Page 10 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2022 Sachem boys finish with eight wins By Greg Phipps D espite dropping three of its final four regular-season games, the Saugus High School Boys’ Basketball Team still has hopes of being awarded a spot in the postseason tournament. The Sachems sit on the tourney bubble with an 8-12 record to end the regular season. Losing 10 of their last 12 contests after starting off 6-2 may not look good for the Sachems in the eyes of the decision-makers either. But, as of press time, Saugus was in a position to possibly grab a play-in berth when seeds are determined. In the meantime, the Sachems came off a tough 34-point loss at Peabody last Thursday and nearly knocked off Masconomet last Friday on the road. But a last second three-pointer lifted Masco to a 55-53 win. As he has done a lot of lately, Tyrone Manderson led the charge offensively for Saugus with 19 points. Ben Tapia-Gately and Mark MacEachern each netted 12 points in the defeat. The Sachems then Saugus guard Ben Tapia-Gately is shown driving the lane in Wednesday’s loss at Swampscott. scored an impressive victory and gained a measure of revenge on Monday at home against Manchester-Essex. The visiting Hornets came out on top in a high-scoring 8071 affair at Manchester-Essex back on Jan. 31. Monday’s contest wasn’t quite as wide open, but Manderson produced another strong offensive effort against the Hornets in a 65-62 Saugus victory. Manderson’s 25 points to go along with 13 from Ryan Mabee, 12 from Ryan Anderson, who drained four three-pointers, and 10 from Tapia-Gately accounted for the bulk of the Sachems’ scoring. The momentum of the Manchester win was relatively shortlived as the Sachems paid a visit to Swampscott on Wednesday afternoon to close out the regular season. The Big Blue, winners of 13 in a row entering the game, showed why they have been on such a roll. An array of fast break baskets, offensive putbacks and long-range shots powered the hosts on their way to a convincing 66-49 triumph. Other than Manderson, who seemed to be the only Saugus player able to hit a shot in the first half, the Sachems struggled big time with their shooting. As a result, Swampscott took advantage and plowed ahead to a 21-9 lead after one quarter. An identical score in the second quarter gave the Big Blue a commanding 42-18 advantage at halftime. The Sachems did play better as the second half wore on but were never able to pose a serious challenge. Swampscott fi nished 16-4 on the season and has won 14 consecutive games after opening the season 2-4. Saugus’s Tyrone Manderson is shown going up for a shot against a Swampscott opponent in Wednesday’s season fi nale. (Advocate photos by Greg Phipps) Saugus’s Ryan Mabee looked to penetrate to the basket as teammate Max Anajjar (shown in back) looked on during Wednesday’s contest at Swampscott. Sachems drop rematch against Vikings C By Greg Phipps losing out the regular season with three straight losses, the Saugus High School hockey team is still hoping that a playoff berth is in the cards. A strong showing for the second time this season against a very good Winthrop squad on Wednesday didn’t hurt Saugus’s chances of getting a postseason nod. Two weeks ago, the Sachems battled the Vikings pretty evenly at home before succumbing, 2-1. Goalie Matt Smith played well and kept Saugus in that game, but the Sachems engineered some good scoring opportunities of their own and had their chances to steal a win. On Wednesday at Winthrop’s Larsen Arena, the contest was another competitive affair. This time, however, the Vikings dented the net fi ve times and that was enough to score a 5-3 win. The defeat dropped the Sachems to 7-12-1 overall for 2021-22 while Winthrop fi nished 10-9-1. Dante Mauro tallied twice for the Sachems and Chris Regnetta scored the other goal. Jason Caron finished with an assist. Regnetta was responsible for Saugus’s lone goal in the 2-1 loss at Kasabuski Arena two weeks ago. Last Saturday, the Sachems came out on the short end of a 5-2 fi nal against Danvers at the Essex Sports Center in Middleton. Massey Ventre and Mauro were the goal scorers for Saugus. Captains Caron and Ventre were both selected to the Northeastern Conference allstar team this week. The Sachems ended the regular season having scored 53 goals while surrendering 72. Saugus’s last victory was a 6-0 shutout of Lynn on Feb. 15. Chris Regnetta scored one of Saugus’s three goals in a loss at Winthrop on Wednesday night. (Advocate photos by Greg Phipps) Jason Caron assisted on one of Saugus’s three tallies on Wednesday at Winthrop.
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