McNamara hits 1,000

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February 22, 2012

McNamara hits 1,000

Pentucket defeats Marblehead on its home court

By John Shimer Correspondent The Daily News of Newburyport Wed Feb 22, 2012, 03:59 AM EST

The McNamaras are synonymous with Pentucket basketball in the athletic realm of the River Rival region.

The family has been responsible for so many memories and accomplishments, thanks to father John, sister Erin and, most recently, sister Kelsi in the girls program and Corey in the boys program. Rarely has the family been able to share the moments together as a family.

But last night, the entire family, including his mother Tricia, saw him eclipse the 1,000 mark on his third shot of the night early in the first quarter — fittingly his second three-point make of the night.

"It's a good feeling and it shows that hard work pays off, just like my sister," said Corey, who was a man of few words despite a game-high 26 points, putting him at 1,020 for his career.

"I've just had a good run these last three years, I've had good teams and played in a lot of games, so that makes it easier."

Finding a much better rhythm than he did against Stoneham on Saturday, where finished with his lowest point total of the season — just three points — Corey got off to a fast start, drilling four first-quarter threes to help Pentucket establish a lead they would not give back. The Sachems (13-6) would go on to defeat Marblehead (9-10) on its home court in the first round of the Brad Sheridan Memorial Basketball tournament 45-32.

"Not really, we just wanted to win the game and get a good rhythm going into the tournament," responded Corey as to whether he felt any pressure to get his 1,000th point. "I got a good start going, we were struggling a little offensively, but I got some shots to drop that got us going. We were definitely playing better all around as a team (than Saturday vs. Stoneham)."

After the win, Pentucket coach Leo Parent was both happy for his player and for the team.

"It's a great accomplishment. The only other player we've had do that is Michael Iola and they're both great kids and both worked hard, so we're happy to see Corey do that. We're happy to get that behind us, as I'm sure he is as well," Parent said. "But I think that's part of the greatness of what makes Corey special: He isn't nearly as concerned about getting his 1,000th point as he is about getting a win tonight.

"I think the 1,000 points is just the culmination of a lot of hard work, effort and consistency on his part, so we're thrilled for him as an individual we're happy for us as a team that we got this win," Parent continued. "We needed to bounce back after the Stoneham game and we thought we did that tonight."

Accomplishing the feat in just three years of basketball and mainly as an outside threat, McNamara's shooting prowess has been remarkable.

"His quickness is not his strength — his ability to the shoot ball is, but he has a great deal of heart and he cares about that, he does cares about his teammates, he's worked tirelessly on his shot," explained Parent as to what has made McNamara a special scorer.

"There's a reason he has the green light to shoot the ball. He's put a lot of time in the offseason and he's perfected that ability to shoot the ball and get the shot off. For someone who played just three seasons of varsity basketball to put in 1,000 points during that time, it's a lot of consistency, a lot of effort and we're awfully proud of him."

Joining his sister, Erin, who was down from Southern Maine, where her team will be competing for an NCAA Division 3 berth in their conference tournament this weekend, as a family the McNamaras represent two of the four Sachems in the 1,000-point club along with Iola (boys career scoring leader) and Ashley Viselli (the school's all-time leader).

"No one works harder than him, so he really deserves it," said Erin at halftime, admitting her brother has finally become the family's best outside shooter. "He's always out in the driveway, so I'm just really proud of him. We'll see if he can pass my 1,000-point-however-many it was."

"I think it's a nice honor and feat, but I think it's been a little bit of a distraction the last couple of games for the team, so hopefully they get some energy back and stop worrying about it," said Corey's father, John. "It's a nice honor to do in three years and hopefully they have a bunch more games, so they can make a deep run in the tournament like they did last year. That would be a nice way to finish."

Not too many parents can claim they've raised two 1,000-point scorers, and maybe a third in the midst.

"It's nice because they've both worked hard," John McNamara said. "It's not like it came to them. They had to work hard at their game, so it's nice."