The Chelsea High basketball team defeated Commonwealth League arch rival Lynn Tech, 70-66, last Thursday to move into the driver’s seat for the 2010 league title.
The Red Devils now stand at 8-0 in the conference and are two games ahead of Tech,. their nearest competition in the standings.
The contest was a hot one from the outset, with both teams running and gunning in a display of offensive prowess. However, Coach Jay Seigel’s Red Devils led all the way, grabbing a six point lead at the quarter pole; 34-28 at the intermission; and 51-45 after three periods.
It was not until about two minutes to play that Chelsea was able to open up some breathing room and move out to a nine point lead to seal the deal.
Tech employed a box and one defense on CHS leading scorer Cesar Castro, which worked well in the first half, as Cesar scored only four points through the opening two frames.
However, this 2009-2010 edition of the Chelsea quintet has a lot of depth and a number of talented players who know how to put the ball in the hoop. With Tech chasing Castro around, Red Devils Mark Reddick (14 points), Felix Crespo (13), and Joseph Rivera (12) all hit for double figures, with freshman Sammy Mojica not far behind with nine points.
And despite the extra attention from the Tech defenders, Castro still ended up as the leading scorer with 19 points.
“It was a great ballgame,” said Seigel. “Tech came at us with everything they had, but we responded well to the pressure on their home floor.”
The big win over Tech was sandwiched between a pair of league victories over Greater Lawrence and Shawsheen Tech. The latter was a laugher, as the Red Devils coasted to a 62-28 runaway triumph. Castro, who saw limited action, led the way with 13 points. Red Devils who also made the scoring column were Ed Rosales with 12 points, Rivera with 10, Ruiz with eight, Mojica and Crespo with six, Reddick with three, and Greg Szalkowski with two.
The win over Greater Lawrence also was by a double figure margin, 59-38. Castro led the way with 18 and Rivera had 12.
Seigel and his crew, who are 11-1 overall on the season and who already have punched their ticket for a Journey to the Tourney, now will take on four opponents in a seven game stretch, including two non league rivals. The Red Devils will travel to former GBL foe Revere tonight (Wednesday) in hopes of avenging their only loss this season and then journey to Minuteman on Friday.
They will host Peabody, another former GBL rival, on Monday and will hit the road again on Tuesday to Greater Lowell.