Published January 22, 2020

By JAMES CRANNEY

LYNNFIELD — Approaching the halfway mark of the season, the 2-6 Lynnfield Pioneers boys’ basketball team had a chance to get the season back on track with a home and an away game last week. The first game would be a home matchup against a 1-6 Ipswich opponent followed by a road game in Pentucket.

Pioneers steamroll Ipswich 78-39

After losing the past five games, including a brutal one-point loss to North Reading, Lynnfield desperately needed a bounce-back game. Last Tuesday night, when the Tigers of Ipswich came to town, the Pioneers got just what they needed.

Lynnfield hit the ground running when senior captain Clayton Marengi (20 points) took the opening tipoff right to the hoop for the early 2-0 Pioneer lead. Ipswich would respond though, on the following two possessions senior guard Will Vanderbilt (15 points) would make back-to-back 3-pointers giving the Tigers a 6-2 advantage.

JACK FORD scored 16 points during Lynnfield’s victory over Ipswich on Jan. 14. (Kristine Marengi Photo)

With under 5 minutes remaining in the opening quarter, Lynnfield cut the deficit in half when Jack Ford (16 points) fed Luke Martinho (6 points) with a terrific pass beneath the basket for a layup. Strong ball movement on the next Pioneer possession led to senior captain Khad Connell (8 points) tying the game up after another Lynnfield layup.

Vanderbilt would come back with his third 3-pointer of the game making it 9-6 Tigers. That was the last time Ipswich found the basket in the first quarter. Following scores from Marengi and Ford, Lynnfield found themselves in the lead for the first time 10-9 with 2:30 left in the first quarter. Once the Pioneers earned their first lead, they would not look back.

Senior captain Max Boustris (7 points) made it 15-9 when he sank a 3 from the left corner of the arch. Another 3-pointer, this time from junior guard Bakari Mitchell (11 points), made it 18-9. With under 30 seconds remaining in the first quarter, Mitchell squeezed out one more Lynnfield basket to make it 20-9 after one.

Marengi continued the Pioneer dominance starting the second quarter with an elegant underhand layup. Ipswich would finally end Lynnfield’s 16-0 run with a bucket of their own making it 22-11, but the Pioneer offense refused to cool off. Marengi imposed his will on the Tigers continually driving to the basket scoring 8 of his 20 points in the second quarter.

“We had a big first half tonight from Clayton,” claimed Lynnfield head coach Scott MacKenzie after the game. “His performance really sparked the rest of our guys.”

After once again holding their opponent to single digits in the quarter, the Pioneers took a sizeable 15-point 32-17 lead with them into the locker room. When the second half began, Lynnfield continued attacking the basket. Ford took the first possession and drove right to the hole stretching the Pioneer lead to 17. Almost every Lynnfield possession in the second half ended with the Pioneers scoring in the paint, something the team has had great struggles with throughout the season.

Lynnfield began the third quarter up 15 points and would end it leading by 25. Following a Ford layup and 3 -pointer to start the fourth quarter, both coaches emptied their benches providing younger players some varsity experience. In the end, the Pioneers secured their third victory of the season with a 78-39 dominant performance on their home court.

CLAYTON MARENGI dunks home two of his team-high 20 points during Lynnfield’s 78-39 win over Ipswich on Jan. 14.
(Kristine Marengi Photo)

“It seemed like more so than in past games we had an easier time getting to the rim,” commented coach MacKenzie on his offense’s commanding performance. “The past few games it’s been such a challenge, we’ve waisted so much energy on the offensive end to get inside the paint, we didn’t have to worry about that today.”

Lynnfield upsets heavily-favored Pentucket

When asked how his team could keep it going following the big win against Ipswich, coach MacKenzie’s answer was simple,: “We’re 3-6, we don’t keep anything going, it’s a day-to-day grind. We’re going to Pentucket Friday and it’ll be a much different story than it was tonight.”

Last month when the season began, the now 5-3 Pentucket Sachems blew the doors off the Pioneers in a season opening 56-39 rout. At the halfway point of the season with both teams trending in different directions, many expected this to be another lopsided Pentucket win. Coach MacKenzie was right though, tonight would be a much different story.

Lynnfield fought tooth-and-nail against the Sachems all the way to the end to squeak out a 60-58 road victory. Sitting at 4-6 and having won two consecutive games, the Pioneers may be able to finally build momentum and salvage the 2019-2020 season. They have played 10 games, and only 10 remain.

Now 4-4 in league play, Lynnfield will have to take it one game at a time to keep turning the ship, starting with Triton on Monday at home after press time. Lynnfield hosts Masco on Friday at 6:30 p.m.