PEABODY —  The Peabody Tanners may have gotten off to a slow start, but they found their shooting touch midway through the first quarter and never looked back, defeating KIPP Academy at home, 68-32.

Six Tanners combined for 11 3-pointers, most of them coming in bunches. Anthony Forte scored a game-high 21 points (3 threes) and Raphel Laurent was right behind with 19 (4 threes). 

Tolu Abosede led the Panthers with nine points, while freshman Ethan Gicheru and Trosky Pena scored five apiece.

“We missed a couple of shots early, but made some nice defensive plays and then Anthony and Raphel got hot,” said Peabody coach Thad Broughton. “I thought Cam (Connolly) and Johnny (Lucas) made some nice defensive plays and really helped up and we moved the ball really well. Jariel (Tolentino) and the other guys who came in off the bench also played really well.”

KIPP coach Moody Bey said that while it was a “tough night,” playing a big Division 1 opponent like Peabody was an opportunity for his players to “see where you are at.”

“Being a small school with only 450 kids, playing up against a really good team like this is a really good test for us. Our goal is always going to be better for the playoffs,” he said. “And I don’t think in Division 4 [that] we are going to see a team with that much talent, so I’m OK with that.”

KIPP’s only lead of the game came courtesy of Pena, who grabbed an offensive rebound and laid it in to put KIPP on top, 6-5. After that, it was all Tanners, who went on a 13-3 run to close out the quarter with an 18-9 lead – the big shots coming from Forte, who hit two threes sandwiched around a three by Laurent.

The Tanners kept their foot on the gas in the second, thanks to more pinpoint shooting and stifling defense that held KIPP scoreless for about six minutes. The Tanners also got it done offensively with a 21-0 run to lead 43-13 until Gicheru finally broke the ice with a bucket in the final minute to cut the deficit to 43-15 at the half.

After a shaky opening two minutes in the second half by both teams, it was more of the same in the third, courtesy of Tolentino (8 points), who drained back-to-back threes, followed by a three from Lucas (5 points.) After that, the starters pretty much had the rest of the night off.

Despite the lopsided loss, Bey found a few things to be optimistic about, including the play of senior Julio Mato Ruiz (4 points) and Gicheru.

“Julio had his first varsity basket tonight, so that was impressive,” Bey said. “And for Ethan, being only a freshman, he’s come a really long way. He started on JV and moved his way up to varsity and he’s going to be playing some big minutes for us going forward.”

Bey also found consolation in the Panthers’ schedule.

“Our first 10 games are definitely tougher with teams like today, but our schedule the rest of the way isn’t loaded like it has been so far. This is just about getting better every day and getting focused on playoff time.”

Broughton said this is the best start he’s ever had with the Tanners. It’s also the earliest his program has ever qualified for the Division 1 state tournament.

“Overall, it was a good night and getting our 10th win puts us in the tournament, which is a nice accomplishment,” Broughton said.

The Tanners (10-1) have a week to rest before being back in action next Friday at Masconomet (7 p.m.). 

Broughton said Friday’s game capped a very busy week of basketball, so he appreciates the break.

“We really played four games in five days if you count the game that got postponed at Marblehead,” he said. “So, we’ve been busy and we’ll get back to practicing and work on some things and just improve.” 

It doesn’t get any easier for KIPP (2-6), which hosts Bishop Fenwick Monday at 1:30 p.m.