ROCKPORT — A slow start to both the first and third quarters Thursday night could’ve hurt the Rockport boys basketball team.
Great showings in the second and fourth quarter, however, ensured that didn’t happen.
The host Vikings won the Cape Ann Savings Bank Tournament championship for the second straight season, pulling away from Mystic Valley, 60-41, at Rowell Gymnasium. As a result, Rockport improved to 4-1 — their best start in a decade.
Josiah Whitley scored 17 points for Rockport, canning 5-of-11 3-pointers. Brooks Slingluff added 13 points for the locals, while got 10 apiece from Ed Merz and Chase Wheat and six more from Josh Silva.
The Vikings limited Mystic Valley to just a single point in the second quarter and only 10 over the final eight minutes of play while pulling away with a 21-point fourth quarter of their own.
“They hung around for a bit before we went to a 1-3-1 halfcourt trap and disrupted their offense,” Rockport head coach Phil Whitley said.
“Having four guys in double figures shows the balanced scoring we had tonight,” added Whitley. “Brooks really had a great game, and Josh was really active on the boards for us. “Hopefully we can build off of this next week back in Cape Ann League play against Manchester Essex (Wednesday) and Ipswich (Friday).”