IMAGE GALLERY: Tanners Drop Close One to Danvers High, 62-58

The visiting Tanners traded baskets with the Falcons Friday night, dogging Danvers right down to the final minute of the fourth quarter and a one-point difference, but couldn’t close the gap and fell to 3-7 for the season.

Peabody’s Jon Byrne (16 points) and Kyle Boyce (15 points) led the Tanners in scoring for the night, contributing more than half their team’s total number on the scoreboard.

From the opening tip, the two teams went at each other full steam, and the referees made it clear they were going to let the boys play. Defense was the name of the game in the first quarter. Danvers forced Peabody to rely on outside shots and with some solid rebounding, usually kept it to only one shot at the basket. The Tanners returned the favor, as the Falcons struggled offensively as well, unable to shake the Peabody boys.

The Falcons’ lead grew to eight at one point during the first half, but the Tanners kept trimming it down to only two or three. The first half ended with Peabody down 29-23.

The Tanners surged back in the third quarter – Boyce scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half. Both teams improved their efforts on both ends of the court – the intensity increased and so did the physical play, although the referees made few calls. At the end of three, Peabody trailed again by six – 44-38 – as the boys fought for every point on offense.

The Falcons appeared to gain a little breathing room early in the fourth quarter when Danvers’ George Merry went on a mini-tear, scoring four points, grabbing two boards and blocking a pair, but they couldn’t shake the aggressive Tanners.

This one went down to the wire with Danvers pulling ahead in the final minute of the game, 62-58. Brian DeAngelis and Kyle Franey each contributed eight points for the Tanners, with Byrne, Franey and Stephen Girolamo each draining a pair from the arch.