Back when he was in high school at Lowell Catholic, Isaiah Taylor relied on his athleticism to make him a dangerous guard.
Now, as a junior at Clark University, the Methuen resident has added shooting to his talents, and that’s taken his game to a high level as the team’s point guard.
On Saturday, Taylor extended his streak of scoring in double-figures to eight games as he pumped in a season high 21 points to lead the Cougars (6-1) past Westfield State, 89-77.
A two-time second team NEWMAC selection, who was also named the league’s Rookie of the Year two years ago, Taylor is averaging 17.3 points per game, while adding 27 rebounds, 25 assists and 12 steals.
“The thing what’s sticking out more in my game this year (compared to the last two) is efficiency,” he said. “My first two years I had numbers, but I wasn’t efficient enough. That’s my big thing this year, is looking to set my teammates up and let things come to me and that’s where most of the efficiency has come from.”
The efficiency comes from the constant development of his jump shots. Today his mid-range shots are his “bread-and-butter,” but back at Lowell Catholic, making a 12-footer seemed like an impossible task.
“In high school, coach (Mike) Isola would often give me limits,” explained Taylor. “He would give me like three defenders and everyone else would have one person on them, or he would force me to take jump shots. It was all like a game within a game and that helped develop my jump shooting.”
After Saturday’s win, Taylor now has 931 career points and is 69 points away from reaching the 1,000 point plateau.
“It’s a nice milestone to be closing in on,” he said. “I did it in high school and we won some conference championships, but my main focus this year is winning the NEWMAC Championship title, winning the NCAA (Division 3) championship.. That’s our main goal. It’s a product of hard work and it’s my main focus.”
Yepdo leading St. Michael’s Offense
Former Brooks School star Darrel Yepdo, a sophomore guard at St. Michael’s, had 29 points against Felician University and 25 against St. Anselm. He is currently averaging 17.8 points per game, while he also has 19 assists, 16 rebounds and 7 steals.
His teammate Jhamyl Fricas has come off the bench in all five games and is averaging 12 points per game. He has connected on 10-of-27 three-point attempts and has made 10-of-13 free throws.
Bradford’s Dallion Johnson, formerly of Phillips Academy, scored 19 points and added 6 rebounds to help Florida Gulf Coast University beat Florida International College (2-6), 68-65.
At Salem State (4-3), the tandem of Jaden Castillo and Michael Makiej are putting up a lot of points. Castillo, a Lawrence resident, scored 22 against Emerson, 23 against Gordon, 19 against MIT and 14 against Rivier. Makiej, of Andover, has scored in double figures in every game including a season high 26 against Lesley, as well as 15 against MIT and 13 against Rivier. The two of them are combining for an average of 36.7 points per game.
Alexander Lesburt, Jr., of Derry, a former star at Bradford Christian Academy, has appeared in 5 of the 8 games at Brown University (2-6). He has connected on 5-of-13 three-pointers is averaging 5.2 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.
Sophomore guard Junior Efosa is leading the offense for New England College. The Haverhill resident is tied for the team lead in scoring with 11.3 points per games, while he’s adding 6.5 rebounds as well. He opened the season with 20 points against UMaine-Farmington and recently he had 10 points and 7 boards against Husson.
Another sophomore guard, Chris Billone, of Windham, has helped Wheaton get off to a strong 4-2 season. In the season opener he finished with 17 points against Eastern Connecticut. In more recent games, he had 7 points against Eastern Nazarene and 6 points and 3 boards against Lasell.
In addition to the production from Isaiah Taylor, Clark University is receiving great play from Jordan Richard, of Lawrence. He has come off the bench in all five games and is averaging 5.7 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. He has connected on 9-of-18 three-point shots.
MacKiernan picks up four wins on the mat
The American International College wrestling team recently competed in Millersville University’s 2023 “Shorty” Hitchcock Classic. AIC’s top performer was Jack MacKiernan, a sophomore from Derry. He picked up four wins. Among his victories were a pin of Kasim Bahar from East Stroudsburg, a 7-3 decision against West Virginia’s Luke Eschenheimer, and a pin of Jimmy Spindler from the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown in just 53 seconds.
Bridgewater competed at the Doug Parker Invitational. Junior Amauris Gomez of Lawrence, went 2-2 out of the 174-pound weight class with a 17-8 major decision over Andy Muzika of Pennsylvania College of Technology. Gomez also pinned (1:16) Joseph Wasilewski of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.
At the same meet, New England College freshman Michael Follo, of Derry, got into the second round after first round victory from decision, (5-3) but the loss in the second by major decision, (8-0). Follo went 1-2 on the day. Sophomore Joe Gangi, of Methuen, finished the day early with a loss in the first round by pin fall at 1:18 to pin fall, (7-0).
Perry has big day in the pool{span class=”print_trim”}
In a recent tri-meet with Albertus Magnus and the University of Saint Joseph, senior Shawn Perry, of Plaistow, placed first in the 100-IM (1:04.13), 100-Back (1:05.14) and 100-Breast (1:11.13) events to help St. Joseph’s of Maine end in a split.
Former Phillips Academy star Theo Randall was part of the winning 200-medley relay, the winning 200-freestyle relay and was also second in the 100-freestyle (47.33) to help Williams crush Springfield. His teammate Henry Campbell, of, Andover, won his first collegiate event, taking the 200-IM at 2:00.79, while, he was also second in the 1,000-yard event coming in at 10:01.25.
Corliss a mainstay on the ice for Assumption
In hockey, Assumption is off to a terrific 9-1 start. Defenseman Sean Corliss of North Andover has played in all but one game and has a goal and three assists, while being a plus-6.
