Gary Larrabee

After an eight-day layoff following a gut-wrenching 61-60 loss to Malden Catholic, the Danvers High boys cagers returned to action Tuesday night hosting Beverly before a sizable crowd in the DHS field house.

The Falcons survived, but barely, with a lackluster 51-47 victory, hardly the morale booster coach John Walsh was looking for with unbeaten Salem on the horizon Friday night in Salem. Junior standout Devonn Allen had one of his rockiest outings, but like the gamer he is, he overcame plenty of missteps to score the Falcons’ last four points, the first on a nifty drive-scoop in the lane for a 49-45 lead with two minutes to go, then with two super clutch foul shots with 3.6 seconds left. In the process he led the defending Northeastern Conference champs with 15, but overall he had a sub-par shooting night and committed six turnovers, but none occurred during Beverly’s stunning second half comeback.

The Falcons appeared locked in for victory after a 14-2 surge at the end of the first half gave them a 27-14 halftime lead. Things looked even better at 31-15 2:20 into the third quarter. But Beverly, now 4-2, a cold-shooting team for most of the night, improved toward the end of the third quarter, drawing within 36-29, then drew within two on four separate occasions in the final stanza, at 43-41, 45-43, 47-45 and 49-47, keyed by the shooting of guard Sam Traicoff (20, 16 in the second half.

The Panthers’s best chance to tie or win the game came in the closing half minute when they missed successive medium range jumpers by Traicoff and Kyle Coughlin, but both hit the back of the rim and Allen clinched the decision with a few seconds left.

Danvers, for the second straight home game, struggled to put the visiting team away, Lynn Classical before this and Beverly Tuesday. If Beverly had made any kind of fair share of their outside shots, it would have stolen this one.

But Danvers’s stifling man-to-man defense paid off once again and probably proved to be the difference, even though the Falcons yielded 33 points the second half.

Bottom line? The Falcons play like this Friday night at Salem and the Witches will have the meeting clinched by intermission. Danvers must take care of the ball better (13 turnovers in this one to Beverly’s 12), shoot much much better (3-for-16 in threes) and box out/rebound considerably better.

After Allen’s 15, Mike Nestor, playing another terrific two-way game, added 12 points, with Rashad Francois scoring 10, Tre Crittendon nine and Kieran Moriarty six, hitting two mid-range jumpers that should boost his perimeter shooting confidence.

At 5-2, the Falcons look respectable in the wins-losses department, but they realize they have a ton of work to do in preparation for Salem.

After six games there is much to be excited about this Danvers High boys basketball team. Carrying a heavy mantle as four-time defending Northeastern Conference champions and MIAA Division 2 state champs, the Falcons could very easily be 6-0, but instead are a most acceptable 4-2 after a two-point loss at Division 1 NEC rival Lynn English and a one-point non-conference setback to Malden Catholic the other night in the Saugus Christmas tournament, and that on a buzzer-beating put-back.

Raring to get back on track next Tuesday hosting Beverly, after a week’s layoff, the Falcons project to win at least seven of their next eight, if not eight straight if you include a revenge victory at home against English on Tuesday February 2. Easy for me to say, but on paper this group is proving to be every bit a title contender as their predecessors.

If form prevails, the Falcons will be 11-3 at least, maybe 12-2, depending on the outcome of next Friday night’s showdown at Salem, the only time the NEC powers meet.

The other “form prevails” issue pertains to the Falcons keeping their “super six” players healthy. Coach John Walsh, carrying an utterly astounding 109-21 record into the Beverly game, got a rotten break two years ago when lone returning starter Vinny Clifford was lost to the season with a knee injury, yet still steered the Falcons to a 20-3 record.

Last year the injury gods looked the other way and Walsh’s six-man rotation never suffered a significant injury, his “super six” playing every game in a record-breaking 27-0 run to the Division 2 state title.

Now it’s the new season and Walsh, who in the past five years went from unheralded assistant varsity coach to one of the most highly regarded head coaches in the state, is relying on a six-player rotation once again. He’s been trying to break sophomore shooter Justin Roberto or junior forward Sean Rooney into the rotation, but it hasn’t worked out to date.

Which brings us to Walsh’s most challenging issue regards handling his six-man lineup: how to strategize the game and at the same time give his kids the best chance to win close games down the stretch.

