Joe Mussachia Scored 26 Points and 34 ReboundsIt was all Manchester Essex tonight right from the get go as the Hornets jumped on North Andover right from the opening tip. Manchester out played North Andover all night long beating them to almost every 50/50 ball and beating them to balls on the glass. The result was an early lead for Manchester that they would never relinquish.
Joe Mussachia was a man against boys in this one as he dominated every aspect of the game. He took control of the glass, knocked down two threes, found his way into the middle of the defense and distributed the basketball on the dime. Mussachia also penetrated to the basket and finished on several occassions. One time in the third quarter, Mussachia drove baseline and missed a short runner, but one handed the miss for a pretty finish. North Andover had no answer for Mussachia or the swarming play of the Hornets.
Mussachia would establish himself on the boards early as he would rebound and lead a transition break for a basket and then would put back an offensive rebound to give Manchester an early 6 - 0 lead. Things would continue to get worse for North Andover as 5'10" Hornet point guard Sean Nally would finish a transition basket to make the lead 15-5. The lead would grow to 22 - 5 on a Mussachia reverse lay-up and a minute later Mussachia would find junior guard Chris Bishop (11 points) for a three to make the score 28 - 8 Manchester. North Andover's Sophomore guard Derek Collins (19 points, 5 steals) would start North Andover's best four minutes of the night by hitting a three the next time down the court to make the score 28-11. Junior forward Zach Karalis (16 points) would get the next five points as he would knock down a three of his own and hit a pull-up in the lane. Collins would make two more three's back-to-back to make the score 28-20 and then 28-23. That was as close as North Andover would get as Manchester went into the half leading 30 - 23.
Manchester would come out in the second half the exact way they started the game on a 7 - 0 run to move the score to 37 - 23. North Andover would still have a couple of runs left though as they would cut the lead to 44 - 39 on a Karalis steal and sophomore Jake MacLean's finish. Nally would score a big basket as the third quarter wound down to put Manchester ahead 46-39 at the end of three. Manchester would extend the lead to double-digits again in the fourth quarter with the final becoming inevitable.
Those Who Impressed:
Joe Mussachia (6'5", sr. forward, Manchester) - Mussachia gets better and better every time we see him. He dominated every aspect of this basketball game as he was relentless all night long. Everything in has game has improved including his ability to put the ball in the basket, his shooting, and especially his ability to the pass the ball. The one thing that hasn't changed is how hard this young man plays the game. He's a coaches dream.
Derek Collins (6'2", so. guard, North Andover) - Collins is an athletic guard that shows us a lot of things every time we see him play. He has a reputation of putting up numbers fast and tonight was no different as he had three trey's in the 2nd quarter to lead the North Andover's come back. We love when he puts the ball on the floor and goes North-South. Tonight he showed his ability to get to rim and finish as well as his ability to distribute the ball off penetration. Now that Collins has earned the reputation as being a scorer, he needs to move better without the basketball so that he is able to provide himself quality scoring opportunities.
Sean Nally (5'10", jr. pg, Manchester) - Nally played an excellent game tonight as he showed he can handle the basketball and make sound decisions under pressure. Nally was cool, calm, and collected all night long as he advanced the ball through the press. Added to that, Nally showed that he can't be left open, as he nailed a couple of big threes and had a couple of nice finishes around the basket.
Zach Karalis (6'3", jr. forward, North Andover) - Karalis can do some of everything including knocking down the three, making the pull-up, and getting to the rim. What was most impressive about Karalis was the fact that he did not shoot the ball well tonight, but still found ways to put the ball in the basket. Part of the reason is he move so well without the basketball and the other part is that he knows how to find himself opportunities.
Chris Bishop (6'1", jr. guard, Manchester) - Bishop scored double-digit points tonight and was impressive in doing so. He knocked down some key threes and added some key transition baskets. Bishop also played within himself and made smart decisions with the basketball all night long.