Defenseman Zach Papapetros of North Andover has scored two goals and added four assists thus far for Castleton.
Shane Lachance, of Andover, has played in all 14 games for Boston University and has 3 goals and 6 assists, and is also a plus-1. He recently picked up a goal against Maine and also an assist against Cornell.
Michael Dinges, a former Central Catholic star, picked up his first assist of the season for Bowdoin in a 4-3 win over Middlebury.
Women
Foley nets 21 to lead Quinnipiac{span class=”print_trim”}
{span class=”print_trim”}
Andover’s Anna Foley is off to a hot start with the Quinnipiac (2-4) women’s basketball team. The former Eagle-Tribune MVP has scored in double figures in all but one game thus far, including 21 vs UMaine, 12 against Vermont and Navy and 14 each against Towson and Rhode Island. On the season, she is averaging 12.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, while she also has 23 assists, 9 blocks and 5 defensive steals.
Sarah Dempsey, a junior 5-foot-10 forward, has erupted for the Endicott College (1-4) team. She leads the team in scoring with 18.8 points per game which includes 15 against Wheaton, 18 against Emerson and 19 against the University of New England.
Freshman Amelia Hanscom of Andover, has supplied some solid offense for Colby. In her last three games, she scored 13 points against both Babson and St. Thomas of Maine, and then added 9 against Maine Maritime.
Junior center Megan Molettieri of Pelham scored nine points in a loss to Vermont State University at Castleton.
At Union College, former Central Catholic star Claudia Porto of Salem, N.H., scored 10 points and added 4 rebounds in a 68-50 loss to Middlebury. Earlier she had a season high 15 points and 8 rebounds in a loss to SUNY New Paltz.{span class=”print_trim”}
Former Central Catholic star Adrianna Niles has scored in double figures in five of six games for WPI (4-3). The junior guard/forward pumped in 17 points in games against Ana Maria and Regis and then added 10 each against UMass Boston, Rivier and Bates.
Providence College (4-5) senior guard and captain Grace Efosa of Lawrence and former Whittier Tech star, recently poured in 15 points and added 5 rebounds in the team’s 71-56 loss against Boston College. She has scored in double figures in four of the team’s five games, including 21 in the season opener against Hampton.
Teammate Kendall Eddy, a freshman from Haverhill, had 5 points and 3 assists in a recent game against Penn State.
Former Central Catholic star Emily Downer is in her senior year at Middlebury. Recently she scored 14 points and pulled down six rebounds in a 75-57 win over Vermont State Castleton.
Pellerin finding the back of the net
Freshman Julia Pellerin, of Windham, is red hot on the ice, scoring 6 goals and assisting on 6 others to help the Boston University women’s hockey team overcome a slow start, losing their first four games and now posting an 8-7-1 overall record.
Alex Johnson, a senior from Andover, has a goal and two assists as a forward on Castleton. She currently has 6 goals and 15 assists in her career.
Although Harvard is struggling with an 1-11 record, Gwyn Lupper is not. The former Phillips Academy star is leading the team in scoring with 4 goals and 3 assists, including goals in each of the past two games against Minnesota and St. Thomas of Minnesota.
Teammates Mia Langlois, of Windham, and Lily Shannon, of Andover, have been contributing offensively for Northeastern (10-8). Langlois picked up an assist in the team’s latest game, a 4-2 win over Providence, her second of the season, and Shannon has 3 goals and 3 assists.
Senior defenseman Breena Greene, a former star for Methuen/Tewksbury, has 2 goals and 2 assists in 9 games for Salem State (2-7). Her high school and now college teammate Kaia Hollingsworth, has a .912 save percentage in the net, making 227 saves coming in 8 games.
New England College is struggling in the win department with a 2-9 record, but Alexis Hornsby, of Atkinson, is tied for second in scoring with 4 goals and 2 assists. Teammate Sean D’Urso, of Andover, has played one game in net, making six saves.
Williams College’s Claire Murphy of North Andover registered her first goal of the season in the team’s opener against Bowdoin.
Former Phillips Academy star Anna Bargman has 4 goals and 5 assists for 9 points thus far for Yale.
Ackerman-Vallala continues to shine
UMass freshman Diya Ackerman-Vallala, of North Andover, finished fourth in the 200 breaststroke, recording the eighth fastest time all-time in program history and a personal-best of 2:21.04, during the three-day Terrier Invitational Swim Meet held at Boston University.
In a win over UMass-Dartmouth, sophomore Cailey Simard of Haverhill helped Bridgewater State as she swept the diving events as she posted a season-best score of 290.5 points on the one-meter board and 279.0 points on the three-meter plank. Simard has placed first in each of the Bears’ nine diving events this season. On the losing end of it, sophomore Kylie Winer of Derry, was a part of the third place 200-medley relay team, while she was third in the 100-freestyle (1:03.38) for UMass-Dartmouth.
Hamilton recently defeated both Coly (163-136) and Trinity (168-131) College in a season opening tri-meet. Andover’s Charlotte Moulson was second in the 200-free (2:01.39) and also second in the 500-free (5:25.10).
Saint Michael’s College swept the State University of New York at Potsdam’s five-team North Country Invitational. North Andover’s Caroline Gust was third in the 200-yard backstroke (2:23.11), third in the 100-backstroke (1:04.99) and fourth in the 50-free (26.44).
The indoor track season started this past weekend, while gymnastics and skiing tends to start in January, so the next college stars will include those athletes. If you have a college star, who is not on our list, please send an email to: Jpote@northofboston.com.