Martin's 22 Points Lead Danvers Boys Basketball to Postseason

First-year Coach John Walsh brought something to the Danvers field house Friday night that hasn’t been seen here in many years: a meaningful game.

The 9-9 Falcons entered the game needing just one win to make the state tournament for the first time in five years. Led by sophomore Eric Martin’s game high 22 points and great defense, the Falcons played a tough 32 minutes on both ends of the floor for the victory.

From the beginning of the season, Walsh has preached hard-nosed defense and strong fundamentals. As the team progressed through the season, they have had their ups and downs, but there was something different about this team. Slowly, Walsh’s philosophy began to bear fruit. The victories began to pile up and the losses were close.

Friday night’s game was no different. Right from the opening tip, Danvers applied pressure defense on the visiting Fishermen. While Danvers did not have a very good shooting night, they kept the defensive pressure on Gloucester; more often than not limited them to one shot. Slowly, Danvers began to gain control of the game.

While the Falcons clearly outplayed Gloucester in the opening frame, back to back threes by the visitors kept them within five at the end of the first quarter, 14-9.

The second quarter saw Danvers begin to gain control. The Falcons' full-court press disrupted Gloucester’s offense resulting in several turnovers, as well as an inability to get into their offense.

At the same time, defensive-minded Eric Martin got red hot. The Falcons' sophomore guard hit three, three-pointers in a row, to lead Danvers on an 11-point run resulting in a 31-17 lead at halftime.

After Danvers opened up the third quarter with a three, Gloucester scored six straight points to cut the lead to 11. Most of the third quarter saw Gloucester scrape for a basket or two, only to see the Falcons respond with a couple of fairly easy baskets to maintain the lead.

The last quarter opened with a flurry of baskets, as both team scored a total of seven points in the first minute and 10 seconds, leaving Danvers up 42-33. The two teams exchanged punch and counter-punch for the first five-plus minutes of the quarter.

With 2:42 left, Danvers held a nine-point lead. Over the next two minutes, the opponents exchanged several trips to the foul line with mixed result.

With 30 seconds remaining, the Falcons held a six-point lead. Great defense and controlled, smart passes allowed Danvers to kill the clock. When the buzzer went off, the restrained but supportive crowd was able to stop holding their breath and really let the team know how proud they were of them.

Coach Walsh was equally proud of his team.

“I just feel great for the kids. They played great! They scratched and clawed their way through the whole year. They have improved so much, especially on the defensive end.”

When asked about Eric Martin’s outstanding performance, Walsh said, “He has been great all year. This was well deserved.”