There’s a good one on the local CAL boys hoop schedule for Tuesday night.
In a battle of two of the three best teams in the league this year, Newburyport will travel to take on Georgetown with a 6:30 p.m. tip. The Clippers have a comfortable two-game lead on their quest for a sixth straight CAL Kinney title, while the Royals would like a victory to stay only a game back of undefeated Manchester-Essex in the Baker race.
But over the weekend, both teams took care of business to head into the upcoming showdown hot.
Georgetown went on the road and nearly beat Ipswich by 30, coming away with a 63-34 victory. Junior sharpshooter Jalen Andujar was on fire for the Royals (8-3), hitting six 3s and finishing with 18 points, while Jackson Lasquade was right behind him with 17 and Brendan Loewen added 11. Depth has been the calling card for the Royals all year, and Friday night they welcomed back junior Jack Duggan, who hit a 3 and scored 5 points in his first action since the second game of the season.
Meanwhile, Newburyport kept things rolling with a 55-36 win over Pentucket. Leading the way for the Clippers (9-2) was junior Sam Craig, who hit a pair of 3s and had 17 points. Carson Gretz drained three 3s and added 14 points, while Cal Atherton added 9. On the other side, Peter Hart paced the Panthers with 12 points.
Newburyport will enter Tuesday’s game having won seven in a row, while Georgetown is winners of four straight.
Buckle up.
TRITON GIRLS KEEP ON WINNING!
The schedule ramped up a touch Friday night, but the Triton girls weren’t phased.
Traveling to play a solid Lynnfield team, the Vikings got 22 points from Kendall Liebert and walked away with their fifth straight win, 54-41. Lia Hatheway continued her great shooting and finished with 10 points on a pair of 3s, and both Reese Renda and Margaret Welch hit a 3 and added 7 points.
Things will get tougher, though, as the Vikings (7-3) — who are ranked No. 21 in the latest Division 3 power poll — travel to Manchester-Essex on Tuesday before hosting North Reading on Friday.
GEORGETOWN GIRLS GET BACK ON TRACK
Speaking of tougher schedules, the Georgetown girls just came off a three-game stretch where they had to play North Reading, Hamilton-Wenham and Pentucket in consecutive outings.
The wins didn’t come in a trio of close contests, but the Royals got back on track Friday night.
Led by 16 points from senior captain Tyrah Marcelin, the Royals smothered visiting Ipswich to pick up a 37-23 victory. Katie Davies hit a 3 and added 8 points, and the Royals (5-5) got great contributions defensively from Avery Upite, Charlotte Kane, Chloe Morrison, Talya Mariani and Neiylah Marcelin.