The combination of poor shooting, hitting only two baskets (four points total in the quarter) and top player Devonn Allen’s fouling out with four-plus minutes left at English cost the Falcons that game, a 54-52 setback, after they led 48-37 starting the session.

The Falcons are probably the best conditioned team in the Conference, but even they appeared to be tiring a tad the closing eight minutes at Lynn. Walsh tries to save his timeouts for the late stages for that exact reason, but the game doesn’t always flow in such a way that Walsh can save his timeouts.

Like the English game, the epic 61-60 loss to Malden Catholic Monday at Saugus came right down to the wire after the teams had defended with fierce man-to-man defense all the way. But in this case Allen played start to finish and he and his teammates did not appear to be sucking wind down the stretch, not the way they staged two superb comebacks, the second of which appeared to win the game when Rashad Francois’ acrobatic three-point play with 12.7 seconds remaining gavwe Danvers a 60-59 lead. The Falcons usually show impressive endurance.

It didn’t end that way, but the heroic manner in which the Falcons battled back down the stretch against a bigger and deeper Lancer squad should not be overlooked.

This group appears to be growing into another loveable, never-give-up squad much like the 20-3 team of two years ago. Only time will tell.

The first six have all made major contributions so far and figure to only increase those contributions as the season moves forward.

Kieran Moriarty has made a huge jump from mop-up duty last year to the team’s lone “big man/inside man” this year. He usually guards the other team’s big man and has held his own. The lone exception was Malden Catholic’s Jonah St. Clair, the 6-4 junior who scored 18 of MC’s first 22 points Monday, but was then held to six points the rest of the game (a good adjustment by Moriarty and teammates as the game progressed). Kieran gets his points mainly from offensive rebound action, since the Falcon offense operates usually among the three scorers, Allen, Francois and Tre Crittendon.

Mike Nestor is a far more polished player than a year ago, able to defend against the other team’s top scoring forward – or center if Moriarty is not in the game. He is the team’s defensive stopper for the second year in a row and is an exceptional rebounder for his size. He may prove to be a pivotal contributor on offense as well after the electrifying 17-point performance he delivered at Lynn English and the ultra-clutch three pointer he made from the right corner in the late stage at Saugus against Malden Catholic. Mike, an all-star two-way player for the football team, displayed his “athletic” nerve by swishing that “trey” after being shut out to that point.

Tahg Coakley can play guard or forward as the sixth man and figures to increase his positive impact on the team’s fortunes as the season continues. He can hit the perimeter shot or go to the basket and has the quickness to defend against most any rival, large or small, because of his foot and hand quickness. I anticipate his role will expand as he gets more playing time.

(The next three players have shown in six games that they are the heart and soul of the team, excelling at both ends of the floor, capable of breaking up any pass, disrupting any player’s dribble, electrifying with or without the ball in his hands.)

Kenneth “Tre” Crittendon, Rashad “Rudy” Francois and Devonn Allen comprise “The Big Three” of Falcons Basketball, at least after six games. All three have amped up their all-around, two-way games, since last season. All three can make a decisive individual play on either side of the timeline. All three have shown stunning athleticism in different situations. All three are defensive stoppers and all three can take their defender 1-on-1 to the basket or step back and sink a “three” from long range. Allen is capable of making like Stephen Curry, pulling up off the dribble at any point outside the circle and canning a three-pointer. The trio has enjoyed mind-boggling success with their rainbow three-point bombs, but they’re equally effective taking the ball successfully to the hole, no matter how much traffic they must contend with. Their offensive explosiveness makes it challenging for rivals to defend them. Each has shown he is capable of taking over a game offensively and scoring a big number.

John Walsh has shown his coaching brilliance with limited talent and with an abundance of talent. Both situations require unique coaching qualities. He has devised a variety of plays to take full advantage of his team’s offensive potential. What has set him apart even more from his coaching peers is his ability to maximize his players’ defensive capabilities geared to a man-to-man defense, spiced with sudden trapping, zoning or fullcourt pressure. He is doing it again with his current crew. Lacking depth and overmatched on paper against both Lynn English and Malden Catholic, his coaching played a major role in putting the Falcons in position to win both those games, though they resulted in temporarily crushing defeats. Walsh’s coaching talents can never be overrated.

