The Chelsea High basketball team rolled to a 57-41 victory over Commonwealth Athletic Conference foe North Shore Tech Friday.
The Red Devils led from start to finish, taking a 15-12 lead after one quarter and a 28-21 advantage at the half. Chelsea expanded its margin to 13, 44-31, after three frames and got the lead up as high as 25 points in the final period to coast to the victory.
Four Red Devils reached double figures to lead a balanced CHS scoring attack: Oscar Sabillon with 13 points, Eric Flores with 12, Faisal Nasimi with 12 (on four three-pointers), and Victor Corrales with 10. Eric Fernandez and Albie Alicea contributed four points apiece and Carlos Vega added two.
Chelsea did not have as much luck with a pair of non-league opponents, Revere and Lexington. Last Wednesday’s contest at archival Revere saw the teams battle each other fiercely in the first half (20-12 in favor of Revere) and into the third period, with Revere holding a 33-25 edge after three frames.
Chelsea had pulled within five points with a few seconds left on the clock at the end of the third quarter, but a Revere inbounds pass and three pointer at the buzzer boosted the Revere lead to eight and gave the home team a big momentum boost that carried over into the final eight minutes. Chelsea did not get any closer after that and fell by a 53-37 decision.
Saturday’s make-up contest at Lexington similarly saw the Red Devils battle a team with more size closely through the first half. Chelsea trailed by just four after two periods, 24-20, and sunk the first hoop after the intermission to draw within 24-22. However, Lexington soon went on a run, utilizing its superior size inside, to turn the contest into a 43-26 affair by the end of the third period. The final tally showed the Red Devils on the short end of a 54-38 finale.
“Overall, we’ve been playing well and playing with intensity, but we were overmatched inside in both games,” said CHS head coach Jay Seigal.
Seigal and his crew, who now stand at 7-8 on the season, have a busy stretch ahead with four games in five days. The Red Devils play at Shawsheen Tech Friday night and then host Lexington Saturday at 7:00; entertain Lynn Tech Monday at 5:00; and host Whittier Tech Tuesday at 5:00. Next Friday the Red Devils will wrap up their season at home against Greater Lowell that will by highlighted by Senior Night festivities.
Chelsea must win three of those remaining five games in order to qualify for the state tournament.