MANCHESTER-BY-THE-SEA — The Manchester Essex boys hoop team hosted North Reading on Friday evening looking to build on their terrific start to the season.
But it was the other Hornets’ night from the start.
North Reading led from wire-to-wire, ultimately staving off a late Manchester comeback attempt to come away with a 60-52 road victory.
“It was a really tough start for us. We’ve been so good coming out of games; we hadn’t had that problem,” said Manchester Essex head coach Tim St. Laurent, his team managing just nine points in the opening frame.
The host Hornets were able to make their share of runs and eventually make it a game, but every time they threatened to get closer North Reading answered with a spree of their own.
”The ball was a little sticky. We weren’t passing and playing our normal game, but we had a great comeback and played well in the second half,” added St. Laurent, his team now 5-2.
Manchester Essex dug themselves a hole early, trailing by 13 (32-19) at the half, and it was an uphill battle from there. The North Reading attack was unrelenting after it build the early lead.
Jason Berry had a big night for the visitors with four 3-pointers en route to 16 points, while John Lupien also shined from 3-point land with a trio of long balls of his own in a 13-point outing.
On the other end, Manchester Essex’s two stars — junior captains Alex Ste. Marie and Graham Lewis — were held to just 19 points combined. Ste. Marie came into the contest averaging a Cape Ann area-best 25.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game while Lewis was hovering around 15 points per contest.
Another Hornet, senior Jake Zschau — who has been a staple in the starting lineup for each of the past two seasons — attempted to fill the void by pouring in a season-high 16 points (two threes) in an all-around effort, but it wasn’t enough.
Jacob Zachareas also hit two big 3-pointers off the bench to try to provide a spark for Manchester Essex, but the offense just could not click as a whole.
“I just think we were moving the ball a lot more in the second half,” St. Laurent said. “(Before that) we were playing too much iso basketball and not getting the shots we wanted.”
In the fourth quarter, Manchester cut the deficit to four with two minutes remaining. But Berry would continue his big night with a couple of timely shots at the end to put the game away.
St. Laurent had a simple message for his team after the tough loss Friday night at home.
“Be proud of the second half you had,” St. Laurent said. “It’s one loss, it’s that first loss in the league. Let’s get back to work, watch film on it, learn from it, and come out and be ready for Tuesday at Georgetown.”
That matchup with the Royals is slated for a 6:30 p.m. start Tuesday night in what will certainly be another tough Cape Ann League test.
North Reading 60, Manchester Essex 52
at Manchester Essex Regional High School
Manchester Essex;9;10;17;16;52
North Reading; 13; 19; 13; 15;60
Individual statistics
Manchester Essex (5-2) — Jake Zschau 7-0-16, Alex Ste. Marie 4-1-10, Graham Lewis 3-2-9, Jacob Zachareas 3-1-9, Zach Hurd 3-0-6, Jack McCavanagh 0-2-2, Joe Glass 0-0-0, Parker Woodman 0-0-0. Totals: 20-6-52.
North Reading (5-3) — Jason Berry 6-0-16, John Lupien 5-0-13, Conrad Gerber 6-0-12, Gavin Wesley 5-0-10, Cole Bakr 2-3-7, Massimo Ranieri 1-0-2, Anthony Tammaro 0-0-0. Totals: 25-3-60
Halftime: 32-19, North Reading
3-Pointers: NR, Berry 4, Lupien 3; M, Zschau 2, Zachareas 2, Lewis 1, Ste. Marie 1.