Greatness comes in many forms. Monday night, for the relentless and unyielding Danvers High boys basketball team, greatness came in the form of a heartbreaking 61-60 defeat to Malden Catholic in the final of the Saugus Christmas tournament. A defeat in which the Falcons played like champions.

In losing, the Falcons dropped to 4-2 record-wise (the losses by a combined 3 points), but they also gained a tremendous amount of respect from their followers and other observers who might have been scouting the defending MIAA Division 2 state champs and four-time defending Northeastern Conference kings.

From this vantage point, the Falcons, relegated to a three-man offense (until Mike Nestor made a super-clutch 3-pointer with 55 seconds left to knot the game at  57-57), grew by leaps and bounds as a team with championship potential. Outmanned by a Catholic Conference entry led by 6-foot, 4-inch Jonah St. Clair (28 points, 18 of his team’s first 22), the Falcons took on the Lancers nose to nose in what turned into a heavyweight battle.

Both teams played muscular man-to-man defense the whole game, on occasion switching to presses and traps. As they had done in beating Wakefield the night before, the Falcons took very good care of the ball (10 turnovers to MC’s 11). In the first half they in fact took it to MC offensively despite St. Clair’s unstoppable penetrations to the basket from the interior and the baseline.

Powered by 7-for-12 three-point shooting the first half (but only 11-for-28 for the game), the Falcons led 8-2 early and 29-22 late in the second quarter before MC closed to 29-27 at intermission.

It looked like the Falcons might carry through to victory with another spectacular three-point performance. Rashad “Rudy” Francois hit four of five three attempts the first half en route to a 19-point game.  Malden Catholic played catch up most of the first half, while the Falcons were stuck in that role most of the last 10 minutes, but gallantly battled back.

Keyed by a herculean effort by junior Devonn Allen (18 of his 26 points after intermission), Danvers rallied from a 46-39 deficit late in the third quarter to close within 48-46 with 6:53 left, then came back from 53-46 down with 4:00 remaining to within 57-54 (after an Allen power drive down the lane in heavy traffic) with 1:46 left.

Allen could have been whistled for his fourth foul on that play, since he collided with St. Clair under the basket, but there was no whistle. St. Clair hit the floor hard, however and left the game, not to return, with a banged up shoulder. Turns out MC could bail out without him.

But not before Nestor hit his only points of the night from the right corner to tie it at 57 with 55 seconds left after a clutch offensive rebound and feed by Tre Crittendown (12 points). MC took the lead on a drive to the basket with 33 seconds left (MC scored on nine layups of one form or another the first half, the same number the second half; the lone defensive aspect in which the Falcons could be faulted), setting the stage for a pulsating closing half minute.

The Falcons may have been overly deliberate the final 33 seconds, passing up a clean three, then luckily getting an out-of-bounds call under the basket with 16 seconds left. That set up Nestor’s inbounds pass into the lane which was deflected, but somehow grabbed by Francois and tossed basket ward as he fell to floor. The ball amazingly went in off the glass as he was fouled. He made the foul shot with 12 seconds left to give Danvers its first lead, 60-59, since 39-36.

After a timeout, MC brought the ball down against a Danvers press. Cam Kelly, a 6-2 guard, got off a clean three-pointer from atop the key and the ball jumped in, then out, at which point Curt Philpot, who’d scored only two points, grabbed the rebound on the left side and quickly put the ball back up off the glass, a nano-second, but clearly before the buzzer, for the dramatic MC victory.

Yes, a crushing defeat for the dogged Falcons, but one which showed their solid gold heart; one which displayed their ever-burgeoning talent, their never-say-die attitude and potential for great things once their season resumes with a home game against NEC foe Beverly next Tuesday, January 5, at 7 p.m.

They deserved better Monday night, but MC got off the last punch, right to DHS’s jaw, in the form of a buzzer-beating shot that won the game.

This is a wonderfully exciting team, this Falcon crew upholding the unprecedented winning tradition established under the leadership of coach John Walsh these last five-plus years. Can’t wait for Game 7 on January 5. They’re going to win a track-load of games.Maybe 15. Maybe more.

The hot-shooting Tre Crittendon scored 25 points and Devonn Allen added 20, 16 in the decisive fourth quarter, to lersd the Danvers High boys cagers to a 64-60 victory over Wakefield in the Saugus Christmas Tournament Sunday.

The Falcons, 4-1 and riding a three-game win streak, take on Malden Catholic Monday at 6:30 at Saugus High in the Large School Division tourney final.

