It will probably take some time for Newburyport to remember the bigger picture from these three days. Heck, it might not even hit the Clippers until they’re pressed into a stressful moment in the Division 3 state tournament a few months from now.
At some point, though, the lessons will take hold.
But man … is head coach Mark Elmendorf tired of losing in the first round of the Commonwealth Motors Christmas Classic.
After two straight years of entering as a bottom seed and really being an afterthought in the popular Merrimack Valley holiday hoops bonanza, this was believed to be Newburyport’s best shot. The Clippers competed against — and beat — teams of this calibur during the summer, and when you throw in a mostly-returned roster from last year’s state quarterfinal run, there’s good reason why they were awarded the No. 5 seed this time around.
This was their moment to make a statement.
Instead, Newburyport found itself in an immediate 16-0 hole to No. 4 Methuen during Friday’s first round, and couldn’t complete a ferocious comeback in an eventual 69-63 loss. The script was similar to last year when the Clippers battled Lawrence hard only to still lose, but this time, the expectations were raised.
“I just said to them that we have to play every second with a sense of urgency,” said Elmendorf. “I’m tired of being in the loser’s bracket in this tournament, I’m tired of it. So tomorrow we got to get a win, and then move forward from there. But we have to play every second with a sense of urgency.”
It was a tough result to take.
But, again, Newburyport eventually needs to remember the bigger picture.
Yes, winning three straight games against Division 1 opponents would have done wonders for the Clippers and their own state tournament seeding. The competition, though, is what’s more important. The Clippers, quite honestly, will only be challenged a couple of times in the CAL this year. So getting these three tests in December — something to store in the memory bank — will only benefit the team when the competition heats up in March.
“It’s going to be three great challenges for us,” said Elmendorf. “And we can still win two of them.”
But on Friday, a valuable lesson was learned: You can’t spot a Division 1 team a 20-point lead.
Maybe Newburyport could get away with that in the CAL.
But not against Methuen.
Led by the guard duo of Isaiah Andino (24 points) and Lennon Abreu De La Cruz (14 points), the Rangers were getting anything they wanted offensively early on. The Clippers, on paper, have the athletes to hang with most teams, but the Rangers were constantly blowing past defenders to get to the basket before either finishing or getting fouled.
It was 16-0 in a blink, and 25-8 after the first quarter.
“They got everything they wanted in the beginning of the game,” said Elmendorf.
Methuen’s lead would balloon up to 22 at its highest before Newburyport finally woke up, ending the first half on a 13-2 run to bring the game back to 39-27. Carson Gretz had 15 points and 5 rebounds at the break, but more importantly, the Clippers finally showed some life.
And it didn’t stop there.
Newburyport was intentionally more aggressive in attacking the offensive glass in the second half, and took more pride in its defense. Zayd Leanna (13 pts) and Cal Atherton (13 pts) each had offensive putbacks early in the third quarter, and blocks from Leanna and Sam Craig led to transition layups on the other end. Soon enough, the Clippers had fought back to within two at 43-41.
Moments later, Gretz (24 pts, 9 rebs) drained a 3 to tied the game at 46-46.
“We did not execute in the halfcourt as well as we could early on,” said Elmendorf. “When we’re executing in the halfcourt and shooting the way we can shoot, it all comes easy. That span in the third quarter when we came back, we were pushing the ball and getting great looks and transition layups. It was all great.”
To its credit, though, Methuen held tough.
The possession after Gretz’s tying 3 was the final one of the third quarter, and the Rangers put the ball in De La Cruz’s hands. The senior captain worked around a high-ball screen, and finished a tough layup over traffic — at the buzzer — to immediately give his team the lead back heading into the fourth.
Back-to-back 3s from Andino and former Pentucket up-and-comer Quinn Vuylsteke (16 pts), and Methuen quickly pushed the lead back up to double digits at 58-48. Atherton would eventually respond with two big 3s, and Craig had a chance to make it a one-possession game with 10 seconds left. But his free throw hit off the back iron, and Andino grabbed the rebound before icing the game himself at the free throw line.
“We made a couple of adjusments at halftime,” said Elmendorf. “But when you go down 16-0, I mean we just kept getting beat off the dribble. It wasn’t like they were hitting outside shots. We weren’t shell-shocked by any means, we came ready to play, I just was not expecting that 16-0.”
Methuen 69, Newburyport 63
Commonwealth Motors Christmas Classic 1st round
Newburyport (63): Sam Craig 1-2-4, Carson Gretz 9-4-24, Zayd Leanna 6-0-13, Cal Atherton 4-2-13, Ben Corneau 2-1-5, Thomas Thoreson 1-0-2, Silas Brennan 0-0-0, Ben Cormier 1-0-2. Totals 24-9-63
Methuen (69): Isaiah Andino 5-13-24, Jeyvien Deleon 1-0-2, Alex Figueroa 1-0-3, Lennon Abreu De La Cruz 6-1-14, Nethaniel Clemente 2-0-4, Alexander Santiago 2-0-4, Quinn Vuylsteke 5-3-16, Niles Scott 0-0-0. Totals 22-17-69
3-pointers: M — Vuylsteke 3, Andino, Figueroa, De La Cruz; N — Atherton 3, Gretz, Leanna
Newburyport (2-1): 8 19 19 17 — 63
Methuen (2-1): 25 14 9 21 — 69