RallyNorth.net

Beverly spoils Peabody's NEC debut

Wednesday, December, 12 By Matt Jenkins
Staff writer

Had Beverly junior basketball captain Nate Knudson asked out of last night's game after picking up his fourth offensive foul in the fourth quarter, no one would have questioned him.

Knudson seemed to be the whipping boy for the home fans in Peabody's Northeastern Conference debut, and the Tanner defense didn't take it any easier on him. The Panthers' starting off-guard couldn't get any space on the perimeter and virtually every time he lowered his shoulder to go to the hole, he was whistled for charging.

Fighting the urge to explode, Knudson instead remained calm and shook loose for the game-tying bucket with less than three minutes to go. Then, he converted four free throws in the final minute to spoil the Tanners' NEC opener, 51-48. Knudson had three fouls in the first half, and the shots he did get off weren't up to snuff for a returning NEC all-star.

"At halftime I told him, 'Look Nate, nothing else could go wrong for you. You just have to relax, play defense and try to get into the flow a little bit.' He was trying to get all his points in one possession," Beverly coach Scott Lewis said. "He made the big shots down the stretch and kept his cool."

Knudson admitted it wasn't easy to stay calm with so many things going wrong in a game that seemed to be slipping away.

"The coaches settled me down and made me keep my head every time," Knudson said. "Every person was hustling me. They played wicked good 'D'. They got on me a little bit. The crowd got on me. The coaches settled me down, and we made the plays."

Peabody outscored Beverly 15-10 in the third quarter to take a 36-35 lead, and pushed the advantage to six points (42-36) with six minutes to play. Beverly senior captain Brian McQuaid made his third three-pointer of the night to cut the deficit back to three points, however, and sophomore point guard Mike Clayton (11 points) knocked down a triple from the top of the key for 44-44 with 4:41 to go.

A Kevin Skop to Brad Piza cut and layup put Peabody ahead again before Knudson found a way to contribute.

McQuaid poured in a game-high 17 points to lead Beverly in the absence of senior forward Matt Tobin, who sat out as a result of breaking a school rule. McQuaid's hot shooting was especially difficult for Peabody coach Chris Mastrangelo to swallow.

"He was a freshman at Peabody and moved to Beverly. We'd love to have him back," Mastrangelo said. "They needed somebody to step up without Tobin, and I said to my kids pregame that if anybody stepped up it would probably be McQuaid."

Peabody made a pretty good first impression in the NEC. Although the Tanners won't be the most skilled team in the NEC North, they did show a willingness to play tough last night.

Every loose ball was met by two or three diving Tanners, and Skop (14 points) and junior forward Mark Linehan (12) carried the offense. Wide-body center Max Steinberger also played a solid all-around game for Peabody.

Even in an intense, hotly-contested battle, neither team played with anything but the highest level of sportsmanship. Players from each team took the time to help one another off the floor after the many loose-ball pile ups, and there were a few extra pats on the back in the postgame handshake line.

"These kids grew up with each other playing CYO, playing youth basketball, playing Little League. They all know each other," Mastrangelo said. "The scouting reports, quite frankly I think my players will be able to give the scouting reports. I don't have to tell them about a kid from Cambridge or a kid from Waltham, they know these kids."

With one matchup already under their belts, and another to come later this season, the Panthers were willing to admit their pleasure of having Peabody in the league.

"Yeah, I guess," Lewis said with a laugh, when asked about Peabody's addition. "It's just another good team that you have to play. We already have the two Lynn teams and Salem and now we're in the North division. You want the challenge.

"Of course as a program, you want to be able to play with all the big boys. I think we're the only Division 2 team in this (North) division, but if we make the tournament it's only going to make us better."