After a strong regular season and trip to the MIAA Division 1 state tournament, Peabody’s boys basketball team saw the end of its season Monday. The final team to squeak into the Division 1 bracket, the visiting No. 39 Tanners suffered a 61-56 loss to No. 26 Barnstable.
Peabody was knocking on the door late – trailing by just one point (57-56) with 38 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter – but Barnstable’s Adrian Pichardo connected at the free throw line as the hosts held on to victory. They’ll battle No. 7 Springfield Central in the next round with tip-off set for 7 p.m. Friday.
Jariel Tolentino reached the 20-point mark after three quarters to lead Coach Thad Broughton’s Tanners, while Jimmy Festa scored multiple baskets in the opening quarter.
“All season long, I really admired the toughness of this group,” said Broughton, whose Tanners checked out with an 11-10 record. “They won their last three games to get in the tournament. We went down to Barnstable and almost knocked off a team that was 17-3. I really enjoyed coaching these guys.”
