FILE PHOTO
Prep’s Tommy O’Neil (right) scored 17 points in Friday’s win over Catholic Memorial.
By GORDON VINCENT
DANVERS — Friday night’s Catholic Conference showdown between St. John’s Prep and Catholic Memorial can be broken down into two segments – before Nate Hobbs’ dunk and after.
Hobbs’ slam sparked a 13-0 run that gave the Eagles command in the second half of their 66-53 win over the Knights, at Memorial Gym.
“Nate is certainly an athletic player and he is capable of great things, but I also thought we played great defense in the second half,” St. John’s Prep coach John Dullea said.
Indeed, the Eagles (5-1, 2-0) held the Knights (6-3, 1-1) without a field goal for 7:06 during their second half spurt. They key was Matt Relihan’s defense on Catholic Memorial captain Ulyen Coleman, who scored just one point.
“That kid (Coleman) has been scoring 30-40 points a game, so for Matt Relihan to hold him down the way he did tonight speaks volumes about his ability, effort and determination,” said Dullea.
Relihan (10 points) was also one of four Eagles who scored in double figures. Tommy O’Neil led St. John’s with 17 points in spite of a half-court zone defense that was designed to stop him, while Brett McNiff added 16 and Hobbs had 13.
Jarrett Martin led Catholic Memorial with 19 points, while Will McDonnell and Kani Glover added 10 points each.
The Eagles sprinted to an early 10-2 lead, but the Knights responded with a 16-2 run that included a pair of three-pointers by Martin to take their biggest lead of the game with 6:52 left in the second quarter. St. John’s Prep clawed back into the game slowly and eventually tied the score at 27-27. A running layup by McDonnell followed by a fast break layup by McNiff after a pretty pass from O’Neil made the score 32-31, in favor of Catholic Memorial at halftime.
The third quarter never widened beyond one possession until the Eagles closed out the period with 11 straight points. The run started with Hobbs’ dunk, after a drive down the left baseline. Relihan finished the quarter with a 15-footer and a 3-pointer, both from the right wing, and then Mike Yarin opened the fourth quarter with running 8-footer off glass to give St. John’s Prep its first double-digit lead of the game at 53-43.
With the Eagles clamping down on defense, the lead peaked at 62-47 when O’Neil sank a couple of free throws with 2:12 remaining. The Knights never got closer than a dozen the rest of the way.
“This team has been our nemesis for the past three years, so for us to get a win against them is big,” Dullea said.
