It’s a great time to be a Georgetown basketball fan.
Heading into Friday night, both the boys and girls teams are sitting near the top of the CAL Baker standings, with massive matchups against Manchester-Essex waiting. The girls will host the Hornets at 6:30 p.m., while the boys will travel up to Manchester-By-The-Sea for tipoff at the same time.
At stake in both matchups: First place in the Baker.
“It’s just a great environment and a great rivalry,” said Georgetown boys coach Josh Keilty. “It’s going to take an unbelievable effort from our kids to go up there and beat them. When we go over there, it’s always a physical game. We have so much respect for them and their program, and it’s really turned into a fun rivalry. So we’re all looking forward to it.”
Last year, Georgetown and Manchester-Essex share the CAL Baker title. For the Royals, it was the first time that had won at least a share of a league crown since 2009.
And it looks like the two teams will be battling it out for Baker league supremacy yet again this winter.
Georgetown (6-1, 4-0 CAL) will come into the contest on a four-game winning streak, while Manchester-Essex (7-1, 5-0 CAL) is just as hot. The Hornets boast the best scoring offense in the entire league at 68.6 points per game, largely in part to junior Cade Furse averaging a ridiculous 29.0 ppg.
“There really isn’t a plan to stop him,” laughed Keilty. “We’re just going out there to battle and try to contain him, and hope he misses some shots.”
But the Royals certainly have the firepower to compete.
Senior 6-foot-4 big man Grant Lyon (18.7 ppg) is the leading scorer in the entire Daily News area, and wing man Cory Walsh (9.0 ppg, 13 3s) can get hot from deep at any moment. The Royals have also received steady point guard play from junior Jackson Lasquade (7.8 ppg), and young guns Jack Duggan (6.2 ppg, 8 3s), Marcos Yones (7.0 ppg), Jalen Andujar and John Alcantara have all improved drastically.
So expect a heck of a game.
And the same could be said for the girls.
After making a run to the Division 5 Round of 16 last winter, Georgetown (6-2, 3-1 CAL) has continued to build upon that success this year. The Royals will come into the game with a slight lead in the standings over the Hornets (6-2, 2-2 CAL), so a win could go a long way in clinching the team’s first Baker title in quite some time.
“I think that nice tournament run last year has springboarded us this season,” said first-year Georgetown coach Tim Mahan, who, coincidentally, went to high school with Manchester-Essex coach Lauren Dubois. “When we played Beverly the other day, they had a commentator who was doing the play-by-play. He described us as one of the top programs in the area, which sort of surprised the girls but was cool for them to hear.
“We told them that pressure is a privilege. We feel right now that we’re where we wanted to be in the season, but we want to keep building. Yeah, 6-2 is nice right now, but it won’t mean much if you’re 6-14 at the end of the season. So the mentality is to keep going.”
The Hornets are a well-balanced team, led by captains Calista Lai and Kendall Newton, as well as talented freshman Kacey O’Connell. But the Royals have plenty of talent to pull out the victory and grab a hold of the Baker.
Sisters Tyrah and Neiylah Marcelin are both averaging over 8.0 points per game, and Marley Morrison (7.4 ppg, 8 3s) is someone who can score from anywhere on the court as well as rebound.
But so far this winter, Carena Ziolkowski has been a star for the Royals.
The senior is averaging 15.5 ppg, and her 27 3s are by far the most in the area. After a stellar soccer season this fall that saw her named a Daily News All-Star, Ziolkowski is carrying that success over to the winter months.
“She’s one of the most fun kids to coach,” said Mahan. “I think the thing that has impressed me most is that she’s stepped up as a leader, and defensively she’s a lot better than people think. She plays as fast and competitve as anyone in our league. She’s our top scorer and yet she’s taken three charges over our last two games. So she’s not there to just shoot it up and get her points.
“She’ll do anything you ask her to do and she’s been a fantastic leader for us.”