Page 12 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, March 6, 2020 Strong second half highlights season for Saugus boys By Greg Phipps T he Saugus High School boys’ basketball team had qualified for the playoffs when they had just three wins due to a state rule regarding regular-season wins against higher-division opponents. But the team’s performance during the second half of the season proved the defining stretch for head coach Mark Bertrand and his squad in 2019-20. The Sachems completed the regular season by winning six of their final eight games, including four Northeastern Conference wins, and entered the postseason feeling good about their chances to make some headway in the Div. 3 North tournament. That did not materialize, as No. 13 Saugus was ousted, 56-45, by fourth-seeded Watertown in the first round last Tuesday. The game was comTransfer guard Myles Manalaysay proved a valuable addition by making the Northeastern Conference all-star team. petitive. Saugus trailed by four at halftime before struggling in the third quarter. The Sachems fought back in the final period with some clutch shots from Christian Correia (14 points) and Mason Nickolas (12 points) but it wasn’t enough. Fourfor-12 shooting from the free throw line (0-for-5 in the second half) really hurt. Still, Bertrand said his team Saugus senior Christian Correia closed out a great career by placing fourth on the school’s all-time scoring list. (Advocate Photos by Greg Phipps) never stopped battling. “Overall I was happy with the effort of the team. They never gave up and that also sums up our season; we never gave up and won most of our games with second-half efforts,” he pointed out. Saugus finished 9-12 overall and 5-9 in league play. Coach Bertrand praised the Center Nick Israelson made steady progress throughout his varsity career, which culminated in a solid senior campaign. performance of his senior captains Correia and Michael Bertrand and their ability to keep the group together and on the same page even when the team sat at 3-9 through 12 games. He also cited senior starting center Nick Israelson for his effort all season, and backups Karl Moise and Andrew Aguilar for doing all that was asked of them. “They brought outstanding effort every day and a winning attitude. I’m proud of all five of the seniors,” Bertrand said. “Great students and leaders on the court and off. All are getting into great colleges.” Correia and Myles Manalaysay both made the conference all-star team. Correia celebrated making the 1,000-career-point milestone and ended up as the school’s fourth alltime leading scorer with 1,038 points. Coach Bertrand said one of the season’s memorable moments was the last regularseason game at home – a 5147 win over Medford. “The kids gave me the game ball in the locker room after the game,” he remembered. “A special moment for me, and one of four lasting memories [from that game], along with Christian stealing the ball and laying it in to seal the win, Mason hitting one of the biggest threes of the year to give us the lead in the final minutes and Michael diving all over the floor and playing great defense.” Saugus basketball players named to all-star team By Greg Phipps T hree Saugus High School girls’ basketball players received Northeastern Conference (NEC) all-star honors for 2019-20. Meanwhile, two players from the boys’ team received all-league recognition. Taylor Bogdanski was one of six players league-wide named to the all-NEC team while teammates Molly Granara and Kiley Ronan received all-star nods. Girls head coach Mark Schruender said Bogdanski, Granara and Ronan have been playing varsity since their freshman season and helped lead the program to an impressive 59-30 overall record (an average of nearly 15 wins per year) during that span. “That has happened despite our school having a lower enrollment than 80 percent of the teams we play. It is the most wins any class has ever had at Saugus High as far as I know,” Schruender observed. Bogdanski was perhaps Saugus’s most effective offensive threat, especially inside the paint. She led the team in scoring on several occasions this season. Granara came on strong the second half of the season and became a force up front both offensively and defensively. She also had a major impact on the boards. Ronan was the team’s defensive specialist at the guard position, who could shut down the opposing team’s best scorers with her tenacity. She also had a knack for steals and was a strong penetrator to the basket on offense. On the boys’ side, Christian Correia, who reached and surpassed the 1,000 career points plateau, and transfer guard Myles Manalaysay notched all-star honors. Correia ended up fourth all time in scoring at Saugus with 1,038 points while Manalaysay proved a valuable asset at the guard position and almost always finished among the team’s scoring leaders. Correia was Saugus’s go-to guy and the player the team ran its offense around. He was also a major factor in the rebound category, finishing with several double-double efforts during the season. Manalaysay transferred to Saugus from the powerful Lynn English program and eventually fit in nicely with his quickness, scoring prowess and ability to get to loose balls. “I’m very happy for them. They both had great years,” said head coach Mark Bertrand. “It was a great moment for Christian and our program, with him getting his 1,000 points and how he did it.” Corriea reached the milestone when he exploded for 43 points in a late-season contest at Northeast Metro Tech.
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