After Wednesday night’s exhilarating 79-78 victory at Lynn English, the Danvers High boys basketball team had very little turnaround time before busing to Rockland Thursday morning for a rare 12:30 tipoff to close out their regular season, the result of a prior postponement.
Shaking the cobwebs, the Falcons grabbed a 20-14 first quarter lead, extended it to 40-25 at halftime and coasted from there, posting a 68-55 victory and concluding the first perfect regular season in program history.
Vinny Clifford continued his torrid three-point shooting, making six bombs for 18 points total, the same rung up by Devan Harris, who made the winning free throw at Enbglish with bio time remaining.
Their reward for winning four road games, two of them barn burners, in a 72-hour period? As much as a week off before they begin their bid for a third state championship in four years. They’ll be practicing, of course, under coach John Walsh, who notched his 99th career win against Rockland; maybe even scrimmaging a local tourney squad.
Pairings for the tourney, Division 2 North in the Falcons’ case, are expected to be announced Saturday evening or Sunday. Check out the MIAA website for the announcement.
It’s expected the Falcons will get at least one home game, probably two, as they did last year before falling to New Mission in the Division 2 North final.
Looking ahead, the Division 2 North final will be at UMass-Lowell on Saturday March 7, followed by the Eastern Mass. title game at TD Garden on Monday the 9th or Tuesday the 10th, followed by the state final the following Saturday in Worcester.
But for the moment, the Falcons get a much-needed and well deserved break from the pressure connected to their historic quest.