English prevails against Tech in spectacular Boverini boys hoop final

LYNN – High school basketball fans truly had a classic to watch in the finals of the Boverini boys hoop tournament last night. Lynn English outlasted Tech, 85-80, at the Cavanagh Field House, in a contest that truly wasn’t decided until the last remaining seconds.As a result of the victory, the Bulldogs (5-0) emerge with the city title for the second straight year.Click here for a photo gallery from the tournament.”The kids worked very hard for the honor,” said English coach Buzzy Barton. “My hat’s off to Tech, as Marvin (Tech coach Avery) does a great job, and they’re very talented.”The Tigers (3-2) put forth a furious second-half comeback to emerge with a 74-73 lead, their first advantage since early in the game. Center Victor Smith, who netted 19 of his game-high 24 in the second half, gave Tech the lead on a follow-up of his own miss. The teams traded the lead, with the Tigers holding on to a 76-75 margin with three minutes left. However, center Charlie Rucker gave the Bulldogs the lead for good with a putback for a 77-76 edge with 2:15 left.The Tigers missed a three-pointer on their next possession, and the Bulldogs quickly took advantage. Forward Justin Young broke the hearts of Tech by drilling a three with 1:48 remaining to push the margin to four.”That was a big-time shot at the right time for them,” Avery said.Tech still had a chance to do some damage in the waning moments. Smith was fouled attempting a three pointer, and was given the opportunity to bring the Tigers to within 1. He made the first shot, but missed the others. After a bucket by tournament MVP Ryan Woumn pushed the lead to 82-77, Smith connected on a three with just under 30 seconds left to bring Tech to within 82-80. Yet the Bulldogs made three from the line for the game’s final points.”We’ve played three very tough Division 1 schools so far (Cambridge, Classical, and English), said Avery of his club, a Division 3 school. “We never quit at all, and we felt we were in the game throughout.”Tech trailed by 14 midway through the third (52-38) after a Woumn three. Yet that was when the Smith show started. He added a couple of buckets coming off steals; then, after Woumn hit a jumper and foul for a 13-point edge (55-42), Smith connected on a short jumper and then a three-pointer to bring the Tigers to within 55-47 late in the third.Perhaps the play of the game came right at the buzzer. Tech guard Terrance Gallo was about to go into the paint under the English basket when he whipped a no-look pass to Richie Warren Jr., who was situated behind the three-point arc. He drained the shot, and English’s lead was down to four, 63-59, going into the final stanza.Woumn, who only had three points at the half, shot out the lights in the second half, scoring 19 for English.”He’s truly the leader of this club,” Barton said. “When things got tight, he calmed things down with a basket, and got us going again.”St. Mary’s outlasted Classical, 79-76, in the consolation game.Rounding out the tourney all-star squad were Smith, Young, Rucker, Jarrell Byrd (Classical), and John Bakopolus (St. Mary’s).