Jordan McAfee’s late basket gives Everett 67-66 win over New Mission
By Cary Shuman
There are the quizzes and then there are the tests.
Senior forward Jordan McAfee made a layup with three seconds remaining to lift the Everett High boys basketball to a dramatic 67-66 victory over New Mission Monday in the BABC Winter Classic at Cathedral High School.
It was Everett’s toughest test of the season to-date. New Mission is the defending Division 2 state champion and the Hyde Park-based school has its sights on a repeat. The Tide made use of all 32 minutes to complete its comeback in an exciting, well-played basketball game between two teams that hope to go deep in March.
Everett (8-0) was trailing 66-65 when 6-foot-6-inch center Theo Zidor blocked a New Mission shot. Isaiah Likely recovered the loose ball and delivered a three-quarter court-length pass to McAfee in full stride for the go-ahead basket.
McAfee, the Division 1, UConn-bound quarterback who was the one throwing accurate passes this fall, was on the receiving end of a strike from Likley who alertly found his streaking teammate in the open court.
New Mission called a timeout to set up a play. Coach John DiBiaso brought on Gabe DeSouza to defend on the final possession and Crimson Tide football’s dependable placekicker stole the ball to seal the victory.
McAfee finished with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Ghared Boyce, who netted a big three-pointer with 1:31 left to close the margin to one point, also had 16 points while Likely contributed 16 points and 10 rebounds. Zidor scored 13 points, 11 coming in the fourth quarter to go along with his outstanding block in the final seconds.
“This was a very good, competitive effort against a very good New Mission team,” said Coach John DiBiaso. “Ghared came up with a key three-pointer. Theo, Isaiah, and Jordan then made that big play at the end that led to the winning basket. We made some big plays down the stretch and everybody contributed.”
Everett is ranked No. 3 in the Globe poll while New Mission is ranked No. 5. Coupled with a win over Bishop Stang (Dartmouth) earlier in the season, the Tide now owns victories over the reigning Division 2 and Division 3 state champions. Cambridge is the reigning Division 1 state champion and the excitement is already brewing for an Everett-Cambridge clash of titans in the State Tournament .
Everett bested Somerville, 64-58, Friday night. Ghared Boyce led all scorers with 27 points. Zidor had 13 points while McAfee contributed 12 points.
Everett was set to play at Lynn Classical Tuesday night. The Tide hosts Medford Friday night.
EHS Roundup
Faia scores four as EHS hockey team beats Minuteman, 9-4
The Everett High hockey team earned its second win of the season in a big way, exploding for a 9-4 victory at Minuteman Regional on the latter’s home ice at the Valley Sports Arena in Concord on the holiday on Monday afternoon.
Crimson Tide sharpshooter and captain Marc Faia, who already has attained the 100-point plateau in his outstanding EHS career, lit the lamp four times to pace the Crimson Tide attack.
Fellow senior captain Bryan Bessler reached the back of the Minuteman net twice. Senior alternate captain Ryan Snook scored a goal, as did his brother, Nick. Jason Suppa also scored for the Crimson Tide. Ryan Coleman and Brian Giannelli scored their first career points with assists.
“This was a big win for us,” said EHS first-year head coach Erick Kainen. “The team overall played a full 45 minutes and they were rewarded for it.”
The lone down note for the Tide in their coach’s view were some penalties in the middle period that momentarily halted his team’s momentum. “We need to stay disciplined and we lost it for a short time in the second period,” said Kainen, who lauded the play of EHS goaltender Brendan Calderon. “That’s an area of our game that we need to keep working on.”
Last Wednesday the Tide came out on the short end of an 8-5 decision with Greater Boston League rival Somerville. Five different Crimson Tide players, alternate captain Louis Staffiery, Anthony Marino, Faia, Bessler, and Ryan Snook took turns lighting the lamp.
“We were within one or two goals for most of the way,” noted Kainen, “but we learned a big lesson in that game, namely, to respect your opponent.”
The Crimson Tide are set to be back on the ice tonight (Wednesday) when they host East Boston and then will entertain Somerville in a rematch next Wednesday. Face-off for both games at Allied Veterans Rink is set for 7:00.
EHS girls basketball team sinks Somerville
The Everett High girls basketball team broke open a tight 21-19 contest at half-time, exploding for 37 points after the intermission, to coast to a 58-32 triumph over Somerville this past Friday.
Yasmeen Guerrier led the Lady Crimson Tide scoring attack, pouring in 23 points. Nyomi Dottin also reached double figures with 17 points. Jackie Emmanuel added eight points, followed by Carolann Cardinale with three, the trio of Melissa Mendez, Kloe Cardillo, and Maddy Duraes with two points each, and Keara Ross with a free throw.
“We started slowly, which unfortunately has been a problem for us this season,” said EHS head coach Tammy Turner. “But we picked up our defensive intensity to start the second half and that got us going.”
The triumph improved the Lady Crimson Tide to 3-4 on the season. Everett earlier in the week had dropped a 43-42 decision to Malden in which the Lady Crimson Tide had erased an 11-point deficit, 35-24, in the fourth quarter and had pulled ahead with two minutes to go.
However, Malden refused to fold and pulled out the win down the stretch. The trio of Guerrier (15 points), Emmanuel (13), and Dottin (11), all hit for double figures for the Lady Crimson Tide.
Everett now stands at 2-1 in the Greater Boston League and sits in a three-way tie for first with Medford and Malden. With games remaining against all three of their GBL rivals, the Lady Crimson Tide can claim a second straight league title if they run the table against their GBL foes.
Turner and her crew were set to take on Lynn Classical last night (Tuesday) and travel to Marblehead tonight (Wednesday).
They play at Medford Friday and host Malden this coming Tuesday. Tip-off for all games is set for 7:00.
EHS boys and girls track teams victorious
The Everett High indoor track teams enjoyed another successful week of competition as both the boys and girls teams notched victories recently over Medford.
The win improved the boys’ record to 3-0 and moved them into a tie for first place in the Greater Boston League. The Crimson Tide received first-place finishes from senior captain Will Barrett in the mile, senior Nicholas Walchris in the shot-put, and from Lewis Cine, Clarence Jules, Widman Laterrion, Aimen Salih, and Francisco Lemus in the hurdles, dash, 300, 1000, and two-mile.
Seniors Carlins Platel, Jorge Caballero, Chadwick Jean Mary, and Jalil Marinez contributed with place-scoring finishes in the dash, shot, and two mile.
The Lady Crimson Tide improved to 2-1 for the season on the backs of strong performances by senior captains Sabrina Moretta, Brianna Gutierrez, Ewnie Fedna, and Mithlema Beaucqoit who placed first in the 300, 600, dash, and hurdles.
A second-place finish in the mile run from senior Danielle Rosetti secured the two-point victory.
In state level competitions held at the Reggie Lewis Track and Field Center over past two weekends, the boys 4×200 meter relay team placed third at Winterfestival, running the third-fastest time in Massachusetts and qualifying for the state championship meet in February. The team was comprised of the quartet of Laterrion, Cine, Marinez, and Platel, who also placed in the 50 dash with a state-qualifying time the same day.
Freshman Clarence Jules placed third at the state freshman/sophomore meet last Sunday, qualifying for the state meet. Clarence is the first freshman EHS track and field athlete to qualify for states in 10 years.
Both teams are looking forward to the upcoming state relay and state coaches invitational meets as they eye an important GBL match against Malden High School this week.