
Comcast Boys basketball: Newton North rolls on
Teagan Swint scored 29 points to lead No. 1 Newton North to a 58-48 win over Winchester on Monday evening at Emmanuel College in the Board 27 Comcast Tournament.
The Tigers (20-1) enter the Division 1 tournament undefeated in Massachusetts. They defeated North Andover on Sunday, 65-53.
Swint scored 21 of his game-high 29 points in the first half. Winchester super sophomore Jack Charchaflian finished with 13 points.
The Tigers led by one at half but got breathing room in the third. Swint hit two pull ups and Nicky Spinelli drilled a triple to stretch the advantage to 10. Winchester tried to stay within striking distance. Charchaflian scored six of his points and Alex Casey hit a three.
In the fourth, however, the Tigers held the Red and Black to three field goals and went near perfect at the line to seal the win.
Newton North finishes the regular season having held 15 of their opponents to 50 or fewer points.
In the nightcap, Javi Lopez scored 24 points while Zach Sangermano added 14 points as Central Catholic defeated Charlestown, 87-56.
Central Catholic (17-2) has won 12 of 13 games with one regular season game remaining against Needham on Thursday.
“We are excited about how we are playing right now,” Central Catholic coach Mark Dunham said. “Goal is always to be playing well heading into the tournament and we are.”
The Raiders dominated from the opening possession. Lopez scored eight of his points and Sangermano finished twice through the contact to give the Raiders an early 16 point edge in the first.
Defensively, Central Catholic swarmed the Townies using the length and physicality to prevent Charlestown from gaining any offensive momentum. In all, the Townies shot just 22% from the field on the first half.
“Really happy with the way the kids have competed on the defensive end. It’s what we hang our hat on,” Dunham said. “The guys have bought in to what we are trying to teach. Credit to our captains Antonio Lopez, Elias Yona, and Javi Lopez who have been tremendous all year.”
In the second quarter, the Raiders established their dominance. Jeremiah Almanazar connected at the rim twice off a pair of turnovers while Lopez splashed another three pointer to put Central Catholic up 44-22 at the half.