Crittendon continued his deadly marksmanship from long range, hitting five more threes, giving him 15 in the last three games, all wins.

Allen, as usual, came through in the clutch, scoring the bulk of his points in the final frame when the offense was geared to his individual strengths.

In possibly the most bizarre game played by his team in five-plus seasons, coach John Walsh was more than a little befuddled after his Danvers High Falcons enjoyed their finest shooting night in his tenure, while also committing a team record 37 turnovers in a 68-58 victory over Lynn Classical Wednesday night in the DHS field house.

With two stars from the 27-0 super team of 2014-15 (Vinny Clifford and Peter Merry) looking on, the Falcons (3-1) shot like the Golden State Warriors from start to finish, hitting 21 of 35 shots overall and 11 of 17 three-pointers, keyed by Rashad “Rudy” Francois’s five treys and a career-high 28 points.

The defending Division 2 state champs and four-time defending Northeastern Conference titlists got only 35 shots off because they honestly, truly, cross my heart and hope to die, registered a brain-numbing 37 turnovers, 23 in the second half and 13 in the fourth quarter. That’s how a potentially fine team only takes 35 shots. In the process, they turned a blowout victory into a struggle, allowing a 54-33 advantage after three quarters get as close as 58-49 with five minutes remaining.

An historic shooting performance throughout ended up being overshadowed by a disturbingly reckless ball-handling effort throughout.

“We shot the ball well, that’s for sure,” Walsh observed. “And we played hard. But goodness, we didn’t play smart at all the second half. Stupid fouls, stupid decisions with the basketball. We’ve got to work harder — and then show it in games — in protecting the basketball, especially against pressure. Or it’s going to be a rough season.”

The Falcons, who play Wakefield Sunday at 11 a.m. at the Saugus High School Christmas tournament, led 22-13 after one with six turnovers, hitting nine of 12 shots from the floor. They committed seven more turnovers in the second quarter, but nobody cared with a 41-25 lead, powered by 13 of 19 marksmanship and an uncanny 7-for-10 from three-point land.

They’d committed 18 turnovers but were pulling away at 50-29 midway through the third session. But the fourth quarter was a ball-handling/passing debacle, with eight turnovers the first four minutes. Classical, by giving the Falcons a scare in the fourth quarter, delivered a message loud and clear to the rest of the NEC; a message that was sent more softly after Lynn English’s 54-52 comeback victory over Danvers at Lynn last week.

Press the Falcons to death and you might beat them. You just might cause them to lose their composure. Let’s see if Wakefield applies the heat Sunday or the team the Falcons play Monday, either Marblehead or Malden Catholic (Walsh’s alma mater).

It’s going to be up to Devonn Allen (14 points), Tre Crittendon (14) and Francois to immediately improve from what they showed tonight in the ball handling department. A poorer shooting game tonight and there Falcons might have been taken down.

At halftime, I was thinking of the 10 reasons we had to project this squad as qualified to make it five NEC titles in a row.  Now, that thought is not in the discussion. Maybe down the road.

The other concern from tonight is the fact Walsh trusts using only a six-player rotation with Tahg Coakley his sixth man; a most capable sixth man. But Walsh is hopeful a reliable seventh man will emerge shortly, possibly Justin Roberto.

We’re only four games in. No more head scratching until after we see how the players respond in Saugus. They rebounded beautifully against Peabody after the Lynn English heartbreaker. Let’s see if they bounce back again, this time after a 10-point win that didn’t feel all that great. At least none of the first six got hurt.

After suffering what could have been a devastating setback at Lynn English last Friday, 54-52, and then seeing themselves posted seventh in the Boston Globe preview ratings earlier in the day, who knew how the Danvers High basketball boys would respond in their home opener Tuesday night.

How in fact did the defending Div. 2 state champs and four-time defending Northeastern Conference champs respond? Just as you would expect from a team that has won three state titles the last four years: like champions.

Powered by a 19-0, five-minute and 30-minute stretch of the third quarter, the Falcons bounced back in magnificent fashion, turning a 34-22 halftime lead into a 61-37 cushion after three quarters. End of game.

Keyed by the seven-three-point marksmanship of senior off guard Tre (what a fitting first name for the team’s “bomber of the night”) Crittendon (23 points total) and the overall steady play of junior point Devonn Allen (14 points), the Falcons (2-1) manhandled a respected Peabody squad (1-2) that had lost to Lynn English by one point and beaten Lynn Classical by one.

