Late Comeback Not Enough as Boys Fall To Manchester-Essex in Battle of the Hornets

The North Reading Hornets' weren't able to celebrate their first home game of the year as they fell 58-51 to the Manchester-Essex Regional High School Hornets on Thursday night at .

North Reading fell behind early, as they were unable to cope with a first-half barrage that saw Manchester-Essex with a double-digit lead at the half thanks to 19 points in the first and second quarter from senior guard Joe Mussachia.

However, unlike their blowout loss on Tuesday at the hands of Hamilton-Wenham, North Reading was able to bring the game back within a basket in the last five minutes, but  Manchester-Essex was able to hold on with a series of free throws in the final minutes.

And while it was crucial at the end of the game, the difference at the charity stripe plagued the home team throughout the evening, as they were only able to grab 13 points from the line, a total Mussachia was able to manage on his own.

In a 14-point loss Wednesday night to St. Mary's of Lynn, Manchester-Essex missed 13 free throws. 

Despite the loss, North Reading coach Joe Casey was pleased with his squad's effort, especially in comparison to the game against Hamilton-Wenham on Tuesday.

"The difference between the other night and tonight, I thought our effort was outstanding. (Manchester-Essex) is an upper-echelon Cape Ann League team," said Casey. "We could have rolled over when they got into that double digit lead, but we didn't and that's a huge step in the right direction for us, and we had a lot of young kids playing in crunch time. I thought our defense was really good, I thought our guys gave it all, I was really pleased."

Manchester-Essex coach Duane Sigsbury also left pleased, not just with the win, but also with his squad's ability to bounce back from early-season injuries as well as withstanding a determined North Reading comeback in the second half.

"We were short-handed tonight, and thought that our guys stepped up," said Sigsbury. "I give Coach Casey a lot of credit. We were up 19 at one point in the second half and they battled back. He's a good coach, he makes his guys play hard, and he does it the right way. You've got to tip your hat to North Reading, because I think they certainly played very aggressive in the second half."

Mussachia led all scorers with 30 points while sophomore center Kyle Lentini led North Reading with 13.

With the result, both teams now head into their Christmas tournaments at 2-2 on the year. Manchester-Essex heads out to the Nashoba Holiday Tournament while North Reading will stay nearby to head to the Austin Prep Tournament in Reading, which this year features Minuteman Regional, Austin Prep and St. Clement's.  

In spite of a tough week for his team, Casey believes that North Reading can do well and possibly even win the Austin Prep Tournament before returning to Cape Ann League play against Rockport on Jan. 4.

"The tournament is wide open," Casey said. "I think all four teams are even. I think the kids are slowly starting to get it. They showed it tonight in the second half, and I think they're starting to prove to themselves that if they play hard and play defense, we're going to be in games."