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Paulo Tavares recorded his first triple-double, finishing with 12 points, 11 assists and 18 rebounds to lead Whittier to a 64-53 win — its first victory of the year — over Nashoba Tech.

Freshman Christina Medley pumped in 18 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, to lead the Whittier girls basketball team to a 61-31 victory over Greater Lowell. Jenn Hinds added 12 points and 13 points for the Wildcats.

WEST NEWBURY — Talk about lack of respect!
Not only was North Andover junior 135-pounder Jake Munroe unseeded in yesterday’s Pentucket Tournament, but his first name was listed incorrectly (as Jack) throughout the day.
Munroe should be more recognized in the future, however, as he rolled to the 135-pound title with three pins and a solid 9-3 decision in the finals over Pentucket’s Dan Dragon.
Munroe’s heroics helped North Andover tcapture its first non-league tournament crown in two years. The Knights compiled 163 points to defeat runner-up Roxbury Latin by 13 points. North Reading/Lynnfield was fourth in the 17-team field and Brooks was sixth.
North Andover had never entered a full varsity team at the Pentucket tourney, but veteran coach Dave Castricone thought this year was the perfect time to make a run at the title rather than knock heads at the rugged Lowell Holiday Tournament.
“With so many young guys, I thought it’d be good to get this kind of experience and maybe get some momentum for them,” said Castricone.
That thinking worked perfectly for Munroe, who had never even placed in a tournament before yesterday.
“I wasn’t expecting this, but it’s definitely a morale boost,” said Munroe, who entered the tournament with a 6-2 record. “I feel great about it.”
The Knights had two other champions in 145-pounder Sal Scali and 152-pounder Derek Timpe. They captured clutch one-point decisions in the finals against No. 1-seeded wrestlers.
Finishing third for North Andover were Brody Kelly (119) and Garrett Alter (160) while Jason Ricketts (112) and heavyweight Mike Miller both came in fourth.
North Reading/Lynnfield, which placed five wrestlers, was paced by 140-pound champion C.J. Venuto of North Reading. He improved his record to 12-1 on the year, recording three pins on the day, including one in the finals.
Brooks enjoyed a superb final round. Connor Duffey remained unbeated on the year, pinning his final three opponents to place first at 103, Mike O’Boyle followed three pins with a 12-3 major decision in the finals to take top honors at 119 and Haverhill’s Colin Lahiff prevailed at 160.
Wrestling up a weight, Lahiff got a takedown with eight seconds left to secure an exciting  4-3 decision over Souhegan’s rugged Tyler Lott.  Also for Brooks, Billy Walton was third at 152.
For Whittier, Pat Scheidegger looked sharp while winning the 215-pound title, following two first-period pins with a 10-4 decision in the finals. Pentucket had runners-up in Dragon and 145-pounder Austin Perreault and Ben Stasiuk battled back to third at 189.

Greater Lawrence cruised past Whittier, 76-46, thanks in large part to a huge 26-point third quarter. The Reggies held a 30-20 advantage through the first half and went on to outscore the Wildcats 46-26 in the second half. Whittier's Paulo Tavares racked up a team-high 17 points. Greater Lawrence had four players in double digits, led by Donald Celestin's 21. Kelvin Correa was close behind with 19, and Leandro Valdez rounded out the Wildcats' top three with 12 points.

After struggling for three quarters, Whittier's defense came to life in the fourth and held Greater Lawrence to just eight points in the final eight minutes for a 62-56 win. The Wildcats scored 19 in the fourth quarter to earn the win. 

LOWELL — During halftime last night, Whittier Tech head coach Kevin Bradley was visited by young sons Connor and Kevin Jr. But they were not there to simply say hello.

“My sons came to me with a play,” Bradley said with a proud smile. “They said, ‘Dad, I think this will be open and (quarterback) Dillon (Ryan) can do it.’ They are around all the time and know all the plays. They just adore the team.”

LOWELL — Following yesterday’s Division 3A semifinal, no one had more praise for Whittier Tech than Amesbury football coach Thom Connors.

“That is a great team,” said Connors. “They are in the postseason all the time, three of the last four years. The ball bounced our way, but they played tough. They are a great program.”

LOWELL — One thing jumped out at Kevin Bradley during preparations for last night’s Division 3A semifinal game — Amesbury feasts on turnovers.

“After watching several games of theirs on film, I noticed (Amesbury) forces a big fumble or interception that costs the other team the game,” the Whittier Tech head coach observed. “They have a good veteran defense and you can’t make mistakes. All season, they made teams pay the price.”

HUDSON — After yesterday's 33-0 win over Hudson Catholic, Whittier's players, coaches, parents, and cheerleaders gathered at the 30-yard line and the rallying cry was clear.

Whittier coach Kevin Bradley can’t quite gauge what his Commonwealth Conference Large Division champs will derive out of their Thanksgiving morning test at Hudson Catholic.

The one thing he hopes they won’t get out of the nonleague matchup is injuries.