“We had to come out strong after what happened at Lynn the other night,” Crittendon said after posting his career high in points. “We had to restore our confidence as a team and as individuals and I thought we did that the first half. There was no doubt after we controlled the third quarter. Our offense clicked, our defense played tough. For all the long shots we missed tonight we made a bunch at the right time so they had a big impact on the game.”

“We had no choice but to come out strong and establish our game at both ends as early as possible,” offered Allen, who electrified the crowd in the first minute when he stole the ball off a Peabody dribble, fell to the floor trying to maintain possession against the Tanner rival, then sprung to his feet and beat his opponent to the basket for a layup and the game’s first two points. ”

With graduated teammate Devan Harris, the two-time all-scholastic in attendance while home for Christmas from his early freshman hoop season at Fitchburg State, the Falcons recovered impressively after seeing its 28-game win streak snapped at English.

Peabody sat in a zone defense all night, dared the Falcons to fire away from three-point land, and the home team obliged. They were only 13-for-31 overall from beyond the circle (Crittendon 7-for-15), but the five they made in the first five minutes of the third session settled the game.

“It meant a lot to us to win tonight, our first game at home,” said Rashad “Rudy” Francois (15 points). “We made the right passes, took good open shots, played a good Danvers defensive game. It feels great after what happened at English.”

Mike Nestor, who is going to be a major offensive force this season to go along with his “shut down” defense, added 10. The Big Four scorers accounted for 62 points.

Kieran Moriarty played his usual rugged, two-way game inside.

“If we shoot well from outside we’ll always be tough to beat,” coach John Walsh, now 107-20 in five-plus seasons at the helm, said. “We don’t want to live and die with the three, but when we make some early it opens up the other team’s defense and we can drive to the basket more. And when Tre shoots well, we can really be in business.”

After three games, except for a couple lousy breaks and a couple lousy late calls at English, the Falcons would be 3-0. Two and one isn’t bad, though, with Lynn Classical coming to the field house Wednesday night. Make no mistake. The Falcons got their wings back for this victory. They expect to fly high again Wednesday night before they break for a few days for Christmas.

Returning to the site of one of their greatest wins during last year’s historic 27-0, Northeastern Conference and MIAA Division 2 state title runs, the Danvers High boys basketball team nearly pulled off another victory for the ages Friday night, but stumbled down the stretch, scoring only four fourth quarter points while losing at Lynn English, 54-52.

The Falcons (1-1) displayed championship heart for the entire game, battling the bigger Bulldogs even on the boards and holding their own nicely in what evolved into a game of survival while both teams played muscular man-to-man defense at both ends, English also using some midcourt traps that worked sometimes, not so much others.

The fact is the Falcons led after each of the first three checkpoints, 13-9, 27-23 and 48-37, and still led by 11, 50-39, with six minutes left. It was 48-34 with 1:35 left in the third. Little did they know that they would manage to score only two points the rest of the way (a Rashad Francois short baseline jumper after a nice feed from Tahg Coakley that made it 52-48 with 3:30 remaining).

Playing only six men, this observer thinks possibly the Falcons, as superb a shape as they are in, might have run out of gas — and energy —  down the stretch, since they shot only 2-for-13 (guesstimate) the final eight minutes. Amazingly, the Falcons did not get to the foul line once in the fourth quarter and only once the entire second half, as the refs called 10 fouls on Danvers for the half and only six on the more aggressive, board-crashing Bulldogs, who were 6-for-11 from the line the second half. That’s an 11-1 difference, ladies and gentlemen.

It didn’t help either that the Falcons were 5-for-18 from three-point land, but the most important sequence in the game involved two fouls on the best player on the floor, junior Falcon guard Devonn Allen, midway through the final quarter.

It was 50-39 when Allen (17 points, same as the newly-anointed offensive force Mike Nestor) was called for a reach in as an English player drove the lane, when it appeared Allen had made a clean steal of the ball. That was No. 4 on Allen. Coach John Walsh pulled Allen briefly, but when English scored two quick buckets off steals, he had no choice but to put Allen back in the game.

