RallyNorth.net

Sat, Dec 21, 2013 03:45 PM @ Salem

Team	1	2	3	4	Final
North Andover	13	17	18	11	59
Salem	8	12	9	11	40

Ex-roommates to square off for Hixon Division title

Sunday, December, 22 By Michael Muldoon
Staff writer

ORTH ANDOVER — Paul Tanglis and Anthony Faradie were roommates and teammates at Framingham State. Tanglis was then Faradie’s assistant for three years at Medford High.

The two will be matching wits Saturday (3:30 p.m. at Merrimack College) for the Hixon Division title at the Commonwealth Motors Christmas Classic.

Tanglis, the first-year North Andover coach, guided his club to a first round 59-40 victory over Salem. Methuen, under first-year coach Faradie, went on an 11-2 run in the final 3:31 to down upset-minded Whittier 55-46.

“It will be pretty exciting. It’s come full circle. This is pretty cool,” said Tanglis of the finals matchup.

Salem, which dropped to 0-2, scored first on a bucket by Danny Nugent (team-high 8 points) but that was the Blue Devils’ lone lead of the game.

North Andover, which only had one senior play significant minutes, quickly took control.

Powerful 5-10 sophomore Wabissa Bede had nine of his 11 points in the first half while Spencer Reeve, a lanky 6-3 junior, had eight of his 14. Junior Brett Daley heated up and finished with 14 points, sharing game-high honors, including four three-pointers.

Kyle White drilled a top of the key 3-pointer and followed with a lay-up to put the Knights up 28-14 late in the half and they cruised from there.

“That was a good win,” said Tanglis, a former North Andover High captain who earned praise around the Middlesex Conference for reviving long-slumbering Stoneham.

“If we can hold teams to 40 points or under, we’ll be in pretty good shape. When we reverse the ball, we have guys who can hit shots. We hit a couple of threes and that gave us some breathing room.”

Bede added five assists, Reeve grabbed eight boards and senior John Enright contributed 11 points and three steals.

The Knights are off to a 2-1 start. Many in town feared it might be an 0-3 start.

Talk about rebuilding.

North Andover graduated arguably the greatest class in the program’s illustrious history (St. A’s recruit Isaiah Nelsen and fellow Eagle-Tribune Super Teamer Chris Bardwell, and four-year starter Derek Collins).

Also, top returnee Brendan Miller transferred to Cushing Academy and Mike McVeigh, the winningest basketball coach in area history with a 497-176 record in 31 seasons, stepped down.

But Tanglis and Co. are off to a fine start and could add to it with a title in the lower division of the 39th annual tournament.

Additional stories:

• Ex-roommates to square off for Hixon Division title