Boys’ basketball defeated Braintree 69-37 at home last Friday night. “Wednesday and Thursday were the two best practices we’ve had all season,” said special education teacher Paul Connolly, the head coach. He added, “that really contributed to tonight’s victory.”

North controlled the game on the defensive end, only giving up one field goal in the first half. “Talking is the key part of defense,” said senior Christian Negrotti, a captain with senior Ezra Pemstein. “I think we did that well last night.”

The Tigers’ turned their defense into offense on multiple occasions, converting on several fast breaks off steals. The crowd erupted in the middle of the second quarter when junior Tyson Duncan stole the ball and took it all the way to the basket before dropping a no look pass to Pemstein for an easy layup, leading to a Braintree timeout.

Senior Kyle Ray-Canada came out firing in the second half, nailing back to back threes to extend North’s lead. “He went off,” said Negrotti. “That’s the best anyone had shot all year.”

Ray-Canada led North with 26 points and six three-pointers. “Kyle Ray-Canada was just fantastic,” said Connolly, “Since he has come back, he has given us a real positive spark from the three point line.”

The Tigers continued to their success on offense, and extended their lead to as much as 37 points before the end of the frame. “We shot the ball really well,” said Connolly. “When we shoot well, we’re a really hard team to play against because our defense has been so consistent all year long that we always have a chance.”

After taking a large enough lead, North put in their backups for the remainder of the game.

North finished with a comfortable lead, never allowing Braintree to come within 30 points of their score. “I was thrilled with the way we played, great team basketball,” Connolly added.