Exactly 90 seconds after getting a most questionable fourth foul, Allen was whistled for his fifth (and final) foul — a legitimate call — after a loose ball near midcourt after a Danvers miss, the result of a floor collision with an English player. This occurred with 4:20 remaining.

Allen’s teammates almost held on for the victory, though they only scored two points the rest of the way. They had their chances, but in the last three minutes of possessions Danvers suffered a traveling violation and three missed shots the rest of the way. After English went ahead 54-52 on one free throw made with 24 seconds left, Danvers got the rebound, called time, worked for a good shot, never took one, then Walsh called one last timeout with 5.6 seconds, after which English’s defense bottled up the ball and Nestor took a wild 15-footer while doubled up as the horn sounded.

Chalk it up as a major learning experience for Walsh’s six-man rotation; a courageous effort that looked so encouraging after three quarters, but which taught them a painful lesson the final eight minutes.

All six regulars played their hearts out, and that made every Danvers fan in attendance, including 65 “Falcon Fanatics,” very proud. Newcomer Kieran Moriarty shows great promise along with returning vets Kenneth Crittendon, Allen, Francois, Nestor (wonderfully improved offensively) and Coakley. But they know they need to  take better care of the ball and connect on more of their excellent scoring opportunities inside and out to have a chance to successfully defend their title.

A 28-game win streak may be dead, but a new rope of victories hopefully begins Monday when the Falcons open their home schedule at 7 against Peabody, which lost to English by one Tuesday night. This will be another excellent test for the four-time defending NEC champs.

Does this sound familiar?

The Defending Division 2 state champion and four-time defending Northeastern Conference champion Danvers High Falcons led, 14-0, after three minutes and had already forced six Revere turnovers, five of them steals. That could have been a year ago.

But this in fact described the start of a new season for Coach John Walsh and his Falcons, who were opening their schedule Tuesday night in the Roland Merullo Fieldhouse at Revere High.

The Falcons were never threatened after their stunning start and rolled to a 69-40 victory, powered by a suffocating, multi-faceted defense, in the process showing that they will find plenty of ways to win over the next three months after losing three front court standouts to graduation last June — two-time all-scholastic Devan Harris, Peter Merry and Vinny Clifford.

As expected, boasting quickness galore but little height, the Falcons will rely on grinding man-to-man defense and a few variations, like a half court zone, to take care of opponents this season.

Exhibit A Tuesday night was this opening quarter rundown: Danvers had a 19-7 first quarter lead, during which Revere did not score until nearly four minutes had elapsed, and by the end had committed 10 turnovers, eight of them the result of DHS steals.

With a sizable number of “Falcon Fanatics” making the trek down Route 1 and Route C-1 to root their favorites on to success, Danvers led 36-20 at intermission, keyed by 11 steals leading to nine points and not bothered by shooting goose eggs (0-for-6) from three-point range).

The Falcons looked vulnerable only in the first 5:49 of the third quarter, when they scored only one point and missed their first 10 shots. But Revere hardly fared any better. Then, by the time the versatile Devonn Allen drove baseline for one three-point play, then plowed through the middle of the lane for another three-point play, the two covering a mere 23 seconds and giving the Falcons a 43-24 cushion, it was game time.

The fourth quarter was window dressing as the Falcons coasted and gave Walsh his 106th win against 19 losses starting his sixth season in charge.

With virtually no height, the Falcons know they’ll have to rely on their marvelous quickness and force the issue most nights with their defense. Walsh got terrific defense for much of this one thanks to his starters, Allen, Rashad Francois, Kieran Moriarty, Kenneth Crittendon and Mike Nestor, along with sixth man Justin Roberto.

“We take great pride in our defense,” Nestor said afterward. “We had some good moments and bad moments with our defense tonight. Not a bad start but we have to get a lot better with that and our offense.”

“We’ve got to play a lot better than this, no matter what the scoreboard says,” Walsh said. “I’ll grant you we played hard, but we also played stupid in a lot of places and didn’t play with the right body language. We also had a lot of trouble shooting the ball. That’s gotta pick up for the next game (at Lynn English Friday, 7 p.m,.). Most important, we’ve got to play smarter come Friday.”

Turnovers finished 26-12 in favor of the Falcons. A huge factor in the outcome. Allen led the scoring parade with 20, followed by Francois with 11, Crittendon with nine, Nestor, Moriarty and Sean Rooney (back-to-back threes late) with six each and Tahg Coakley with five.

