GLOUCESTER— For one quarter it appeared as if Gloucester basketball's five new starters would not be going through any growing pains in Tuesday's season opener with Saugus. Just off the opening tip Gloucester's 6'7" center David St. Peter tipped the ball to Jason Vizena for an easy layup. Head coach Bill Cahill's squad kept up the attack with an up-tempo offense the likes of a veteran team. The Fishermen moved the ball well on the offensive end while playing strong defense en route to a 19-6 run to open the game and 21 first quarter points.
Through the other three quarters, however, Gloucester showed it's age struggling on both ends of the floor while shooting an abysmal 3-for-29 from the field in the second half en route to a 56-40 defeat at the Benjamin A. Smith Fieldhouse. After putting up 21 first quarter points Gloucester could only muster up 19 points the rest of the contest.
"We played one great quarter and then we fell apart," Cahill said. "The shots were there we just missed them. You aren't going to win too many games with three second half field goals. We are a young team and we have to learn from this moving forward."
Following Gloucester's strong start Saugus head coach Paul Moran had to make an adjustment. The Sachems turned to a full court press defense the rest of the way and the results were nearly perfect. Gloucester with the pressure Saugus was bringing as they forced the Fishermen into 14 second half field goals.
"We couldn't handle their pressure," Cahill said. "They were aggressive on defense and we got tired. We started turning the ball over and committing silly fouls."
Moran was also quick to praise the play of his defense. Gloucester's 13 point first quarter lead dwindled to six by the end of the first, three by halftime and the Sachems opened up a seven point lead (45-38) by the time the fourth quarter started.
"We didn't come out prepared and they made us pay," Moran said. "But we just kept playing our game and chipped away at the lead slowly. We play 10 deep and we like to wear teams down, Gloucester is athletic but we threw a lot of bodies at them. Credit goes to the kids on the court, we made adjustments and they executed. Gloucester is a tough place to play and it's always nice to come out of here with a win."
The Sachems took control at the start of the third quarter as Gloucester missed it's first eight shots from the field. The Sachems, meanwhile, quickly erased a three point deficit thanks to the scoring of senior captain Curtis Casella, who finished with 16 points, eight of them coming in the decisive third frame. Saugus (1-0) also controlled the glass with 17 offensive rebounds. Max Soto and Selim Omerovic each had 13 rebounds for Saugus.
A 7-0 run to start the fourth quarter essentially put the game out of reach. Casella led all scorers with 16 points, Omerovic also scored in double figures for Saugus with 15.
Vizena and senior Dan Gonzales led Gloucester with 11 points each. St. Peter also scored in double figures with 10 points to go along with 14 rebounds and a first quarter dunk.
Things will not get any easier for Gloucester as perennial NEC Small powerhouse Winthrop visits the Benjamin A. Smith Fieldhouse on Friday. Cahill knows his team has a lot of improving to do if they want to knock off the Vikings.
"Winthrop is a powerhouse and we have our work cut out for us," Cahill said. "We are young and still learning, we definitely did some good things tonight, especially early but we took our share of lumps too."
Saugus 56, Gloucester 40
at Benjamin A. Smith Fieldhouse, Gloucester
S: Curtis Casella 7-1-16, Selim Omerovic 6-3-15, Max Soto 1-2-4, Brandon Wladkowski 2-1-7, Shane Ripley 4-1-9, Joe Bertrand 1-0-2, Ryan Hennehan 1-1-3
G: Dan Gonzales 5-1-11, Devin Hemion 0-1-1, Kyle Lucido 2-2-7, David St. Peter 4-2-10, Jason Vizena 5-0-11.
Halftime: Gloucester 32-29
3-pointers: S, Wladkowski 2, Casella; G, Vizena, Lucido
Records: S, 1-0; G, 0-1.
