For Jackson Lasquade, it was better late than never.
The Georgetown senior entered Monday’s game at Lynnfield as the Daily News area’s leading scorer (14.8 ppg), but for the first half, was held scoreless. Which, understandably, was having a major impact on the game, with the Royals trailing the Pioneers at halftime, 33-24.
But Lasquade wasn’t about to go down quietly.
The guard/forward exploded to score all 17 of his points during the second half, leading Georgetown to a nice comeback win, 67-56. The key stretch of the game happened late in the third quarter, when the Royals (10-4) went on a 20-1 run led by an active press that generated more than a handful of turnovers — switching a defecit into a lead.
Junior Jalen Andujar continued his hot shooting, also finishing with 17 points on five 3s. Brendan Loewen scored all 9 of his points in the second half as well, and Jack Duggan hit a pair of 3s and had 8 points.
Georgetown will now host Amesbury on Thursday with a 6:30 p.m. tip-off.
BRENNAN, CLIPPERS WIN 10TH IN A ROW
The Newburyport boys basketball team continues to take care of business.
On Monday, Finn Brennan led the way with 17 points on a pair of 3s, and the Clippers cruised to a home win over Hamilton-Wenham, 66-41. Sophomore Cal Atherton was right behind with 16 points, Connor Spinney hit a pair of 3s and had 12 and Carson Gretz added 8.
The Clippers (12-2) will travel to play Triton on Thursday, and will look to win their 18th straight game over their rivals.
CROWE, PENTUCKET ALSO WIN 10TH IN A ROW
On the girls side, the best team in the area has to be Pentucket.
It was another game where the bench got plenty of playing time, as the Panthers more than doubled-up Manchester-Essex on Monday to cruise to a 58-20 win. Sophomore Amelia Crowe was out in front with 14 points, while Ava DiBurro hit double figures with 10 and Gabby Bellacqua added 9.
It was the 10th victory in a row for the Panthers (13-1), who will travel to play Essex Tech on Thursday.
MARCELIN ON A TEAR FOR THE ROYALS!
It’s been quite the scoring stretch here for Georgetown’s Tyrah Marcelin.
The senior guard dropped 16 more points on Monday, leading the Royals to a solid win over Lynnfield, 46-41. She’s averaging 11.6 points per game for the entire season, but over the teams last four games — which included an historic win over Newburyport — she’s up at 14.5 ppg.
Both Talya Mariani and Katie Davies chipped in 8 points for Georgetown (7-6) during Monday’s win, and Avery Upite and Neiylah Marcelin each added 6.
CLOUTIER FINDING HIS RANGE
The Pentucket boys basketball team already had a couple of elite shooters. When you look at both Dylan Scott (12.0 ppg, 24 3s) and Matt Pipan (9.3 ppg, 16 3s), the Panthers have two high-end athletes that opposing teams need to constantly chance behind the line.
And over the team’s past two games, a third shooter has emerged.
Trevor Cloutier hit five 3s and finished with 17 points during last Friday’s game at Lynnfield, then on Monday the senior drained four more triples and had 12 points. The Panthers did fall to an undefeated Manchester-Essex team, 77-51, but Cloutier’s shooting is a positive sign moving forward.
Peter Hart also had a strong game on Monday with a team-high 16 points, and both Scott and Steven Harper added 9.