly confirmed cases reported last week. There was one new COVID-19-related death over the past week, as the death toll increased to 103. “Our hearts and prayers go out to those families affected by this health pandemic,” Crabtree said.
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