We weren’t getting any smiles from the ever-serious Walsh as he left the field house with the team, but to the Danvers fans who attended and made plenty of noise behind the Falcon bench, there was lots to be happy about.

These guys are going to be just fine.

The defending Division 2 state champion Danvers High boys basketball team has an imposing schedule to deal with in the upcoming regular season, highlighted by elevation to the Northeastern Conference Large division, playing in tournaments at Saugus (Christmas) and Holliston (mid-February) and a special banner raising ceremony on January 5.

The Falcons, after becoming one of a very few state champion teams ever to go a perfect 27-0, in the process becoming only the fourth program to win three state titles in a four year span, kick off their 20-game regular season with consecutive road games at Revere and Lynn English on Tuesday December 15 and Friday December 18, both starting at 7 p.m. That’s the official start time for all 16 games not part of the Saugus and Holliston tournaments. The pairings and start times for those four-team events have not yet been determined.

The Revere and Lynn English games will mark the start of the Falcons’ quest to capture a fifth consecutive NEC “overall” title. They also won the last four NEC “small” division crowns. This time they will be after a “Large” title for the first time.

Practice officially begins on Monday.

Game 7 will be historic for what takes place before the game as much as for what occurs during it. That will be the night, Tuesday January 5, while hosting Beverly, that the MIAA Boys Division 2 state championship banner will be raised. It is hoped that last year’s captains will be joined by players from all five DHS squads coached by John Walsh, all of whom have achieved their own milestones and played significant roles during the most successful five years attained by any varsity team, in any sport, in Danvers High and North Shore major sports history.

The ceremony will take place immediately prior to the start of the varsity contest. A short but glorious moment that will hopefully be held in front of a full fieldhouse.

The Falcons, 105-19 in Coach John Walsh’s five-year tenure of dominance (an amazing 92-9 over the last 4 years), face a daunting task to record their fifth straight 20-win season after losing their three captains of a year ago to the college ranks. Two-time Globe All-Scholastic Devan Harris and NEC MVP Peter Merry are at Fitchburg State and Vinny Clifford, the best long-range shooter in the area last year, plays for Endicott.

But they do return an outstanding group of guards and small forwards, led by junior point man Devonn Allen, in this observer’s judgment the MVP of the Falcons’s state title run from last winter, as well as super sixth man Rashad Francois and defensive whiz Mike Nestor.

Two other returnees who played important roles coming off the bench last winter figure to give the Falcons the fastest starting group this time around — guards Tre Crittendon and Tahg Coakley. One looms as the sixth man, since newcomer Isiah Clark, at 6-5, 260 pounds, a transfer from Somerville, figures to play the middle.

If Crittendon and Coakley can handle the backcourt duties, Allen may slide down to play a wing to take best advantage of a dynamic ability to score from downtown or penetration and make the pass to an open teammate if bottled up by what will certainly be an Allen-conscious opposing defense, no matter who the team.

Only time will determine who might emerge from last year’s bench or freshman-jayvee teams to earn a spot in Walsh’s rotation. One possibility is junior forward Kieran Moriarty.

The Falcons, riding an unprecedented mini-dynasty, will not be favored to defend any title this winter. But most important, the Danvers Falcons, the winningest program in Massachusetts high school basketball the last four years, is gearing up for a season in which they will be feared by all and victorious over many.

A real quick comment on what’s taking place at St. Andrews and its context for what has been an amazing year for golf’s “majors.”

Jordan Spieth wins at Augusta. Spieth wins at Chambers Bay after a bizarre week and a tragic finish for Dustin Johnson. Now a logjam at the top of The Open Championship leaderboard with one round to go and a horde of fantastic story lines.

To wit:

An amateur from Dublin among the three leaders

Spieth, incredibly, one stroke off the pace with 18 to go as he shoots for the third leg of the Grand Slam.

Johnson, seeking the greatest redemption imaginable, still within reach, despite a horrid third round, of his first major after several failures

Jason Day, so close so many times in majors as well, potentially the next great personality in the game if he can win Monday

Easily a dozen players capable of winning the Claret Jug tomorrow at the home of golf, many already with a major championship under his belt

And, pray tell, where is Tiger???  Where he belongs, home in Florida

This scenario is a great reason to call in sick tomorrow!

Cheers. Enjoy every minute, starting at 6 a.m, on ESPN.