GEORGETOWN — There’s a lot that can be said positively about the Amesbury boys basketball team right now.
Primarily, that the Redhawks are a young and talented program on the rise with eight sophomores on the roster. Which, two of those sophomores — Justin Dube and Parker DeLong — log big minutes and are the team’s two leading scorers, and will eventually form the best backcourt in the entire CAL in due time.
Also, no matter the circumstance, the Redhawks sure as heck don’t quit.
But right now, Georgetown just has too much firepower.
Senior captain Jackson Lasquade was a man amongst boys in the biggest moments, and finished with 26 points and 16 rebounds to highlight an overall great team performance from the Royals on Thursday night. It was still only a single-digit game late in the third quarter, but the Royals relied on their defense to fuel a massive run over the final 10 minutes, and cruise to a comfortable win over the Redhawks, 69-44.
And they did it with key pieces Marcos Yones and Jomar Terrero out.
“We picked up our energy to close out,” said Georgetown coach Josh Keilty. “We had a lot of guys out today, so I was really happy to see other guys step up. John Alcantara played big minutes, Jack Duggan has come back and played great, Brady (Kent) as well, I thought they all played great. But I really just thought it was our defense and the energy that led to that big run.”
Ever since that loss to rival Manchester-Essex back on Jan. 5, Georgetown (11-4) has looked like a different team.
The Royals have ripped off seven of their last eight, and during that stretch have held opponents to just 45.8 points per game. Plus, their one loss over that time was to a Newburyport team that is undefeated in the CAL, and was by far the closest game the Clippers have played in the league this year (57-44). So, if you believe in “good losses,” that would probably qualify.
But what exactly has been behind this recent string of victories?
“We’re just playing really united and together,” said junior Jalen Andujar, who’s averaging 9.3 ppg. “We’ve been working in practice a lot on being physical and making sure our defense is getting better. Overall we can be very dangerous. We’ve got a lot of depth, and we can throw a lot of consistent shooters out there.”
Depth, as Coach Keilty alluded to, is another factor.
Georgetown has eight guys who are averaging at least 4.0 ppg, and even with two of them out of the lineup on Thursday, two more stepped up. Primarily, senior captain Noah Rosario had by far his best game of the season offensively, scoring all 9 of his points in the first half to help the Royals build a 30-17 halftime lead. Brady Kent (12 pts) hit a pair of 3s in the first half, as did Jack Duggan, and John Alcantara provided some big minutes off the bench and chipped in 4 points.
Then, there’s Brendan Loewen.
The stat sheet shows 4 points and 9 rebounds for the sophomore point guard, who is never afraid to stick his nose into a situation. He’s taken — by far — the most charges on the team this year, and even when asked about all of the hustle plays he makes over the course of a game, he deferred to what the team overall continues to do well.
“Everyone doesn’t care about themselves, we all care about the overall team and how we do collectively,” said Loewen. “Our coaches talk about the ‘little things’ all of the time in practice, and how those little things turn into big things. So being unselfish, knowing your role, not trying to do something you can’t do, that’s what all of us have been doing from top to bottom.”
That’s why the Royals find themselves ranked No. 15 in the latest Division 4 rankings, and are in line for a home playoff game.
But Amesbury (5-9) wasn’t about to leave without making things interesting.
Georgetown had bumped the lead up to 41-24 early in the third quarter, but a bucket from Christian McGarry (11 pts, 11 rebs) and two straight and-1s from Dube and DeLong — who both finished with 13 points — cut it to a single-digit game at 41-32. Coming off the court after the Royals called a subsequent timeout, both sophomores were fired up.
Like previously mentioned, the future potential of this backcourt is scary.
“We’ve got a group of kids that don’t have any give in them, they’re going to fight to the end,” said Amesbury coach Tom Comeau. “We’ve got a younger group of kids who are learning how to win, so a lot of times we’ll play three quarters and then we’ll lose it for a quarter. But I just think that’s part of the growing process and getting better.”
After that timeout, though, the Royals put their foot down.
Which, more accurately, Lasquade put the hammer down. The athetlic senior took over on both ends of the court, getting deflected passes and steals that led to layups. He scored 22 of his 26 points during the second half, grabbed the majority of his 16 rebounds during that stretch, and even hit a “heat-check” 3 — his first of the season — while helping the Royals pull away in the fourth.
A 49-36 game after three quickly turned out of hand, and the end of the benches took care of the final few minutes.
Georgetown 69, Amesbury 44
Amesbury (44): Linsey 1-0-2, DeLong 5-1-13, Dalton 2-1-5, McGarry 5-1-11, Dube 4-4-13, Peters 0-0-0, Jalloh 0-0-0, Mazzagua 0-0-0, Sullivan 0-0-0, Celia 0-0-0, Snyder 0-0-0. Totals 17-7-44
Georgetown (69): Kent 4-0-12, Lasquade 12-1-26, Duggan 3-0-9, Loewen 2-0-4, Andujar 1-0-3, Alcantara 2-0-4, Rosario 3-2-9, Zapata 1-0-2, Guzman 0-0-0, Tavares 0-0-0. Totals 28-3-69
3-pointers: G — Kent 4, Duggan 3, Andujar, Rosario; A — DeLong 2, Dube
Amesbury (5-9): 11 6 19 8 — 44
Georgetown (11-4): 11 19 19 20 — 69