BOXFORD — When the two best big men in your conference, and arguably the league’s best shooting guard, sit at the other end of the floor, the game plan has to be to limit their possessions — not give them a bunch of extra ones.
Marblehead High learned that lesson the hard way Friday night. The Magicians committed more than two dozen turnovers and host Masconomet was happy to take advantage in cruising to a 65-35 victory in their home gym.
The No. 2 ranked team in Division 2, Masconomet (10-1) hasn’t lost a home contest or a Northeastern Conference game since February of 2024. Perhaps their closest call at an NEC setback during that span came 25 days ago when these same Magicians (now 8-5) took them to overtime by using a press defense and opportunistic offense.
In the rematch Friday night, the Chieftains limited their own mistakes while forcing Marblehead into a bevy of their own. Between missing shots and committing 28 turnovers, the Magicians couldn’t set their defense and try to trap Masconomet the way they did the first time around.
“We executed much, much better,” said Chieftain head coach Jaycob Morales. “I still think we had too many turnovers of our own and we can be a lot better. But we controlled our pace, much more so than the first game.”
Junior captain Thomas Denton had a game-high 22 points for Masconomet, scoring them all in just three quarters before fouling out. A big bodied forward who can battle in the paint (he tied for the team-lead in rebounds with Jamason Vella), Denton also stepped out to make a game-high three 3-pointers, with a late one stretching the lead to 28 at the end of the third quarter.
“That’s as physical as I’ve seen Thomas play since I’ve had the Chieftain patch on my chest,” said Morales, in his second season as Masconomet’s boss. “He’s never fouled out of a game … I can’t even remember him ever having three fouls.”
The Magicians threw the ball away 10 times in the first quarter alone, but played solid enough defense that Masconomet only led by a few until a late 7-0 run pushed it to nine. Finn Gallup (7 points) and Tommy McGovern (11) sparked a run that cut it down to five at 25-20, but the Chieftains pushed it back to nine by the break.
Senior captain Jimmy Farrell (18 points) scored the first five points of the third quarter for Masconomet. Its lead soon swelled to 20, 25 and then 30 points as Farrell, Denton and freshman Ben Linehan (6 points) made big shots. Senior Colin Doherty also canned two momentous triples.
“We got blasted,” Marblehead head coach Mike Giardi said. “It wasn’t lack of effort. We didn’t take care of the basketball and we probably had guys trying to do a little bit too much on their rather than playing in the team concept.”
Scoring lulls that saw Marblehead score just five points in both the first and third quarters didn’t help. The Magicians defended well with blocks recorded by McGovern, Gallup and Rylan Golden.
Vella finished the night with 10 for the Chieftains, who played 14 and got big defensive minutes from starters Ryan Richardson and Cal Weidman.
Masconmet 65, Marblehead 35
at Masconomet Regional HS, Boxford
Marblehead;5;16;5;9;35
Masconomet;14;16;24;11;65
Individual scoring
Marblehead: Gallup 2-1-7, R. Golden 1-0-2, Gibson 0-0-0, McGovern 5-0-11, Baron 1-2-4, B. Golden 2-1-5, Ross 0-0-0, Weaver 0-2-2, Loughlin 1-0-2, Fitzgerald 0-0-0, Gil-Duran 1-0-2, Bowen 0-0-0, Hammond 0-0-0. Totals 13-6-35.
Masconomet: Farrell 6-4-18, Weidman 0-0-0, Richardson 0-0-0, Denton 7-5-22, Vella 4-2-10, Bernier 1-0-2, O’Connor 0-0-0, Green 0-0-0, Arnold 0-0-0, Karas 0-0-0, Linehan 2-1-6, Pinelli 0-0-0, Stefanelli 0-0-0, Doherty 2-1-7. Totals 22-13-65.
Three-pointers: MHD, Gallup 2, McGovern; MSC, Denton 3, Farrell 2, Doherty 2, Linehan.
Halftime score: MSC, 30-21.
Records: MHD, 8-5; MSC, 10-1.