The Chelsea High boys basketball team won two of its three games in the past week to improve its record to 7-5 on the season.
The Red Devils came out on the short end of a dramatic 65-64 decision to Revere last Thursday. The Patriots held a lead throughout the contest, but Chelsea parlayed a tough defense and some outstanding offense by Carlos Mojica to overcome a 10 point deficit with four minutes to play and move ahead by four with 1:30 to go.
However, to their credit the visiting Patriots refused to fold and stanched the Chelsea momentum. Still, the Red Devils held a 64-62 advantage with nine seconds showing on the clock. Revere inbounded the ball from under the CHS hoop, setting up a screen for a three point shot by Patriot Mike Dreeszen, who swished the trey. The Red Devils were unable to get off a shot in the waning seconds.
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The contest featured the sidelight of a Siegal father/son match, inasmuch as the dad, Jay Siegal, is of course the long time head coach of the Chelsea Red Devil quintet and son Jason is a sophomore for Revere. (Jason scored two points on the night, and thus it can be said without exaggeration that the son provided the margin of victory for his dad’s defeat.)
Sammy Mojica poured in 28 points for Chelsea, including 17 in the fourth period that keyed the CHS comeback. Sean Quiroz, playing against his former teammates, hit for 13, and Kevin DeJesus also added 13.
However, Chelsea returned the favor on Monday, avenging that defeat with a solid 74-64 victory that was not as close as the final score might indicate. Chelsea took charge from the outset, grabbing a 21-13 advantage at the first quarter mark and holding a 39-31 edge at the half. The Red Devils lengthened that difference considerably in the third frame, building up a 57-38 lead at the third buzzer from where they cruised to the victory.
Quiroz had a big night against his former mates (Sean transferred to Chelsea this year) with 27 points, of which 15 came via five three pointers. Mojica pumped in 23 and Rosales chipped in with 11.
“We played very well,” said Siegal. “We felt we had been a little bit flat the first time we met Revere and hadn’t played our best, so we were determined to do better the next time.”
In between the games with Revere, who were the Red Devils’ archrivals for decades when the schools belonged to the Greater Boston League, Chelsea earned a 64-52 triumph over Mystic Valley, a foe from the Commonwealth Athletic Conference.
The outcome never was in doubt, as the Red Devils opened the game with a 20-4 run and never looked back. Mojica paced the scoring attack with 21 points, Quiroz added 13, Rosales struck for 14, and DeJesus joined the double figure club with 10.
Siegal and his crew have a busy week, which began last night (Wednesday) at Peabody. The Red Devils travel to Shawsheen tomorrow, host Peabody in a rematch on Monday, and trek to No. Shore Tech Tuesday.